January 2008 : Everydayman

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“The history of the world is but the biography of great men”, wrote the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle. And for long, the “Great men” theory has held its ground dividing the world into achievers and the rest of us. If there was any point in time when this theory faced its stiffest competition, it is today. Everyone is a source of knowledge in Wikipedia, everyone a writer or a journalist through his own blog, everyone has a face and a voice in YouTube.

And everyone is an agent of social change.

In this New Year special edition of Sattva, we wanted to highlight the role of Individual Social Responsibility in the social change process. We wanted to capture the entire long tail of experiences right from stories of unbelievable grit and sacrifice to little things we do in daily life that matter. And today, we have more stories than we can share.

We found remarkable individuals from far and wide beyond here and now - From John Johanan who single-handedly organizes road safety campaigns in Bangalore to a regular blogger from Cuddalore who got his district collector’s attention to development issues in his
town. From KV Krishnan Nair who ensured everyone has an equal right to education back in 1918 to Harekal Hajabba who built a school in his home town by selling oranges in the Mangalore Bus depot.

We are thankful to Rebecca Thomas for sharing her experiences on how Music gives physically and mentally challenged children the gift of expression. Vishal Talreja, the founder of Dream a dream, shares his views on volunteering and social responsibility. And you, our dear readers, have shared with us a million ways in which one can make this society a better place to live in. In our photo feature, we have showcased individuals we see everyday, who are socially responsible by doing their duty. And our salute to the army soldier who refused to be photographed but deserves his place in that page.

Here’s the last nail on the coffin of mythical superheroes. Move over, Superman and Spiderman. Here’s the new superhero – Everydayman. Each one of us.

Click here to read the January issue.