As the 13:24 Virar
slow local arrives at the crowded Goregaon railway station this lazy Saturday
afternoon myself along with the other commuters jump in without waiting for it
to halt completely and instantly get busy finding seats in the first class
compartment. As the train pulls out of the station I hear a deep voice announce
in chaste Marathi “Vidya daan sarva sreshtha daan aahe” (Donation towards education is the greatest donation.)" Standing
amid the crush of commuters in the humid First-class compartment, a middle-aged
man with a rucksack follows up his opening phrase with a one-minute speech on
how a small donation from commuters could help rescue the poor from the scourge
of illiteracy. He proceeds to deliver the same speech in fluent and precise English
and Hindi. To convince the commuters about his honesty and authenticity he
carries around and displays the various newspaper cuttings in which he has been
featured. He then extends his donation box and starts collecting money from the
passengers.
One does not expect a qualified
marine engineer and management professor to 'beg' in trains. But Sandeep Desai
does just that. In 1997, he set up a trust, Shloka Missionaries, to launch
educational reforms, funded by donations and part of his earnings from
lecturing stints at S P Jain College of Management in Mumbai and workshops on
advertising, management and business communication. After setting up a school
for slum children in Goregaon in Mumbai, Desai realised that his mission to set
up 100 schools for poor children could not be achieved without stepping on the accelerator.
So Desai started visiting the many corporate houses asking for donations.
“They refused, saying that they do not have the provision of funds for school
donations. That’s when we decided to appeal directly to the common people.
Between Rs15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh is required
to construct a school in a year,” Desai says.
Every
morning, he boards a Churchgate-bound train from Goregaon and does the grueling
commute back and forth between the two stations to collect donations for his
half-constructed school at Nanar village in Ratnagiri district. "I do this
for six hours daily," says the former engineer. On an
average, Desai collects around Rs 3,000 every day. "I usually begin after
noon and end by 6 pm. Commuters are usually reluctant to open their purse
during peak hours," he says. Initially he did feel awkward passing his hat
around. "The first day I could not even make a speech till the train
reached Andheri. But an inner voice told me that I was not begging for myself
but for a greater cause that will change the lives of thousands of poor kids
across Maharashtra," he says. Desai accepts donations from 50 paise to Rs
1,000 with equal humility. I notice that he acknowledges each and every
donation with a humble bow and thanks the person for his generosity
irrespective of the amount. "I go back and do my accounts till the last
denomination and deposit the money in the bank account maintained by the
trust," he says. His contributors range from youngsters to senior
citizens. "Once, two cops who got into the train to catch hold of some
card-playing commuters heard my speech and donated some money. This school,
when it comes up, will be a living testimony to the generosity of Mumbai commuters," he concludes.
Desai
had to bypass ridicule and cynicism before he could finally get urban, hardened
citizens to open the doors to their hearts. Depending on the passenger profile,
he strikes a conversation in fluent English or Hindi. "When I started, I
used to get mostly coins," he says. But he pressed on. His perseverance finally
worked—in just one year, he has collected about 
22lakhs!!! (Averaging around5,000 a day)
His
selfless endure has caught the attention of the press who has turned him into a
hero and an instantly recognisable figure. In the last months Professor Sandeep
Desai has been on the front page of a national daily, has been featured in a
popular magazine and has received a personal endorsement from actor Salman Khan(via
his twitter page). He appreciates the overwhelming appreciation and goodwill
that he has encountered from the media, But Professor Desai had a sincere
request "Please understand that the mission is more important. Please
focus on our mission in your story, not me".
Even
after receiving a great deal of media attention, professor Sandeep Desai has
not abandoned his mission of commuting on local trains to collect donations
from co-passengers for the education of poor and needy children. Desai has
received various awards and his act has been widely appreciated in the media.
But this hasn’t slowed him down. Instead, he is working even harder on his
mission. Whenever he is in Mumbai, he travels in local trains to collect
donations.
On
noticing me clicking him with my DSLR he approached me and very softly and
humbly tells me “sir can you spare some amount as a royalty for my cause”. As I
empty out my wallet to him he asks me for which newspaper I work for. When I
tell him that I am a Design engineer on my way home from work and not a
journalist he very wisely points out to my DSLR and asks me the reason for
carrying such a high end camera along with me . When I tell him that it’s a
hobby he pats me on my shoulder ,thanks me again for the donation .As I stand
up from my seat to tell him that It’s a great honor to meet him he is already
moving on. He just waives his hand in a bye and moves along and alights on the
next station.
So the
next time while travelling if you happen to meet this great Son of India please
help him as per your capacity and pass on this message of how a Selfless soul
is trying to educate the less fortunate future of our nation .
You can message him
on his Facebook profile here:
