Live_For_The_Nation

 An elderly man seeking educational sponsorship for his three granddaughters; a mother requesting help to secure her daughter’s admission in a nearby school; an older woman searching for additional work as a cook; and a middle-aged woman struggling to find a stable job to sustain her family. While their situations may appear different, they share a painful common reality—the sole earning member of each of their families passed away due to complications arising from excessive alcohol consumption. During one of my community visits to an urban slum in Pune, I witnessed another alarming incident. A man had misbehaved with his wife the previous evening while intoxicated. When I visited their home the following morning, he was filled with remorse. He broke down and said, “Sir, pata nahin kya ho jaata hai peeke” (I don’t know what happens to me when I am drunk). This moment reflected a deeper truth—alcohol not only harms individuals but also destabilizes entire families. During th...

It was a pleasant evening in Pune, and I was heading to a friend’s place on my bike. Just a few meters from my home, someone asked me to stop. He was an elderly man, probably in his early seventies, with a calm, innocent face and a warm smile. He was holding a small packet in his hand. I stopped and asked him what he needed. He politely asked if I could give him a lift to the nearest ATM, which was about 500 meters away. I agreed instantly, not knowing that this short ride would leave a lifelong impact on me. As we started riding, I noticed he was wearing a security agency uniform. Curious, I asked him about it. He told me he worked as a security guard at the ATM. I was surprised—he didn’t really fit the picture of a typical security guard. He looked frail and old, and it seemed difficult for him to even walk a few hundred meters. We reached the ATM quickly, but our conversation continued for a while. Just to be sure, I gently asked him again if he really worked there, and he con...