The Best Gift of all .....

 My blogger and FB friend Gopinathji Mavinkurve  recently ( a few hours ago)  posted something  by his friend Smt Vanita Kumta, on the subject if eye donation.  

Totally, as a strange coincidence , I came upon this meaningful photograph,  of a new young plant that has struggled through a huge wall, to grow and see the Sun, posted by my blogger friend Shail Mohan.

I remembered my  late parents , who had both expressed their wish,  impressed the fact  upon us,  and  donated their eyes,  at their death.  We honored their wish. I think it is a wonderful  gift,  and it instills a hope, that whoever benefits by it, may see , maybe , a better world than what we see today. 

(I am copying below some information re Eye donation,  posted by Smt Kumta. Unable to put a link.)

 Why donate eyes?

To begin with for a selfish reason; our eyes can live even after our death. Secondly, more importantly, we can light the life of two blind people by donating our eyes after our death. Thirdly, not to mention, eye donation is the noblest of all causes.

 1.5% of the population are unnecessarily blind
25% live below the poverty line
2.5 million children are suffering, including those who don't have the correct spectacles
32% are under 15
60% of blind children will not make it to adulthood. A cumulative economic loss to India's GNP of US$11.1 billion
75% live in rural areas
There are 12,000 ophthalmologists in the country but the majorities of them live and work in the urban areas
40% live in rural areas in central & northern India where there is little access to quality eye care services

It has been proven beyond doubt that almost everyone can donate eyes. People who wear spectacles, with high B.P., diabetics or people with systemic disorders like asthma, tuberculosis, or even those who have undergone cataract surgery can donate eyes. The only criterion is a healthy and clear cornea.

Eyes have to be harvested within six hours of death. So it is critical to inform the nearest eye bank. It is always best to fill out an eye-pledge form and inform family members of your desire. Expressing a desire for eye donation in one's will is fairly useless since a will is generally opened only a few days after the death, while an eye needs to be harvested within six hours.

Are you ready to gift a life? Become an eye donor today

And then, something that occurred to me...... 

(photo by Shail Mohan)

The seed of an idea
planted
in the mind,
growing up,
bringing others up.


A wish,
quietly nurtured,
without
too much noise,
getting on with life,
developing ,
building protective walls,
prioritizing,
and linking
to others,
sometimes
by wear and tear
sometimes
by adding a small gate
to traverse the walls,
without and  within.

Life,
slowly tiring,
exponentially,
flattens asymptotically,
but the seed ,
and the idea
has been
growing inside,
moving,
finding a path
into the sun.

A donation
of your eyes,
that little gap
in the life wall
of
a sightless unlucky one,
and the seed
slowly germinates
greens
leaves and all,
to emerge
into a
a new Sun.....

Where a Death
created
for someone else
a new Life
in a rainbow world....

Secret of the Red Beacon

Blogger friend Magiceye, often seems to see things we do not. He posted this in the series entitled 365 Project.

Possibly clicked on the coast of Mumbai, frequented by fishing trawlers, that probably explain the crow(s) showing an interest (in anticipation of something to chew) .

I guess all crows are not like the politicians, who hanker after the Lal Batti (Red Beacon indicating "Important Government Person") on their cars.

Some also know its a place to sit and look into the future..

(photo by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)
Cawing across this city
I've often wondered
about the glamour
of the Lal batti
atop vehicles.

I guess
to some
it's all about
looking into the future
using whatever available
for the people
of a boat called India.

And to some,
including
my own contemporaries,
its about
grabbing something
greedily,
to "eat"
sitting,
in a high position,
someplace.