Hi Folks,

I really feel very guilty writing this post as it has taken me forever to come up with it. I was occupied a bit too much in my work that I could not cater time for other things. Henceforth, I will try to be more regular.

Let me tell you all a story. This is the story of Dr. Channa Raju, a scientist in National Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore. Dr.Raju was born in a remote village as the eleventh child of poor parents whose only source of income was through farming. Due to the family's poor financial background, Dr. Raju had to face very tough challenges to access educational opportunities. Against all odds, he continued to pursue learning and managed to complete his middle school.

One day he learnt from various sources that the then President of the country would be visiting Whitefield ( a place in Bangalore). He along with a friend decided to visit Whitefield because they wanted to see how a President looked like. That is when he saw the beautiful building of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) and mistook it for being the Mysore Palace (innocence at its best). He cherished a secret desire to study there. He secured admission in the College and that was the turning point in his life. After his graduation he continued his higher studies and obtained Masters degree from Indian Institute of Science and later completed his PhD from Indian Institute of Technology. He is now serving as a scientist at NAL, Bangalore.

This is a wonderful story of perseverence and determination which resulted in personal excellence. But surprisingly, this is not the end of story but just the begining. He realized that education is not easily accessible in rural areas and he decided to fill the void by startig an ideal elementary school for the children. Anjana school was started in 2000 and is recognized by the Govt of Karnataka. Apart from preparing the young to succeed academically and vocationally, the school strives to make them self-aware, confident, skilled and sensitive to human issues. The school maintains an open and rolling admission process throughout the year. Anyone with no means of education can walk into the school at anytime with their children.

The school is inspired by the personal story of its founder and the idea to give back to the Society and transform the lives of needy children through the power of education.
I am almost sure that I have not done justice to the great work done by Dr.Raju in this post. Please visit www.brahmi.org to know more in detail.
Personally, I feel that it is a great example of giving back to the Society. All of us have the responsibility to do something for the Society. We have numerous examples to emulate and Dr.Chenna Raju is one of them. Let us follow the path shown by such exemplary individuals and work sincerely to make this world a better place to live.

Signing off for now,
Krishna