Life Lessons: How to be happy and satisfied
We all, at some point in our life, feel low and defeated- it’s an inevitable part of today’s “digital era” where you are connected with everyone in every corner of the world. But in this technological hush-hush we forget our basic human nature- our desire to help the needy, our desire to make the society a better place to live in, our desire to serve for a greater cause. These inherent desires are the driving force of all mankind. This article is a recent experience of my life that helped me discover the perennial way to be happy and satisfied- by serving those in need.
Childhood Encounter
Since childhood, my as well as my big brother’s birthday celebrations included providing food, fruits and clothes to an orphanage and an old age home in our city Kota. Even as child, the act used to be the favourite part of my birthday- not only because it was fun activity to do, but also because of the sense of satisfaction it left within my heart. The children’s smile and the adults’ love and blessings had a long lasting impression in my mind.
The seeds of social service were sown in my heart by my mother at an early stage of life and that is the reason I have always yearned to be a part of such activities whenever it’s possible, wherever it’s possible.
The Robin Hood Army
“Do your little bit of good where you are; It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
-Archbishop Desmond Tutu
It has been quite some time since I last did this activity- from JEE coaching to college trips to internship preparations- all these have served as an excuse all these years. But recently, I was fortunate enough to be a part of a volunteer based organisation that works to get surplus food from restaurants and other sources to the less fortunate sections of society in different cities across India, a society called the “Robin Hood Army”. The Robin Hood Army Roorkee, led by the students of IIT Roorkee, works to get the surplus food from mess of different hostels of the campus and distribute it to the nearby underprivileged villages. After the mess is closed, students volunteer collect all the surplus food from the mess, make a journey to a nearby village and distribute it to the needy. It was my hostel’s turn to participate in this noble cause, and I was more than happy to volunteer for it.
Army in Action
“We can’t help everyone, but, everyone can help someone.”
-Dr. Loretta Scott

After our lectures in the first half of the day, I and 3 of my friends collected the surplus food from the hostel’s mess. One of my friend suggested to donate some clothes as well. Seeing his spirit to contribute, we collected as many clothes (in good condition) as possible, going door to door in our hostel. Then we took the food and the clothes in an e-rickshaw and headed towards the village Jallalpur, 3–4 km from our campus. As the rickshaw approached the village, we encountered some of the children of that village en route, and we asked them to bring in their utensils for the food. They at once ran, shouting and jumping with joy on the way to their homes to bring the utensils. Then the food distribution began- rice, daal and mixed vegetable. I could see the happiness in their eyes when the food was being served. The food was limited and we had about 100 empty stomachs to feed; we were worried how we’ll be able to manage if there will be shortage. Fortunately, the quantity of food was sufficient, everyone were able to eat. It was surprising to see that none of them demanded any more of what we were offering- not because they were scared of asking, but because they were contend and satisfied with what was offered and were also aware of others’ needs.

We then distributed the clothes we collected to the adults (unfortunately, we only had the adult sized clothes). Even the adults found their long lost childhood and began celebrating. They gave the best gift in return- their blessings. The feeling at that moment cannot be described in words- a sense of satisfaction ran through our hearts which was evident from our smiles. This was an ecstatic moment for the people of the village and a moment of pride for us.
This small observation taught me an important lesson of life. For us, the “well-offs”, who already have sufficient amenities, food, clothing and money- we never have enough of it, we are never satisfied with what we have, we never enjoy what we have- we desire for the things we don’t possess and worry for what we’ll get in future.
It is important to be ambitious but it’s equally important to be happy for what you have now.
Serve others. Rediscover yourself.
Thank you Robin Hood Army Roorkee for giving me this opportunity to contribute to our society. A special thanks to Sarim Khan and Tanmay Bichu, who initiated this drive in IIT Roorkee, and my fellow volunteers- Manish Gupta, Devanshu Mishra and Pratham Gupta, who shared my enthusiasm throughout this activity, and the authorities and staff of IIT Roorkee for their cooperation. I hope to be a part of such activities in future, rediscovering and evolving myself, each time, as a person.
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