Kalam lays foundation for community action

MUMBAI: In a hall packed withpersonalities from the political, bureaucratic, business and NGO arenas, as wellas children from the city’s municipal schools, President A.P.J. AbdulKalam delivered the keynote address to mark the official launch of the TimesFoundation on Sunday.Referring to his recent visit to Tawang inArunachal Pradesh, where he had met the abbot of the Buddhist monastery, thePresident relayed the wisdom he had received.The secret of serenity,he said, lay in renouncing the ego, which would lead to the removal of hatredand violence and foster peace. Mr Kalam, who disarmed the audience with hischildlike seriousness and professorial manner, even got its members to recite asolemn little ditty, beginning, “When there is righteousness in the heart,there is beauty in character..’’Mrs Indu Jain, chairmanof the Times Group, said that Times Foundation was only walking the roadmapdrawn up by the President himself. The Foundation, which will act as an umbrellagroup for other Times trusts, has a troika of projects catering to community andindividual needs, spiritual and material well-being.The Foundationlaunch is the end result of two years of work. “We have built the templeof the Times Foundation brick by brick. Now the idol has beeninstalled,’’ Mrs Jain said, adding, with a pun on the presence ofdeputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal on the dais, “The anantbhuja deityis now only waiting for the light of life to be infused by thePresident.’’ Also on the dais was Times Group managing directorVineet Jain.Mrs Jain said that it was only fitting that the FirstCitizen of the country should join hands with other citizens to help realise thegoals of the Foundation. These include serving as a platform for theconvergence of industry, NGOs and government to bring about policy changes, thei-I or individual to Infinity academy, which seeks to help individuals throughself-development courses, and the Wellness programme aimed at providingalternative healing systems.Times Foundation director Ashoke Maitrasaid that key objectives had been finalised after experimenting with ideas inthe areas of women’s empowerment, education, environment andself-development over the past year or so. The Foundation also aims to rewardexcellence.Other objectives, he added, include helping catalysesocial change through capacity building and media support to NGOS, especiallyrural ones, as well as reviving art and the ancientsciences.Sunday’s inauguration marks the culmination of MrsJain’s long-held wish and is the first in a series ofevents—including a 24-hour, 24-raga festival on Guru Purnima (July 13), tobe held jointly with the Taj Hotel —leading up to Mrs Jain’s 70thbirthday celebrations.The Times Group’s i-I or individual toInfinity academy seeks to help individuals through selfdevelopment courses, andthe Wellness programme is aimed at providing alternative healing systems.