An inspiring story of a community transformer
1974: Thousands of students, tired of the inefficient and corrupt government functionaries, had taken to the streets demanding a better India for themselves. Among them was the young Prawin Kumar. Growing up in a large family in Ranchi, in the decades post-independence, Prawin had been nurtured on the ideals of the country before everything else. He actively took on to this student’s movement, rising to its core organizing committee under the guidance of the stalwart, Jayaprakash Narayan. However, over the next couple of years when politics could not match up to its promises, Prawin realized that whatever he wanted to do in life, politics was not the path. And thus, he distanced himself from it and went back to pursue higher education.
Although now distanced from it, this venture had mentored Prawin into the skills of organizing a community around a cause, inspiring and mobilizing people, trust building and leading a movement. The seed was planted for what would come to define his later life. However, with politics behind him, the young man now busied himself with making a living. But life had other plans in store for him. No place he worked at, could match up to the principles he lived by and his values would not allow him to suffer corruption. Tired with the state of affairs and powerless to do much, he decided to just quit.
A chance phone call
And that was when divine intervention showed up in his life, loud and clear. One fine day, in the year 1997, he received a call from an Art of Living trainer who requested him to organize a workshop. Today, over two decades later, Prawin is yet to figure out what had convinced him of the merits of the workshop to work for it! He doesn’t ponder much about it though; possibilities beyond logic have become very much a part of his days. With his usual vigor he had got on to the job and in no time the workshop was conducted. He jokes, “I am glad the teacher had asked me to organize and not participate; it would never have happened then.” But Prawin did participate, along with organizing it. And as he revels in the memories with his usual bearded laughter, “there has been no looking back since then.”
The Art of Living provided him the platform he had been waiting for. A holistic model of social development had been one of the prime concerns of its founder Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Prawin was quick to identify the opportunity and jump on the bandwagon. Organizing workshops one after the other gave him a glimpse of how lives were transformed with the Sudarshan Kriya and the wisdom from Gurudev. After years of searching, he had finally found his life’s purpose and the path to fulfill it.
In 1999 Prawin qualified as an Art of Living teacher. That was also the time the ‘Youth Leadership Training Program’, which would become a national rural movement, was taking its baby steps. Prawin devoted his heart and soul to it. He mentions with a proud grin, “As early as in 2001, there were about 100 youth leaders working full time in Ranchi district, whom I had mentored.” It was no mean feat.
A ‘miscreant’ pays his respects
Life had found its mission, but many more learnings were yet to unfold. Ranchi, back in those days, was not an easy turf to work on. It had just emerged from a long battle for the identity of a separate state and armed militancy was rampant throughout its hidden pockets. In 2003, under such circumstances, on a day that had nothing unusual about it, Prawin had set out for his regular work to a remote village in a district of Jharkhand . His destination was infamous for its notoriety and no person would cross that path after noon. Prawin however, was determined to dispel such fears. It was, after all, such places that needed his work most.
Out of the blue, around 4 pm, his car broke down on a deserted street and within moments, armed miscreants surrounded him. They mistook him for a police informer, for no one else would dare venture out this late. They held a pistol to his forehead and asked him to surrender.
Knowing his life was in danger, with a throbbing heart Prawin just closed his eyes and held on to his faith in his Guru. Within a moment, he heard a commotion in the group. Somebody among their acquaintances had undertaken an Art of Living workshop in a prison. This person immediately recognized Prawin as the teacher and ran up to him to pay his respects.
The others, though somewhat bewildered, followed suit. They not only ensured that Prawin returned home safely that day but seeing his commitment to work for their development also pledged their allegiance to his work. That was the day Prawin realized the magnanimity of the Master’s grace.
Real growth comes from empowerment
Over the years, one milestone after the other, one project after the other, Prawin has untiringly served the cause of bringing development to the villages of Jharkhand. He believes that for any kind of development to be sustainable, people have to be empowered. When empowered people own the responsibility of their own development, it leads to the development of the entire community and nation. That is how real growth happens.
In 2017, as the Government of Jharkhand entrusted The Art of Living with the responsibility of creating 60 Beacon Panchayats, Prawin was assigned to execute this herculean task within a year’s time. But in less than a year, he successfully built a team of dedicated local youth leaders in seven districts of Jharkhand and mentored them to become agents of change. It was another masterstroke of this genius team builder and mentor. Prawin passionately feels that Jharkhand has a robust Panchayati Raj System in place, but when you don’t know how to drive, having a car has no meaning. Thus, these days he is breathing life into the project to empower the panchayat members of Jharkhand.
Looking ahead
When enquired about what it takes for a team to be built and sustain it through tough times, Prawin says, “There are three most important things. First is proper planning and guidelines. Second is discipline towards the work and towards the finances and third is the devotion that brings dedication towards work.”
He mentions that building trust and value-based relationships are the most important things to work in community development. Today, the team is running 22 free schools in Jharkhand for children from the lesser privileged under the mentorship and guidance of a grassroots change maker, B.B. Chawla.
Looking back, Prawin says the grace of his Guru and the relationships built over time with the project beneficiaries have been the greatest earnings of his life. He acknowledges that none of this would have been possible without the consistent support of his wife Sarmistha and their two children. A man in his sixties now, not for a moment does Prawin feel that the best of his years are behind him. True to himself, he envisions the creation of 100 model villages in Jharkhand in the coming years.
