Charity begins with a morning stroll
The Garden Group of Matunga-Dadar residents meets daily at Five Gardens to
pray, exchange books and raise funds for the under-privileged
Every morning at Five Gardens, after their customary stroll, a group of
Matunga-Dadar residents meet to pray, converse and swap tips on Gujarati
literature. Called the Garden Group, it is a prayer group, a book club and a
charity fundraiser. On most days, when the group finishes their prayers,
there are visitors waiting with requests for charity – a small contribution
towards the medical expenses of a sick relative or a note that would buy
free groceries worth Rs 200 from a local shop.
However, unlike other charity groups, the Garden Group is an informal
association. They have no constitution or elected officials. It was started
26 years ago by a group of friends who would meet after their morning walks.
Today there are 125 members with each contributing Rs 1,000 annually to fund
their activities. “We thought that since we visited the gardens to improve
physical health, we should enhance mental and spiritual health too,” said
Pravinbhai Bhuta, a retired LIC official and one of the first members of the
group.
So the group started prayers and later started distributing literature
books. Gujarati writers like Harindra Dave and Gunwant Shah have attended
their garden meetings.
Medical and educational aid is an important part of their activity.
People seeking medical aid are allowed to purchase medicines worth Rs 250
from a medical shop in the area which then forwards the bills to the group.
They collected funds for flood victims in Gujarat. Apart from their annual
contributions, members donate money during birthdays and weddings in their
families. Sometimes, passers-by drop in at meetings to make a contribution.
The group estimates they would have donated Rs 3 crore in charity.
“There have been times when we did not have enough money for a
particular project. But some member would contribute to fill the shortfall,”
said 86-year-old Nipunbhai Shah, a retired businessman.
We thought that since we visited the gardens to improve physical health, we
should enhance mental and spiritual health too – Pravinbhai Bhuta, a retired
LIC official