Pay It Forward

Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment star in this Warner Bros flick. Now, I don’t intend on giving you a blow-by-blow description. Suffice to say it was touching and one of the better flicks I have watched in recent times.

As always, Osment is the show stealer. A bit about the movie before I tell you what struck me as the title credit rolled down and I turned off the telly with tears in my eyes. Nyah nyah nyah, it is Ok to cry.

Now what starts as a regular social studies assignment given by Spacey turns out to have far reaching implications. Osment, with the heart-wrenching puppy dog eyes, is an intuitive student with a troubled home. He takes on Spacey’s challenge and comes with the Pay It Forward idea.  (Hunt sparkles in her role as mom battling with alcohol problems and Bon Jovi – yes, he with the cute butt – makes a cameo appearance as her even drunker estranged husband.) And here’s where I conclude my brief synopsis.

Pay It Forward is what got me thinking. Essentially, you help three people with something really challenging for you as a person (it doesn’t have to be a big or costly affair just something you would find difficult in doing – giving away the last chocolate/biscuit when your tummy pangs are at their best). Those three people, EACH, help three more, who EACH help three more. And you do the Math. Before you know it there is this whole chain of ‘Do-good (ers)’, and a CHANGE. Be Warned: no person in the chain should reveal who he helped or whom he was helped by!!!

Even Linkedin had an interesting discussion on one of the Groups where most senior corporate executives and entrepreneurs preached Pay It Forward.

I have seen corporates PAY IT FORWARD (called CSR in corporate speak or corporate social responsibility for which cos these days get brownie points). Don’t scoff, you unbeliever. They have, and some of them have followed this code of Omerta.

During my days of reporting, I was fortunate to chat with a few of these Do-gooders (the silent ones). Anant Koppar, CEO of the erstwhile Kshema Technologies, now a part of MphasiS stands out for the zeal he brought. He personally adopted a few villages around the Kshema campus = donating computers, sponsoring studies, facilitating clean sanitation.

Wipro’s Teach Foundation is another case in point. Now this initiative has gained a lot of mileage, but when it was conceptualized and implemented it was low key.

On the me front, there were a few ex-bosses who invested their time on grooming me into a better professional (time they could have spent chasing stories & people and greater publicity).

If you come across individuals or corporates Pay(ing) It Forward, do share them.

Crying Shame

So far I have desisted joining the Crying Shame movement playing along the country as one fiasco straddles another in the ongoing preparation for the Common Wealth Games. Today’s reportage on the The Wall Street Journal is no different.

Some gems spewn by our admirable people-in-command include a much-talked about television interview by Lalit Bhanot, if you do not know who he is you will soon enough. Sharing a few more with you…

On collapse of a footbridge under construction – Jaipal Reddy, India’s minister for urban development, says the event would go smoothly despite the problems. “I am as confident, as cool as ever, about organizing Commonwealth Games in a very successful, comfortable way. I don’t think these matters will affect the image of the government or the country in the final analysis.”

A.K. Sinha, the chief engineer of the Public Works Department of the Delhi government—the agency responsible for constructing the bridge—calls Tuesday’s incident a “setback,” but expresses confidence that the project would be completed before the Games begin. “The mishap happened due to support failure, leading to the collapse of the footbridge onto the car park tarmac underneath. The engineers are investigating the cause of the accident.”

Michael Fennell, the Games Federation president says: “The problems are arising because deadlines for the completion of the Village have been consistently pushed out. Now, the high security around the site, while vital, is slowing progress and complicating solutions.”

On international criticism on poor show so far: Mr. Reddy, the minister for urban development says there has been no criticism about the quality of the Games Village but only complaints about services and maintenance. The government would work with the Organizing Committee to ensure the success of the Games, he says.

Now what more do I say, Jai Ho?!!