Amidst all the macabre theatre of violence prevalent in the valley, we have a good thing happening. The Deewar-e-Meharbaan (Wall of kindness), a charity work started in the Iranian city of Mashad, and reached our own Abi Guzar Bund in Srinagar some four years ago. The main motive behind the hangers nailed on the wall is to leave warm clothes for the poor and homeless who end up spending nights under open sky in some freezing roundabout of the city. “Leave if you do not need” and “take if you need” is a perfect slogan to spawn a charity which is much needed in Kashmir. Yesterday (Thursday), a group of young painters were giving it a new look, by painting it again, and the good thing is nobody paid a single buck to them for painting this Deewar-e-Meharbaan. It really was a touching and inspirational scene. Even, some of the members disallowed our lens man to capture them through his lense. They wanted to keep their humanitarian act veiled.
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In Kashmir, where the winters are unbearably harsh, such initiatives are much needed. The reality remains that there still are many hundreds of people who spend nights under open skies in the harsh winters. This Deewar-e-Meharbaan is not for those who can afford to buy warm clothes. It is for those who are finding it hard to make two ends meet. As for those who can make the two ends meet, they just need to rummage through their wardrobes to see if there is any extra warm clothes there and later hang them on the hangers of Deewar-e-Meharbaan. The government must take a cue from this civil initiative and make shelter homes for the homeless people. Besides, we all should try to create platforms like Deewar-e-Meharbaan in our vicinities where we can bring donors and needy people to share things. This will also promote generosity and munificence among the youth. Charity is the best way to attain serenity and equanimity in our lives. Every religion stresses on charity. Charity initiatives like ‘Deewar-e-Meharbaan’ needs to be appreciated and many other districts of Kashmir must be designated for this purpose. Kashmir is going through a tough crisis. Here the poverty may not visible on the face of it; it does not mean that it does not exist. It is just we prefer to conveniently overlook it. The need of the hour is for the society to come together for the help of the needy and powerless.
