OCTOBER, 2015 THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, BANGALORE

West Bengal: Distributed food and medical camps conducted for the people affected by recent flood

Maharashtra: Three liquor shops were closed, licenses were cancelled after one-day protest at Ahmednagar

Featuring empowered volunteers spearheading hundreds of high-impact service projects across India

Regaining lost glory: Palar will soon support life in three statesRiver’s source saved; AP, TN, Karnataka will benefit

H H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

There is a saying in Sanskrit that, for people, water is god. There is no divinity without water. All gods reside in wa-ter. Whole world is struggling for water and it is said that if third world war happens it would be because of water. There is a constant fight for Kaveri between Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Palar is known as ‘ksheera nadi.’ Naganadhi is being rejuvenated simultaneously in Tamil Nadu. So when water comes Karnataka will have sufficient water and Tamilnadu too will have water and there will be no interstate fights.

We first started Kumudvathi rejuvenation to solve 60% of Bengluru’s water woes. Vedavathi was only in name. Now even at 100 feet water comes. All this happened just in one year.

Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Mulbagal are always reeling with drought. We had come here during ‘agnaatvaasa’ and we came here to visit this temple (Sri Yogi Narayana Mutt, Kaiwara). It was nine years ago. That time we had decided that such work should happen here. We should not plant trees like acacia at the source of water. It is suitable for climates like in Nilgiris but not in hot places like here.

The good thing is all parties have joined hands here. If all get together like this then the whole country will have water and all of us will be prosperous. Now situation is so bad for farmers that no one is willing to give their daughters in marriage to farmers. We should change this. If a farmer cries, then we who eat that food will also cry. Our country should be a rishi-krishi nation.

My advice to children sitting here is to plant treet at home. Indians in America earn twice as much as Ameri-cans. We have no dearth of intelligence or talent in our country.

Children should have enthusiasm, creativity and a mind for service. Do Yoga. We should be strong in the field of sports and education. Teachers please make your children sports personalities. Let this area shine with greenery.

Mansi Dharmraj

Chikkaballapur, Karnataka: Palar is an interstate river origi-nating from Guttur village near Kaiwara Hill range. A network of streams from this range conflu-ence to flow as Palar through the states of Andhra and Tamil Nadu and thence to the Bay of Bengal. The river is largely dry: Parched land, the rich top soil eroded, the basin filled not with water but silt, the wells and streams empty, and the banks shorn of their green glory. Plantation of eucalyptus and acacia line the banks that were erstwhile agricultural lands. Deep bore wells bring out mud, not water. The high level of silt in the various tank beds has accen-tuated evaporation. Ground wa-ter, if any, is abysmally low.

The initial work of river reju-venation focused on removal of silt and reviving the small streams that lined up to the river. Initial work in Phase-1 commenced on 10km streams, covering 35 vil-lages. Currently, 40 recharge wells, 2 recharge borewells, 2 boulder checks and 1 water pool have been constructed. Narayana Vana, a grove of medicinal plants with 32 different varieties has been creat-

ed near the water pool of Kaiwara. An analysis of long term rain-

fall in the area reveals that there is no decline in the quantum of rainfall. Hence the plan is to har-vest rainwater along the natural streams by constructing a series of boulder checks and recharge wells. This is expected to reduce soil ero-sion, accelerate the natural process of recharge and increase base flow.

Water pools constructed at the entry points of the streams into the tanks would further re-duce evaporation and increase storage in the tanks. Natural veg-etation in the form of native trees would further help hold ground water while preventing top soil erosion. About 10,000 saplings are planned for the first phase of tree plantation. About 3000 trees

have already been planted by the Art of Living volunteers in a mat-ter of one month.

K R Shettar, technical expert for the Palar Rejuvenation Proj-ect, says: “At least three monsoons are required to see an impact. But in Kaiwara, with a single mon-soon the Government bore wells have shown improved ground wa-ter levels.”

SEVA TIMESY LT P S e r v i c e A c t i v i t i e s F r o m A c r o s s T h e N a t i o n

Shredharjawla becomes model village in six monthsAnil Tupe

Partur, Maharashtra: Shredhar-jawla village of Partur district, Maharashtra with 1100 popula-tion was not only rehabilitated but has become a model village now. Six months ago no govern-ment staff would step into the village. Power theft was common in the village, ticketless travel was the norm. Many crimes were common. Addiction was com-mon among unemployed youth. There were no toilets in the vil-lage. Awareness of hygeine was low. There was a school in the vil-lage but illiteracy was common.

A beam of hope appeared when ten youngsters of this vil-lage participated in the YLTP camp. One participant Parmesh-war Rajbinde, director of a com-puter institute, took a commit-ment to change the whole village. He underwent the rural manage-ment training at the international ashram of Art of Living. Local teachers and yuvacharyas trained all villagers with Art of Living programmes. 176 youths made

a group after attending YLTP, whereas women empowerment team educated women about hy-giene.

Makrand Jadav, state co-or-dinator of Maharashtra, and Dr Purushottam Wayal, zonal coor-dinator of YLTP, connected the villagers to kisan manch to edu-cate them on the concept of self-sufficient farming. Art of Living and Kent company adopted the village. The company distributed portable water purification equip-

ment free of cost to 147 families. Twenty toilets have been con-structed so far. Art of Living vol-unteers supported the project by donating Rs 20,500. Each benefi-ciary has to contribute Rs 5,000.

Villagers are now growing fruits and vegetables in there own yard using organic methods. Five biogas plants have been installed, and 600 laxmitaru and 900 other plants have been planted.

Dr Wayal said the next step would be development of parks,

setting up a waste water treatment system, uprading primary health centres, schools, meditation cen-tre and setting up a solar power system.

Babanrao Lonikar, Maha-rashtra state minister, visited the village and appreciated the work. On the demand of villagers the minister sanctioned a 4km-long causeway connecting to the city.Parmeshwer Rajbinde said the entire YLTP team of Maharashtra is supporting the project.

Quick transformation: Maharashtra minister Babanrao Lonikar handing over water purifiers and toilet completion certificates to the villagers of Shredharjawla. None of the 147 famlies of the village had toilets before

Quenching thirst: Sri Sri inspecting works at Kaiwara village, the origin of Palar [Top from L to R: Project in-charge Srinivasa Reddy, Sri Sri, MLA Krishna Reddy and Project Director Dr Lingaraju] [Bottom L to R: View of silt pit; injec-tion well at Boulder check (inset); Narayana vana, a grove of medicinal plants]

Art of Living Founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar lighting the lamp at the inauguration of Palar River Rejuvenation project at Kaiwara on September 19, 2015

Volunteers of the Art of Living have been working on various river projects in Maharashtra and other parts of Karnataka. In Karnataka, the Kumudavathi and the Vedavathi rivers have been revived. Likewise, several villages in Maharashtra are coming to life through the ‘Jal Jagruti Abhiyan,’ a multi-pronged initiative of Art of Living to address water issues in Sangli, Latur, Osmanabad, Jalgaon. So far, 11 river rejuvenation projects have been successfully taken up by Art of Living. PAGE 2

River Rejuvenation Initiatives

l Originating from Guttur village near Kaiwara Hill range, Karnataka.

Water purifiers distributed to 147 families

20 toilets constructed100 plus will be done

5 Biogas plants are built80 more will be done

FLOOD RELIEF PAGE 2 LIQUOR SHUTDOWN PAGE 3 HEROES FOR HUMANITY PAGE 4

‘When we came here nine years ago, we decided this work should happen’

PALAR RIVER

WORK SO FARl 40 recharge wells, 2 recharge borewells, 2 boulder checks and 1 water pool covering 10km streams in 35 villages of Chikkaballapur districtl A grove of medicinal plantsl 3,000 trees planted in one month.l 10,000 trees will be planted in two months

l Flow through 3 states; Karnataka, Andhra & Tamil Nadu then dissolve in to Bay of Bengal

OCTOBER, 2015 BANGALORE

2 SEVA TIMES

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis appreciates Vena river rejuvenation

Art of Living goes to the rescue of flood victims in West Bengal

Tawaraja River project benefits1 lakh people in 50 villages

Rena work leverages state tradition of community participation

Sanjivani Warkade

Nagpur, Maharashtra: Maha-rastra CM Devendra Fadnavis expressed his appreciation for the rejuvenation of the Vena river car-ried out by the Art of Living since December 2014 in the villages of Hingana. The river Vena, famous from the period of Mahabaharata, has in the last few decades faced pollution from factories, with the city sewage too being dumped into it. Around 1,500 wells are depen-dent on this river, with the nearby villages Kenhee, Danholi, Junevadi, Madav, Ghorav and Mangali solely relying on its flow.

The Art of Living Nagpur de-cided to arrest this continuous pol-lution of Vena and thus was started an ambitious project “Mazi Vena Mazi Ganga.” To create awareness among the people, nine medi-cal camps, five eye camps and six YLTP (Youth Leadership Train-ing Programme) were organised besides an awareness rally which saw 1,500 people from the villages participating. These concerted ac-tivities generated massive support resulting in 34 km of the river dug out deep and wide. Interestingly, if the government had been involved in this exercise, the cost would have

been to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore but Art of Living achieved the same with a mere Rs 30 Lakh.

The visit of the Chief Min-ister to inspect the river was accompanied by State Minis-ter Chandra Bavankunde, State Chief Secretary, District Collec-tor Abhishak Krishna, CEO, Dis-trict Panchayat and other digni-

taries. The project coordinator Mukul Chemote along with his colleagues Arun Sandey, Alkaraj and Ranendra Kalhe were com-mended for their excellent work. The team had done a satellite survey of the region and with the aid of 7 Porclean and 1 JCB machine, had completed the first stage of work before rains.

Rajesh Kundu

West Bengal: Art of Living vol-unteers distributed food and con-ducted medical camps for people affected in the recent floods in parts of West Bengal. Volunteers distributed relief materials and conducted camps in East Medi-nipur, Hooghly, North 24 Para-ganas, Burdwan, Murshidabad districts of the state. The 13 food camps and 17 Medical camps held brought relief to 2,177 flood vic-tims.

Heavy rainfall in the first week of August increased the water level in the various waterbodies. This forced the release of water from Damodar Valley Corpora-tion (DVC) as well, flooding large parts of 12 districts in the state. The districts of Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, Bankura, South 24 Par-ganas and East Medinipur were worst affected with many houses destroyed.

In Hooghly district, AOL volunteers reached out to the worst affected villages under

Khanakul-2 Police Station. Art of Living Teacher and YLTP zonal coordinator Utpal Kumar Ghorui informed Seva Times that most of the villagers of Khanakul-2 were poor and badly affected but relief was reaching them through Art of Living volunteers who had been working ceaselessly.

“Our team held 3 medical camps and 8 food camps in the block and distributed foods kits containing bread toast, toasted rice (Chura), puffed rice (murhi), biscuits, drinking water to over 747 poor villagers”, said Utpal. Ch-ingra, Palaspai, Marokhana, Nat-ibpur-1, Jagatpur, and Dhannagari village of Khanakul-2 block were covered by the volunteers. Art of Living volunteers also reached the villages Ranghat, Helencha, Asha-ru of Bagda block in North 24 Par-ganas district and distributed food in the 5 food camps and 2 medical camps that they held, reaching to 233 people. The volunteers also conducted 8 medical camps at Kamalnagar, Chupi, Kasthasali, Idrakpur, Sichimpara, Majer para,

Nabadweep villages of Purbasth-ali-1 block in Burdhwan district. 575 people benefited from this. Seven more medical camps were held in Khargram and Bharatpur of Murshidabad, Mahishdal and Sutahata of East Midnapur district benefitting 622 people.

Gauri Shitole

7 check dams were made in 20 kms Length of river

Latur, Maharashtra: It was cer-tainly a spectacular sight; the River Tawaraja, flowing from Ousa and Latur district’s border, brimming with water after the heavy rains on September 14. Rejuvenation work on the river has been going on for the last two years by the Art of Living volun-teers of Manjara Sugarcane fac-tory and local Zilla Parishad. The copious rains brought welcome relief to drought affected areas like Peth, Chandeshwar, Kavha, Hipaarshoga, Gangaour, Shirur, Hashala, Aalmla, Bhudhoda.

Since 1995, rainfall has been extremely scanty in the region, causing drought in the area, with every passing year proving to be worse. That is when Makarand Jadhav, Mahadev Gomare and other volunteers from the Art of Living centre decided to commit to reviving the river. The work then started in 2014.

The origin of the river Ta-waraja is in Shiur, a badly affected region at the ground level. Realis-ing this, the volunteers decided to focus on widening the length and breadth of the river belt. First phase of the project focused on the region between Shivur to Aalmala. The consistent efforts of volunteers and

villagers soon bore fruit with the widening of the river belt complet-ed till village Peth.

Seeing the progress of the proj-ect, Manjara Sugarcane factory ex-tended help to build the first check dam in Peth village. The second phase of the project concentrated in the region between Peth to Bhusani, and Bhabhalgaon village. Many farmers in the region again showed interest and extended their assistance. Again, with the help of villagers, farmers and Art of Liv-ing volunteers, the river Tawaraja’s width and breadth was increased.

Tawaraja joins Manjara river along the route.

This project which would have cost the exchequer around Rs 2 bil-lion, will be benefitting 1 lakh of villagers in 50 villages. With water flowing in the river, ground water level too has increased, with adjoin-ing wells and bore-wells showing signs of longer water retention. Since the farmers also used the top soil of the river that was removed during the widening, the rich nutrient filled soil is bound to enrich their lands and manifest as better yield in the forthcoming harvest season.

Anil Tupe

Latur, Maharashtra: Roping in the public for roads, schools, wa-ter resources is an old tradition of Maharashtra. Jal Samradhi Abhi-yan in Latur has been active here since 2013. The government of Maharashtra has been having the Jal Youkth Shivaar program in Renapur Tehseal of Latur district through which many ponds and naalas are widened and deepened with the help of local villagers. The river Rena was a gutter when the Art of Living stepped in and ad-opted the local tradition of involv-ing the people. The result, 3 km of the Rena river has already been re-juvenated with the rest of the river continuing to be addressed.

Art of Living representative Mahadev, working in the area, stated that the rejuvenation of the 3 km stretch had brought back fertil-ity in over 40 acres of land around

the region. About 9,45,000 cubic metres of materials have so far been dug out. The rejuvenation work prompted the district collector to

visit the work site thrice. A dam has been proposed on the river with the process having been started by minister Pankaja Mundey.

Collaboration: Govt agencies and public have come to-gether aimed at rejuvenating Vena through treatment of around 25 km of streams

Springing to life again: Rena River before and after the work that Art of Living has started. The river revived in three months benefitting 1,500 acres

Distress mitigation: 1,535 people benefitted from medical camps. Distributed food materials to over 747 families. The West Bengal relief works covered Hooghly, North 24 Paraganas, Burdwan, Murshidabad and East Midnapur

Ready to receive water: Heavy rainfall in September filled the river with 250 crores liters of water

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‘JAL JAGRUTI ABHIYAN,’ AN ART OF LIVING INITIATIVE IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN DESILTING RIV-ERS AND INCREASING THEIR HOLDING CAPACITY, CLEANING THE BEDS OF DEBRIS AND WASTE,

AND STRENGTHENING RIVER BANKS TO HOLD UP DURING FLOODS

OCTOBER, 2015 BANGALORE

3SEVA TIMES

Sri Sri Shiv Industries in Lavang Village

Lambadis trained in soft skills Organic farm-ing training at North East

Making youth self-reliant in Chhattisgarh

Gajanan Navatre

Solapur, Maharashtra: Given the inspiration of self-employ-ment through YLTP, 10 individ-uals started a small scale factory, Sri Sri Shiv Industries on 13th May at Lavang village, Akluj. Here, potato and banana chips are made and sold to shopkeep-ers in the area. The president Kishan Tik says, “We were nine of us who got inspired by YLTP through Joyer, Bala Saheb and Sohas to become self-employed. We collected Rs 20,000, selected a place which we registered at the district industrial centre in Solapur.”

Currently they manufacture 500 packets with 100 kg of pota-toes every week. The overall ben-efit is Rs 5,000. They have now increased this target to Rs 10,000. The enthusiastic group involves Datta Chauchan, Shivaji Vag, Yu-vraj Wagh, Raven Bhale, Vikram Bhosle, Yashavant Londe, Rajku-mar Jadhav, and Somnath Raout.

Mohini

Bangalore, Karnataka: The Art of Living, in association with Thanda Development Society, concluded a three-day ‘Youth Leadership Train-ing Program’ (YLTP) for Lambadi youth (nomadic Banjara people) at the Art of Living International Cen-ter Bangalore on August 13, 2015, in the presence of founder of The Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The Governor of Karnataka, Va-jubhai Rudabhai Vala attended the valedictory program as chief guest.

Encouraging more women to participate in subsequent programs, Sri Sri Ravi Shanakar said, “Both men and women of the Lambadi community need to work together to bring the necessary change. The government can make schemes, but you have to avail them.” The program proved to be an opportu-nity for the Lambadi community to share their rich culture, history and their present problems to the Governor. Ashwath Naik, Founder President of Bharat Banjara Sevalal

Arunachal Pradesh: Rama Ti-wari, YLTP state coordinator of Arunachal Pradesh, organized three agricultural courses at Bordumsa village in Changlang district, Wakro village in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh and Hakhati in Tinsukia district of Assam July 9-11, 2015. Agri-cultural teacher Ashim Kundu conducted the training on natu-ral farming which had 50 partici-pants.

The interest in natural farm-ing methods is growing, espe-cially in areas where the present farming system has degraded the nutrients of the soil. Health and environment considerations are other big concerns that are prompting our farmers to shift to natural farming. On the mar-keting side, farmers engaged in natural farming will have no problem as most consumers now prefer organically produced crops. This provides better op-portunities for natural farming, offering a market that in fact commands a premium price. Lokesh Kumar

Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh: Of-fering training in a relevant skill that can be used to earn a liv-ing is the best way to make the youth or, for that matter, any individual self-reliant. The Sri Sri Skill Development Centre, started in October 2013, pur-ports to achieve just this, offering training courses in electricals, hospitality, plumbing, stitching, beauty therapy besides others to the youth in Ambikapur. Cur-rently around 145 youth receive training of which 25 are involved in tailoring, 23 in plumbing and 95 in hospitality. Students on

completing the course are also assured of work in the form of stitching school uniforms in that area. Acknowledging the good work of the Centre, Chief Min-ister Raman Singh gave a cheque

of Rs 3,11,553. On October 20, 2014, Ambikapur Collector Smt. Prasanna presented the cheque to the young self-employees in recognition of their willingness to forge ahead on their own.

Skills training gives new life to destitute women in Tripura

Gauri Shitole

West Tripura: In Dukli block of West Tripura, free training to poor women was imparted for six months for manufacturing jute bags and screen printing. Training started on February 2015 under the supervision of YLTP Coordi-nator Amit Rakshit. Women from villages like Pratap Nagar, Moloy Nagar, Kaviraj Tila situated out-side Agartala benefitted from this,

offering them a new avenue for employment. Yuvacharya Chameli Dutta Das, who was trained at Art of Living Centre at Bangalore, con-ducts this workshop. Over the last six months, five women who were given training for manufacturing jute bags and screen printing, set up a self-help group, thus help-ing other women besides helping themselves. The organisation will also make available machines to the self-help group.

Panacea: Making of ‘Jee-vamrutha,’ which helps improve the microbial activity in the soil

Tribal welfare: Sri Sri speaking at valedictory program of YLTP for Lambadi youth at Art of Living International Center; Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala also spoke

Self-reliant: Akluj po-lice inspector Vishwas Salunkhe inuagurates the enterprise

Currently around 145 youth get trained in various skills

A self-help group after training in Dukli block

A day of protest at Ahmednagar

Plant nutrition: Purushottam Wayal displays the organic enzyme to Maharashtra minister Babanrao Lonikar. Enzyme boosts the immunity of plants

Manch set the target of 3,00,000 hectares

1,200 Maharashtra farmers resolve to start organic farming

Anil Tupe

Partur, Maharashtra: A farmer’s income undoubtedly comes from his land and land here reads the quantum of agricultural produce. An extensively overworked land invariably is sapped of all its nu-trients and this fertility level is reflected on the final produce. To compensate for this fall in fertility or to even extract more than what the produce is likely to be, farmers indulge in excessive use of chemi-cal fertilisers as well as pesticides. While this skyrockets their cost of production, impacting especially the marginal farmers, the effect of these chemicals on the envi-ronment, be it water, soil, air, is widely known. The catastrophic effects of the banned pesticide en-

dosulfan used for the cashew crop in Kasargod district of Kerala only needs to be recalled to understand the magnitude of the impact of chemicals on environment and people.

To prevent a revisit of any such calamity as well as to safe-guard the monetary interests of

the farmers while ensuring a sig-nificant crop at the end of the sea-son, Art of Living constituted the Sri Sri Kisan Manch at the nation-al level. The Manch offers training to farmers on various methods of organic farming that can be easily practiced with assured results of a good crop.

According to Manch coor-dinator Purshotam Wayal, over the last four months, over 1200 farmers from 17 villages in Maha-rashtra resolved to adopt organic farming. This freed 20,000 hect-ares of land in Jalna district from chemicals. The Manch proposes to raise this to 3 lakh hectares. The Manch has also distributed two quintal seeds free of charge to the farmers to initiate them into organic farming and vegetable cultivation. The first Kisan Mela was organised by Ankush Dada in Ghansaagi Taluka of Jalna district. In Partur, more than 500 farm-ers have become members of the Manch.

The Manch has also set up the Maharashtra Agricultural Apex Committee to guide the farmers in the state. Seven districts in Vidarb-ha, three districts in Marathwada and four districts in West Maha-rashtra are covered.

Chemical-free farming in 20,000 hectares of 17 villages under the auspices of Sri Sri Kisan Manch

Three liquor shops closed down, licenses cancelledSanjivanai Warkade

Ahmednagar, Maharashtra: Three liquor shops were closed and licences cancelled after an en-quiry by officials was conducted as a result of the one-day protest held by the Art of Living De-addiction Committee in Ahmadnagar. Over the last 6 years in Ahmadnagar district, de-addiction campaign is run by De-addiction Fighter Com-mittee.

The Akole Gram Panchayat had given permission to three li-quor shops without the consent of Gramsabha. Protesting this, De-addiction Fighter Committee took a one-day fast in front of the Gram Panchayat. De-addtiction Fighter Committee advocate Ran-jana Gouande, Chairman, Com-mittee Secretary Bala Yalugka, Herm Kulkarni were also present during the protest. Art of Living teacher Gouram Bidve stated that,

before Gram Panchayath’s sanc-tion, Grama sabhas’s permission is mandatory. Akola Gram Panchay-ath did not follow this.

Given the attention the issue has received, it is bound to be raised during the coming panchayat elec-tions in November, prompting the contesting parties to campaign for a liquor-free region. The signature campaign, inaugurated by Anna Hazare, has touched quarter mil-lion people so far. The signature campaign committee has targeted an inclusion of 5 million people.

Sene; S T Someshekhar, MLA, Ban-galore; also attended the program.

Ravindra Naik, a participant from Harapanahalli, said, “For the first time I felt like someone is at-tending to our needs.” Enthused to work for change, he added that

the program inspired him to act, rather than feel helpless. More than 500 tribal youth participated in a three-day program where partici-pants were made aware of various government schemes specifically for their benefit.

Gauri Shitole

Priya Jagdathe, a medical doctor, was not only born in a prosper-ous family but also inherited val-ues from her parents. She has now become an example for the youth in and around her area, by taking initiatives that helped the people. The Art of Living provided her the platform to fulfill her desire. After participating in the Art of Living’s workshop, she could experience the strength of the techniques taught in the programme. Priya wanted to become a volunteer for the organ-isation.

For young and oldDuring 2011-2012, Dr Priya

took some of the volunteers along and they started reaching out to children in Krishna Nagar and In-dira Nagar, two slums of Satara. A Navchetna shivir was conducted for about 50 students, and free tuitions were offered over weekends.

A special workshop was con-ducted for the elderly and 40-50 people participated. The partici-pants were taught exercises and yoga. Regular practice will keep them happy and healthy.

Health camps were organised for more than 50 people, and each one of them underwent medical and dental checkup. Medicines were distributed among those who were found to have ailments.

A three-day workshop on health and hygiene was organised

for the slum dwellers. Overall, the health and fitness levels of the resi-dents increased.

To bring out creativity among children, a science workshop was conducted. Every child was given a project in environmental science, and the workshop turned out to be a great success. Children came up with a lot of creativity, said Dr Priya.

In order to save the environ-ment including the rivers of the area, around 1,200 Ganesha stat-ues were collected and distributed among the poor families, instead of immersing in rivers and causing pollution.

Touching lives In 2012, Dr Priya became an

Art of Living faculty and started conducting workshops in Satara and Pune. She helped many to overcome their physical, emotional, mental and personal problems.

Dr Priya talks about Datta-treya Tawade, a doctor by profes-sion, who attended a workshop one month ago. He had been suffering from severe backache but was un-able to get the root cause even after undergoing several medical tests. After he attended the workshop, he felt a sense of relief and shared the same with Priya. Now his pain has reduced to a great extent. Sev-eral others have experienced simi-lar pain relief during the workshops that Dr Priya had conducted, and this in turn gives her great satisfac-tion, she said.

Arun Kumar

Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh: For Art of Living Teacher Sonia Luthra, service is a way of life, an integral part that cannot be sepa-rated or be distinct. Living such for the last decade and a half, So-nia has been involved in multiple areas of work that required social attention, redress.

In September 2013 when Muzaffarnagar was burning in the fire of communal riots, she organ-ised shivirs in different villages along with the administration to calm people and bring peace. Her efforts came in during the riots and ensuing curfew when it is customary for everyone to run for cover along with their families.

She also organised food, clothing and shelter for those who had to leave their residences during the riots. Hari Narain Singh, then SSP, honoured her with Shanti Mis-sion Purskar in 2014 for bringing in peace in the area through her concerted efforts. Sonia is the re-cipient of over a dozen awards for her various efforts in bringing a positive change in society.

While equal rights are ac-corded by the constitution to women, the ground realities are far from this, with women, espe-cially the uneducated vulnerable sections being grossly discrimi-nated. Sonia along with Art of Living has worked tirelessly over many years to remove this dis-parity in education and security for women. Visiting villages and

towns, Sonia would conduct seminars, Shivirs and aware-ness campaigns. These efforts brought in significant changes in the sections addressed.

Noting her dedicated work, the Uttar Pradesh Government, through DM Nikhil Chandra Sharma and SSP KB Singh, awarded Sonia the Mahila Shakti Samman in July 2014.

Health and happiness in Satara slums

Calming nerves, dousing fires of violence

Seva Times

Project DirectorDr. Rajesh Trivedi

(National Director, YLTP)

Editorial teamRam Asheesh

Vishnu Manoharan

AdvisorsM. Kalyanaraman

Saurabh BawejaKarthik KrishnaMansi DharmrajVimala Bellicatte

If you are working on any project or YLTP activities, please contact us on 08028432043, 08067433603, 09620169697, E mail: sevatimes@yltp.orgYouth Leadership Training Program (YLTP) and Dharma Sthamba Yojana (DSY) are service initiatives of Vyakti Vikas Kendra, India [The Art of Living], a registered charitable Trust, head quartered in Bangalore with its registered office at No. 19, 39th A Cross, 11th Main, IV T Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore - 560041

- Ph: 080-67433600 | www.artofliving.org | www.artofliving.org/in-en/seva-times | Email: yltp@artofliving.org -

OCTOBER, 2015 BANGALORE

SEVA TIMES4

OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE EMPOWERED INDIVIDUALS SPEARHEADING HUNDREDS OF HIGH-IMPACT SERVICE PROJECTS ACROSS INDIA. WE FEATURE THREE HEROES HERE

For her, disability is no disqualification

Santhoshi Nimbadkar

In 1970, 24-year-old Ulka was diagnosed with blood can-cer. Doctors of Chhattisgarh ex-pressed their helplessness. She moved to AIIMS Delhi in 1984 where she received treatment that was successful. That was the beginning of her resolution to dedicate her life to serving oth-ers. However, she received her clear direction after doing the Art of Living Course in 2006. She went on to become a teacher in 2011.

She has been working tire-lessly, transforming lives in Chhattisgarh. One of her main concerns is welfare of disabled children. Ulka has roped in vari-ous organisations to aid in the skill development and training programs for them. Currently two such children are undergo-ing mobile repair training. San-toshi Pansari who received simi-lar training is the President of All India Disabled Association.

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HEROES FOR HUMANITYPRIYA JAGDATHE

COMMITMENT TO VALUES

ULKA DWIVEDIWELFARE OF DISABLED

SONIA LUTHRACOMMUNAL PEACE

Satara

Muzafarnagar

l Navchetna shivirs, free tutions on weekends and science workshops for students

l Helped in arranging wed-dings of 13 couples including 8 disabled couples in group marriage in Balod district

l Health camps and special workshops for elderly people

l Swasthya shivirs organ-ised in 10 below poverty line villages of Durg districts under the Gramin Vikas Karyakram

l Conducted awareness campaigns for women’s secu-rity and to remove disparity in education

l Orgnised eye camps, blood donation, tree plantations, food for poor, drinking water supply l Conducted stress-free workshops for prisoners to police officials, all walks of life

l Became Art of Living faculty in 2012

l Helped 60 disabled to get tricycles

l Shivirs organised to calm down the fire of communal riots at Muzaffar nagar on 2013

l Prevented dumping of 1200 Ganesh idols to river, causing pollution l Prison smart course in Durg

central jaill Workshops for 2,500 girls against social evils of infanticide and cruelty against women with support of UNICEF

l Honored with a dozen of awards include Shanti Mission Puraskar and Mahila Shakti Samman in 2014

Durg Raipur

Dhamtari