Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they are worthless but because they are priceless. Volunteerism is a crucial part of the ongoing Krishna Pushkarams. These unpaid helpers, young and middle-aged, are all over the place, at the Pushkar Ghats, the Pushkar Nagars, bus stations, railway stations and on the main roads guiding throngs of visitors to their respective destinations.
At the ghats, they move around spreading cheer and smiles besides water sachets and food packets.
Among these Good Samaritans is a group that has travelled all the way from Telangana to help Andhra pilgrims. Sporting white T-shirts that have the name of their organisation etched on it, the young brigade represents Memu Saitham Foundation based out of Huzurnagar in Nalgonda district of Telangana State.
A group of 126 youngsters drawn from Hyderabad city, Vallabhi in Khammam, Medaram, Kodada and Huzurnagar, approached the Krishna district Joint Collector expressing their desire to volunteer during the 12-day Pushkarams.
They have fanned out
The group members have fanned out in Durga, Padmavathi, Punnami and Krishnaveni Ghats in the city. True to the name of their organisation Memu Saitham (loosely translated, it means ‘We Also’), the youngsters are here to contribute their mite in the success of the river carnival. “We came here with our minds tuned to fight all odds to help the pilgrims even in the most difficult conditions. But the whole affair is a very smooth one. There are no bottlenecks and everything seems seamlessly planned,” said K. Rajesh, volunteer from Memu Saitham Foundation. This Manager of a gas company in Kodada in Nalgonda district is happy to be a small part of the milling crowd at the ghats. His friend, Sk. Nagur, a lab technician from Khammam, meanwhile breaks away from the conversation to offer help to a confused elderly couple. To spend time for a random set of people out of labour of love than any incentive for returns can be an amazing experience.
P.V.S. Prasanna, a B. Tech second year student from V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College, led a couple of elderly women to the changing rooms located at the upper end of the steps at the ghat. Asked why she chose to volunteer, the girl said in a matter-of-fact way:
“More than anything else, I feel blessed and I am growing richer in experience.”
