As a human race, we evolved only because we thought more than just food, sleep and survival. We thought about our community and about expanding our paradigm. We thought about transforming ourselves. This is what makes us a civilised race and this is why we are humans.
If the previous paragraph sounded too heavy for you, wait. Because this story reflects the same idea that makes a human race forward and unlike my boring paragraph, this story is interesting. This story is about Pranay Vivek patil.
Mr. Patil hails from Bangalore, the city which is the IT hub and is known across the world for the brilliant software companies. The very idea of being part of that culture is really very enticing. It could have lured Mr. Patil to complete his IT course and join an MNC and looking at his brilliance, he could have made really big in the city. But instead, he chose to do a mechanical engineering course in Aachen, Germany which provided him with the exposure to life abroad and the everyday struggle of a human being. He always had an idea to do something good for the society and with the same intention, he did his majors in renewable energy.
Now that he was living in Germany, he was observing life around him and how cities anywhere in the world are largely dependent on technology. Although he was very fascinated by the growth that science and technology have shown but somewhere he saw that how people lack empathy for development which is resulting in the chaos that we see around ourselves in the form of global warming and pollution. He also noticed that there are many perks available to the urban people that they do not even need. He imagined the life of people living in rural India where some of the villages still do not have access to the clean water and electricity. This unfair distribution of resources and technology prompted Pranay to get started with social work in India.
As soon as Pranay came back to India, he started living in a village “Raibag” where he observed the village life very closely and carefully. He also started to engage with the villagers and involved himself in their problems and started finding solutions to them. He found that this is something that really makes him happy from the inside and now he has really went ahead in his mission as he is running 32 schools in Belgaum district under his organisation, “Mahakali Educational Society” which are running and providing education to the underprivileged section of the rural Indian society. He says that it is all because of the good deeds of his grandfather, V.L. Patil that he is able to pull off such a mission. His grandfather, V.L. Patil was a popular freedom fighter who dedicated his life to the well-being of the people and society. After his death, Pranay started Abhaji Foundation to take his legacy forward. His father is an MLC in Karnataka. Pranay and his wife are also very dedicated to the social welfare and they keep organising medical camps, cataract surgery camps where they have successfully provided free surgery to over 300 people. Moreover, Pranay has been organising blood donation camps every year on his birthday.
Pranay tells us that he understands how important it is to raise our voices for people who do not have access to media and he has been representing them on many occasions. Pranay alongside his wife also happen to be the members of Belgaum Zilla Panchayat and they have been consistently raising their voice against problems faced by Women and the farmers in the rural areas. They have been helping them during every calamity and have become an integral part of their society.
The story of Mr. Pranay Vivek Patil tells us a lot about ourselves. It tells us that how it is possible for all of us to bring a change in the society. It encourages us to take a leap of faith for the greater good and above all for humanity itself.We wish Mr. Patil all the best for his future projects.
Pranay V. Patil: The face of positive transformation of rural Karnataka.
