Prakash Amte--Gandhi's Soul Reborn?

Just the other day, I was with friends at my house ,in a sort of show ,put together by my friend Makarand Vaidya.The passion he had while presenting it was natural and obvious.'While the presentation was on,I had this feeling that...The soul that Prakash Amte has within should belong to a person like M K Gandhi 'The Mahatma''.Why was this feeling so strong?....
http://lokbiradariprakalp.org/index.html
Reason One, I felt that these two people were so similar in what they did : Their ''straight forwardness '','simplicity, 'fearlessness', ''commitment'', ''sense of duty towards the needy and helpless humans'', their 'lifestyle', so much so that even their "appearance" was so similar, that the more I thought about it...I became convinced.
I had the humble Honour of meeting Dr Prakash Amte and his wife and staying with them. Infact Mrs Mandakini Amte and her daughter in law made sure that we celebrated 'Diwali' at Hemalkasa in their midst. Both of them made the ritualistic foods ;which are made in most homes during those days themselves and saw to that ,our short stay was a memorable one.Living cut off from the modern developed infrastructure and civilisaton, in adverse conditions,'come rains, heat or heavy weather and performing the difficult and most necessary service ,for the most deserving and unattended adivasi bretheren(Madia Gonds) in the most simplistic manner and such natural ease....made us an ''ashamed lot''.
http://mss.niya.org/people/baba_amte.php
Proving rightly to be the legal decendants of Baba Amte alongwith Sadhana Amte , Dr Prakash Amte and Dr. Madakini Amte...have been recognised by the World at large with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2008. Having seen them work and stayed with them I was so happy for them and the Lok Biradari people that my happiness knew no bounds....it was sheer celebration of the ''victory of Faith and Hard dedicated work'' that was Blessed . It was as if I was one of the blessed ones too!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Amte
Dr Vikas Amte and Dr Bharati Amte,though not recognised in this award, very well are a part of this with equal honours.Maybe their work will be appreciated with another such Blessing in a different form. I am very well aware of thier work at ,''Ánandvan '' ,'Somnath'and ''Mulgavhan(Zari)'' that are the continuation of their persistant,committed zeal to emancipate from their misery,those, who are not so lucky as us.
http://baba.niya.org/index.php?page=Dr_Vikas_Amte
The next(3rd ) generation also needs a big pat on their backs and support from us people,They are the fruits of the same Genre,Tree,Genus,(पिंड)...call it what you may. In this modern era, not getting distracted by the society that beckons the youth, with such varied "Lures" they are working with the same missionary zeal to fulfill the dreams seen by Baba Amte.
http://mss.niya.org/people/amte.php

Many dedicated volunteers like Vilas & Renuka Manohar, Gopal & Prabha Phadnis, Dada & Baban Panchal, Jagan Machkale, Manohar & Sandhya Yempalwar etc. since then, have joined Lok Biradari Prakalp . Dr. Digant and Aniket sons of Prakash and Mandakini have also joined Lok Biradari Prakalp.

As my love towards this sacred work multiplies.......I only can re -dedicate myself to work towards lending my support to this ""Honourable Amte Family"' who bring great Laurels to Humanity at large and India in particular.

http://lokbiradariprakalp.org/index.html

A Diwali of Enlightenment

Very few vacations are truly memorable in the recent times. This Diwali was !! i have to thank friends who were with me in the Trip and also initiators of it in a way. My friend Mangal Akole wanted his son Aditya to have a good holiday and an useful one at that. At first he thought of going south towards Goa and Karnataka, both of course beautiful places with a rich bounty of nature. It sounded more of a pilgrimage to me when he suggested I join him with his son. I pondered over his suggested route and places .
I came up with a suggestion which then developed into a wonderful trip and a successful one at that.The highlight was the joining in of Makarand Vaidya, an instrumentation engineer but an avid nature and bird lover. As I recall, we visited the 'Lonar' crater which was a historic and amazing site. it was created by the impact of an asteroid or foreign body from the outer space and has quite an importance in astronomical studies. This was the beginning of our journey from Pune to Akola. I wonder why the government does not care for such valuable sites and use them as true tourist places. The facilities around this Crater were quite a dismay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonar_crater
Our interests were truly kindled by seeing what lay in front of us. So few know the importance and the value of the place and its history which goes back thousands of years.....
The next place we camped at was a hill station in the Satpudas, namely "Chikhaldara". we were pleasantly surprised that in 2006 it had actually snowed there.This place has the historical Gawilgad Fort and a wild sanctuary around it wherein there are Tigers,Bears,Bison(Indian version -Gaur), Deer,Sambhars,etc......It is a part of the Melghat region and a place worth visiting in winter.The jungles are very attractive with the Flora and Fauna.It was luckily the season for "Oranges" which were available in abundance.
http://amravati.nic.in/htmldocs/chikhaldara_home_page.htm
A visit to Amravati city, it's Goddess "Ambabai" led us to Hinganghat for a visit to the Famous and century old 'Mohta Mills'. We ended that day at A lovely and most unlikely wonder of Hemalkasa.Here we had an experience of our lifetime.'Missionary Dedication' in person...in the form of Dr Prakash Amte and family.
http://amravati.nic.in/
It is 'heaven sent' for the tribals. Praksah Amte and his wife also a doctor have given their entire life for the 'seva' (physical help and aid) of the tribals and also have an orphanage for their animals and pets who are injured.A school is run for the children of the tribals along with a hospital and a mobile medical aid unit.The entire campus reveals to you the history of hard work and every stone ,tree,whispers of nature tell you about 'The Amte Family and their team".Years in time and effort have gone in making of what we saw,it started without a proper road and no electricity and literally no building structures!! Amazing but true and so heart rendering......
http://mss.niya.org/projects/anandwan.php

Then there was the meeting with Baba Amte himself and Dr. Vikas Amte."Anandwan" is a Heaven/paradise by Leprosy patients for their own fellow beings. Who says 'Nothing is Possible'
http://chanda.nic.in/htmldocs/anandwan.htm
I would say Anything is Possible.What Baba Amte has done should be the answer to any depressed person to any of his questions and a Lesson to every 'Human' who has all his physical God given healthy limbs but says he is out of work and would like to commit suicide.Transformation of a barren dry area into an evergreen habitat with cleanliness as it's prime motto and hard work as it's anthem.That is "Anandwan".Hope and ambition is in the air they breathe in place of oxygen, and their eyes glitter like shinning gems. People , not cared for by the community,society,personal families have their own respectful dream world given to them by a "Godsend" Baba Amte. He has taught them to be self sufficient and righteous.
http://anandwangreetings.com/default.aspx
It as an exhilarating experience and it was exposed to ourselves that we are "Nothing" as compared to the work we can do and what Baba Amte has done.
Let me very importantly say that there was no 'Temple",Idol worship,Showmanship,artificial make belief or gongs and bells sounded of any kind in both Hemalkasa and Anandwan.Man lived with God all the while along with God's creations. Nature and All !!!No time was wasted in unnecessary rituals ,It was truth and facts all the while. The number of projects that went on were all pertaining to creation of jobs and output ,both needed for the community.It was deep and serious learning, a class and practical education....A Diwali of enlightenment.