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| Woolly caps galore! |
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Happiness for
Sasmeeta means soft rainbow coloured sweaters for little kids
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These residents
of an old-age home pose happily in their warm woolly caps
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“Yes, of course we
could all use some help. There isn't a person alive without a need. So don't
ask the silly question, just figure out how you're going to help and do it!” - Richelle E. Goodrich.
“It's nobler to give than to take. The thrill
of taking lasts a day. The thrill of giving lasts a lifetime,” - Joan Marques.
We could fill up an encyclopaedia
with more of these beautiful quotes about the joys of giving, but while most of
us end up only reading them…or at the most, posting them on our Facebook pages,
Sasmeeta Srivastava takes this advice to heart, and actually acts upon them!
She has indeed found her own unique way to help, and her days are an endless
chain of happiness, because each day is filled with the act of giving.
What does Sasmeeta do? Every day
she knits…and knits…and knits. She knits woollen caps and scarves for the old
and sick, and little sweaters for babies and children. And she gives every one
of them away – sometimes at hospitals, or orphanages, or old-age homes.
Sometimes maybe to the child of a domestic help, or even a needy person on the
street!
Starting last year in September
(2014), Sasmeeta has lost count of the many caps and sweaters she has crafted
in the past nine months. “At a random guess it could be a 100 sweaters and more
than 200 caps,” she beams, her needles clicking furiously as she strives to
complete her latest project – 40 caps for a Home.
Working with, and for the
under-privileged has always been a way of life for this intrepid lady. Hailing
from the North, Sasmeeta ran an NGO for tribals (in Madhya Pradesh) along with
her husband. But when he passed away, she gave that up, and was appointed
Chairman of the Social Welfare Board. After a three-year stint, she spent
another five years on an assignment for the Women’s Development and Literacy
Mission, followed again by six years as an Advisor at the Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation.
10 years ago, her mother, who lived in Pune, fell seriously
ill and broke her leg. By now, Sasmeeta’s children were grown-up and working,
so without a moment’s hesitation, she gave up her work and moved to Pune, to
nurse her. And even when her mother passed away, she remained in Peshwa City
But what could she do the entire day? Having worked
throughout her life, she found it difficult to sit around idle. TV or kitty
parties were not her thing. She had always loved knitting. The soft texture and
the rainbow colours of the yarn send her into raptures. In Delhi
One rainy day, as she was leaving some instructions with the Society
watchman, she discovered he was suffering from a bad cold. “After midnight , the temperatures drop so rapidly,
Madam,” he said in between bouts of coughing.
“Why don’t you wear a cap?” she insisted, and soon realized
that even that meagre investment on a woollen cap was beyond the poor fellow’s
reach. …And then an idea struck her. She rushed up to her apartment, dug out
her knitting needles and set to work on her little remnants of wool. By evening
it was ready – a colourful cap, warm and snug.
At first, the watchman couldn’t believe that the cap was a
gift. Free! Why would anyone take this trouble, just for him? His next reaction
was unmitigated joy, followed by pride as he now strutted around feeling warm,
as well as smart. In fact, the neighbouring watchman noticed this, and asked
him, “Will your Madam knit one for me too?”
The next day ‘Madam’ fulfilled his wishes …and from that day
there was no stopping for Sasmeeta. She knitted a few more for others who worked
in her building, and the neighbouring ones. She knitted for their little babies
and children. And when she ran out of
people to gift her creations to, she visited orphanages, old age homes and
hospitals.
“I realized that babies, children, old people and the sick
are the ones who really need caps,” she states in her matter-of-fact voice.
When she ran out of wool, she scoured the markets of Pune,
visiting Yerawada and Tulshibaugh. On her last visit to Delhi
While Sasmeeta insists on giving credit to her friend Mrs
Pathak who inspired her, she has also been instrumental in inspiring others.
She has successfully gathered together kindred spirits - avid knitters from her
Senior Citizen’s Group - to ‘form a ‘knit for a cause’ group.
“We
knit and gift to old age homes for the poor, orphanages, poor cancer patients
in hospitals, our watchmen and children of our domestic help. It’s a win-win situation. The knitters
keep fit in body, mind and soul and the needy benefit from our efforts,” she
says, a happy smile lighting up her face.
Well…what
are you waiting for? Would you like to join this feisty group? Or maybe find your
own unique way of helping the less fortunate?!
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