5.Chapter 5.S.St.Community Services

Chapter 5

Community Services Community service is the help or assistance that benefits the community.  It may be assisting the elderly, participating in the neighborhood watch programmes, beautification of the locality, etc.  Many people are engaged in community service because they care for others.  They get satisfaction in helping others.  Community service can ensure that important services like water and electric supply, street light, sanitation, maintenance of parks, roads, etc.  , are provided in the area.  This joint responsibility also helps to build a supportive community where people lend a helping hand to one another.  Children doing community service Many Non - Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are doing excellent work for the underprivileged children like rag pickers, beggars, etc.  These NGOs run galli schools (street schools) where the children are given the basic education.  They are also taught how to take care of personal hygiene and nutrition, along with some vocational skills.  NGO working with underprivileged children 26

Do you know?  Some people give money to beggars.  It is not good as it encourages the beggars to continue begging.  If you want to help a beggar, give him / her some work or encouragement to take up some means of earning.  The idea of ​​community service is not new.  Community service has always been an important part of our culture and history.  Even in olden times people helped the poor with money, clothes, food or looked after the sick.  The kings / emperors also took up many projects for the benefit of the common people.  Helping the travelers in earlier times most travelers were pilgrims.  They walked to far away places to please their deities and gurus.  Some messengers, soldiers and merchants also journeyed to far away places.  They had to face many hardships in the absence of proper roads, means of transport, food, shelter, water, etc.  Hence, Dharamshalas / Sarais (rest houses) were constructed for their comfort by kings or rich merchants.  These dharamshalas / sarais provided night shelter and safety from rough weather and wild animals.  Pilgrims Many sarais that were built along the Grand Trunk Road hundreds of years ago can be seen even today.  They have many small rooms and big courtyards that were used to shelter huge marching armies, their goods and animals.  Apart from the armies, the sarais were a blessing for the traders and merchants, who journeyed between the main business locations of Agra and Lahore.  27

Doraha Sarai Doraha Sarai, twenty kilometres from Ludhiana, has become popular after a major part of the movie, "Rang De Basanti was shot there. The sarai has two gateways with rooms and verandas on all sides. The Grand Truck Road where this Sarai is  Located was planned by Sher Shah Suri for the comfort of travelers. Later, Mughal Emperor Jehangir built a number of sarais along the route. Traveling has undergone a great change in recent times. Today, different means of transport are available for the convenience of the  People. Many guest houses, restaurants, night shelters, motels and hotels provide comfort and safety to the travelers. Dharamshalas continue to be popular at religious places. Water for Quenching the Thirst In olden times most settlements came up close to water bodies like rivers,  lakes or ponds. Cities and towns that were far away from water bodies were provided water from wells, step wells, kunds, sisandras, baolies, etc. Wells and Step well  s Wells were the main source of water for drinking and for other purposes.  In some areas Step wells were constructed to harvest the rainwater and provide drinking water to the palace as well as the rest of the population in the dry months.  Some step wells in Gujarat and Rajasthan Step well 28

are five to seven storeys deep.  Step wells are called the water temples of India Do you know?  Step wells are also known as Vav, Vavadi, Bawdi, Bawri, Baoli and Bavodi.  Kunds A kund is a well that looks like a saucer with a cup at the center.  It is around six meters deep and two meters broad.  It is an underwater storage system to harvest rainwater in dry areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan.  Suraj Kund Faridabad Sisandras Sisandras were tub - like structures that were built in Karnataka on important road crossings.  Smaller sisandras were used for animals.  The water of the sisandras washed away all differences of caste as people from upper as well as lower castes drank water from the same sisandra.  Sisandra In olden times the villages maintained a wonderful water harvesting system which supplied water for drinking, irrigation and other needs.  Though many of the traditional water sources exist even today, but most of them are in ruins due to neglect and poor maintenance.  Now, water is supplied through pipes in most parts of our country.  Some areas are still dependent on wells, springs, rivers or lakes.  Tube wells supply water for irrigation in areas that are far away from rivers, canals and streams.  29

Do you know?  The women folk in Rajasthan walk for many kilometres to fetch water in the deserts.  Rajasthani women bringing water trees on Roadsides Ashoka the Great, understood the importance of a good transport for the progress of trade.  Therefore, he constructed rest houses, dug wells and planted trees on the roadsides for the comfort of the travelers.  The shade of the trees provided relief to the merchants, pilgrims and the emperor's messengers, who had to travel to far away areas to spread Buddhism.  Unfortunately, due to mechanization and requirement of wide roads, most of the trees were later cut.  In recent times forests have been cleared for agriculture, building houses, hotels, hospitals, transport systems, resorts, etc.  Cutting of trees has disturbed the balance of nature by creating air pollution, lowering the level of underground water, reducing the number and species of animals, birds, insects and trees.  Do you know?  Tribals of Ranchi (Chhattisgarh) celebrate Sarhul festival by worshipping the elements of nature, especially the trees.  The Bishnois of Rajasthan never cut trees.  Tribals worshipping treo 30

There is no doubt that trees are important for all of us.  They help in enjoying the ecological balance.  They are a wonderful link between the generations.  One generation plants trees for the benefit of the next generation.  Do you know?  Since olden times Hindus have worshipped trees like peeple, banyan, tulsi (basil) and kadamba.  Planting of trees The Government of India has banned the cutting of trees.  Many projects have been started to plant more and more trees.  People have also become aware of the benefits of tree plantation programmes like Vanmahotsava create awareness about the need and importance of trees.  Under one such program, the Delhi Development Authority has planted saplings of trees in the Indraprastha Park in Delhi, close to Pragati Maidan.  This long stretch of land was earlier used for a garbage landfill.  But now this whole area has become a favorite picnic spot for lakhs of people who visit Delhi.  Indraprastha Park, New Delhi Do you know?  A wise man was once asked what he would do if he knew he had just a day more to live.  He immediately replied that he would plant a tree!  31