How can we bring real light to the lives of the underprivileged this Diwali?

Question

What will you do this Diwali to brighten the lives of the underprivileged? Something that will have a ripple effect in the community and amongst our neighbours?

Staff Notice: This is a Pataka Question!
Yahoo! Answers India presents Diwali Dhamaka - Answer four Pataka questions between now and Nov 3rd, and get a chance to win big! The four best answers will win a surprise Diwali hamper from Yahoo! Answers!

For more details, please read the blog - http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-te5Q5aMoRKfY7EFGVSqQq52GFXY7cinb?p=4754

Also, check out the Diwali Dhamaka page - http://in.promos.yahoo.com/answers/diwali/answers_diwali.html

Staff Notice:

This is a Pataka Question!
Yahoo! Answers India presents Diwali Dhamaka - Answer four Pataka questions between now and Nov 3rd, and get a chance to win big! The four best answers will win a surprise Diwali hamper from Yahoo! Answers!

For more details, please read the blog - http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-te5Q5aMoRKfY7EFGVSqQq52GFXY7cinb?p=4754

Also, check out the Diwali Dhamaka page - http://in.promos.yahoo.com/answers/diwali/answers_diwali.html

Answer 1

Diwali is the most sought-out festival. Every one has problems in life, yet forgetting them all, they celebrate Diwali. It is a festival with religious, historical as well as social significance. So, in my opinion, none should be deprived of it.
Now coming to underpriviledged persons. Do remember they also have self respect, so don't "donate" them anything like sweets, crackers etc..; give them the things as "gifts". You know the difference, I need not elaborate.
Not only goft them on Diwali but make a point to continue the habit though out the year. I think this would be a good resolution for the year to come!
Invite the ones close to you to celebrate the festival with you. It does not cost anything but leaves behind a lasting impression. Your servants, poor families living nearby, lower grade staff at your work place.. not difficult to find.. may find the trend obligatory.
One more guide line..if you can't make some one happy, at least don't make him unhappy!
HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL!

Answer 2

Well, brightening up the lives of the underprivileged CANNOT POSSIBLY BE JUST A " this Diwali" affair !
It has to be an ongoing thing !
May be, like the Yahoo! Answers, we could launch a campaign to promote its awareness, using the festival, where the attention of our dear countrymen (otherwise stuck in their own daily routine) is more available.
We could Start with fire crackers! Get hold of retailers, ask them to divert a small percentage of stock-in-trade through all those NGO's , homes for destitute children etc, and we the consumers can buy the products (fire crackers to begin with) from those 'centralised' make-shift-shops, paying much more than we 'like-to-pay', very gladly even above the M.R.P., knowing joyously that the entire profit margin would do directly into the pocket of these underprivileged, their welfare, well-being !
Very importantly, we send out a 'healthy' message that there is no charity or 'freebies' , but a subsidy (the profit margin), which can last only till there is a need. So there is an element of awareness, the opportunity, the persuasion to creep out of the 'underprivilegedness' and stand on their own, with the experience they would gain, handling the sales, the products, the first-hand-knowledge dealing with customers, and customer service. They would thus gently, seamlessly get woven into the mainstream of our 'privileged' society.

Answer 3

Will something I do only on this day brighten the life on an underpriveleged person? What can I do - give sweets, money, clothes or crackers ? Or have them all come over to a diwali party and let them join in the fun and festivities and partake of all the goodies?
Will this really serve the purpose or will the person go away feeling more aware of the wide disparity between "the haves" and " the have nots"
Let this festival of lights welcoming the Goddess Lakshmi not be a blatant and ostentatious show of wealth as it is fast becoming. Let us remember that what some of us spend on that one night would keep a family going for a year. It does not matter if you cannot touch the lives of many on that one day, but let us do something to touch the life of one person through the year, to make him or her a responsible and educated citizen . It maybe like a drop in the ocean - but is'nt the ocean made up of a lot of drops?

Answer 4

We can only bring real light to the lives of the underprivileged by including them in our plans for progress and prosperity. The fact that we can be comfortable shopping, spending, or earning huge salaries while so many families in our country eke out a living in our country on Rs. 20/- a day is the most disturbing. Making a resolve to end our own smug middle class-ness, thinking of ways to share our prosperity with those who lack the most basic essentials, this is the most important decision we must make this Diwali. This is much harder than it sounds - just consider: when anti-reservation students were shining shoes at the height of their campaign, what message were they giving out? That it is all right for others to shine shoes, but not us educated middle class kids? That giving the poor and underprivileged a bigger share of the education and employment pie means death for the privileged? Middle class attitudes can be terminally selfish and destructive for society as a whole.

This Diwali, we can only bring light to the lives of the underprivileged if we first recognize that they are our brothers and sisters - as deserving of a better life, as we are, every single moment. Share a meal with someone poor, share your clothes and crackers, even hug some one poor, not just your relatives!

Answer 5

We Indians are fond of festivals. It may be Ganesha, Holi, navratri or Diwali. No one is counting the amount we are spending on such festivals. Had we collected all these money, you could have easily built four to five hospitals in each village. So in more than fifty years of Independence we would have very few villages in India that are left without hospitals. The same can be said about water availability in each of the villages of India. Earlier the concept of celebrating festivals was very different. Now a days we are celebrating festivals for getting more & more publicity. We have created the difference between our gods by saying one is Lalbaug's Raja who fulfills the wishes of devotees. Does it mean that the god Ganesha that are worshiped by others are not the god but simple idols. We should change the concept of celebrating the festivals. Let us start with the Diwali festival which is the last festival of the year for Hindu. The last festival is Christmas. So try to understand the difficulties of others during all these festivals & start doing creative work for mankind or all the people of the society irrespective of cast & religious.

Answer 6

This year i will provide or say as Donate new Dress to Some orphan people for there diwali celebration where as i can see the brightness of the crackers in there face , so why do we like to burn it and polluted this admosphere more than this , i decide before few year not to burn crackers and i advice others the same .

Distribute Sweets to all , and donate food and Dress to other people who is not well rich and spends time with them .

I have an idea this year where as removing the crackers waste in the street along with my friend as a social service i don't know how many may support me for this Effort .

i am also expecting this from all , sure alteast few may do such activities will be a victory for my words .

happy Diwali

Answer 7

Go out to an orphanage or even on the streets if you are daring enough and make a Diwali meal for them. Also buy lots of patakas for them! Have a small puja in the beginning. Buy them a some nice clothes to wear. Of course you would have to do all this in a group or have a lot of money to donate.

Answer 8

we could launch a campaign to promote its awareness, using the festival, where the attention of our dear countrymen (otherwise stuck in their own daily routine) is more available.
We could Start with fire crackers! Get hold of retailers, ask them to divert a small percentage of stock-in-trade through all those NGO's , homes for destitute children etc, and we the consumers can buy the products (fire crackers to begin with) from those 'centralised' make-shift-shops, paying much more than we 'like-to-pay', very gladly even above the M.R.P., knowing joyously that the entire profit margin would do directly into the pocket of these underprivileged, their welfare, well-being !
Very importantly, we send out a 'healthy' message that there is no charity or 'freebies' , but a subsidy (the profit margin), which can last only till there is a need. So there is an element of awareness, the opportunity, the persuasion to creep out of the 'underprivilegedness' and stand on their own, with the experience they would gain, handling the sales, the products, the first-hand-knowledge dealing with customers, and customer service. They would thus gently, seamlessly get woven into the mainstream of our 'privileged' society.

Answer 9

It is generally seen that underprivileged have little or no knowledge about the famous festivals in India. They waste thier money on unwnted items like firecrackers on Diwali. So the best way to bring real light to the lives of unprivileged is to educate them about how to celebrate festivals. This can be done in best way by celebrating the festivals of Diwali with them which will definitely have a ripple effect in the community and amongst our neighbours.

Answer 10

Well to create a ripple effect in the community all the people should share a common attitude which I don't think may be possible because you see ripples are created in water sharing the same density throughout. So I can't imagine only one person can bring so that too in today's milieu.
I don't make fake and useless promises and initiatives, I would hand over some crackers to those underprivileged children and seeing them smile on lighting those I think will be much more enlightening than watching huge crackers bursting across the sky.