>I have a dream by Rashmi Bansal

>

Pages: 337
Price: INR 150 and INR 101 if you purchase it from Flipkart
Genre: Inspiration

20 social entrepreneurs. One common dream – to change the world in their capacity and with their capability and beyond.
The author’s note defines the book, best, as “These are people like you and me, not Mother Teresa. They are using the principles of business, to create a better world”
A world where profit does not equal greed. Where people come together for a greater common cause. A world where “I” does not mean crushing “them.”
The book is divided into:
Rainmakers, Change makers, and the Spiritual Capitalists.
Rainmakers:
It’s a collection of social enterprises where the motive is to do good and not charity. Initiative like Sulabh International by Bindeshwa Pathak (born in 1943), was conceptualized to realize Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a “Clean India” and his struggle to remove the caste system in 1960s.
The story will clean your mind about various prejudices that holds the mind.
Then stories like DesiCrew, India’s first BPO project by 23-year-old Saloni will help you envision what one can do best with technology.
Then, Anand Kumar of Super 30 fame will help you embrace the limitations set for you and what can you do best for the society in those parameters. He has a record of almost cent percent admission into IIT, every year.
What do you do when a courier man comes to your doorstep. You sign and take your parcel. And that’s what instigated the idea for Dhruv Lakra, a young man to start “Mirakle Couriers” An incident in a bus journey made Dhruv realize that hearing impaired can be given job opportunities too. And the best fit was a courier company where the customer need not communicate verbally. A signature and you take the courier.
Changemakers:
And.. there are some who believe in the one-man army.
Here is a anecdote i would like to paste
The corpse carrier remarked “In the winter, business is good. Sometimes, there is so much work, I cannot handle it”
And his five year old added “When I feel cold, I cuddle a dead body and go to sleep”
And that’s when Anshu Gupta realized
“I bunked my classes for the first 15 days and that was my first exposure to ‘village India’ I roamed here and there and I saw how people are not worried about houses or food. They are only worried about warm clothes and blankets.’
(Disclaimer: is it so? I wonder)
And.. he started Goonj, an organization where clothes are distributed among the needy and they are instrumental in deputing clothes during disaster relief.
I was thrilled to read about Parivartan, a movement or an NGO started by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. If you are following the LokPal Bill closely, you will know who this man is. Read the book to know more about him.
And then the last segment of the book is about service for inner purity. If you believe in it, then this segment is just for you.
With stories like the inception of Akshaya Patraya, where they serve meals to a house for many, Parivar Ashram, started by a young IIM graduate, this segment, though the shortest houses food for thought.
I have mentioned only few organizations here, but all of them have something to offer. I have read Connect the Dots and Stay Hungry stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal. This book follows the same pattern. Her thoughts followed by the story of the individual and then “Advice for the Young Entrepreneurs.” the book ends with a list of the e-mail address of the respective individuals featured. However, they missed contacts of two individuals: Dhruv Lakra and Madhav Chavan.
Here is an advice I related most with:
And if you want to make a difference, it does not have to be a full time for everybody. Do it along side a job, You have time for movies, parties, friends, family, chatting on the net, why not an hour to volunteer?
There are people who spend lives on social issues, you can flow with them.
I feel: Or you can make your own tide!
P.S.: I love volunteering. And have been doing some activities related to social work and this book helped me understand the nitty gritties and the challenged faced while starting one’s own organization.
Recommend this book for everyone who is inclined towards social entrepreneurship.

I would like to end the book with an excerpt of the speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. (that’s the first page of the book):
“I have a dream.. That one day all of God’s children will be able to join hands and sing.. Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Blog at Restless Fingers

admin (476 Posts)