Prime minister Narendra Modi may have spurred the nation to embark on the journey for a clean India, but for Seawoods resident Sundeep Sharma, the social awakening had come nearly two decades ago.
Prime minister Narendra Modi may have spurred the nation to embark on the journey for a clean India, but for Seawoods resident Sundeep Sharma, the social awakening had come nearly two decades ago.
His maxim of life is this quote by Mahatma Gandhi: "We must be the change, we wish to see." Sharma has been associated with various campaigns on health and hygiene across the country.
"From what I understand is that politeness is not working in this country. Sweet talks do not fall in the right ears and the need of the hour is to be blunt," said Sharma. His campaigns and posters carry direct messages, sometimes with a satirical tinge. Rebellious in his in approach, Sharma believes people should mend their ways and there shall be exponential impact in the current scenario.
Spitting in public is a common sight, but that is what he calls social crime. "This act is enough for both you and me to fall ill, such people should be reprimanded. We, in today's time are creating only well-read and not well-educated."
The social entrepreneur said, "My thought process is way too clear. Punish the guilty and the goodness in people should be rewarded. But on the contrary what goes as a norm is that the guilty goes scot-free very often."
From parking to driving to everything else, sanity seems to be missing, says Sharma. In one of his recent activities Sharma, carried out a clean-up drive at Nerul station and once the work was completed, there were boards were put up to shame the offenders. The drive was a big hit.
The 43-year-old is associated several other social projects. With multi-faceted campaigns, he carried a project called COPS (coping of pressure and stress) for law enforcement officers. "Their fitness is the key to the people's safety and so it is extremely essential for the cops to be healthy."
Among his other projects are Ganeshotsav Nirmalya Prakalp, which links to another Ganeshotsav vermiculture project. Right after the 10-day festival is concluded, Sharma's work begins. The offerings to the Elephant God are picked as sea sends them back to the shore. The biodegradable waste is then sent to vermiculture centres to make manure.
There have been projects for the differently abled like marriage meets where prospective brides and grooms meet. Apart from that, Sharma is associated with Swayan Suraksha aimed at involving people in policing activities.
Sharma believes social awareness is a must and giving out information to the people is his duty. And by now he knows how it can be done. "If it is a problem it has to be tackled at the grass-roots level, so micro to macro is the format to look for solutions."
And all the projects that Sharma is working on are all ongoing processes. "There is no beating around the bush. One ought to be blunt to reach out to the right people. I say the right things and not something that politically right."
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