Spreading the Warmth of Kindness Khandala, a hill station on the outskirts of Pune, known for its picturesque landscape and pleasant climate is a sight to behold. Winters particularly are severe and the town is enveloped in a thick misty fog with an icy breeze. A tourist attraction for many but a bitter winter for the townspeople.
Sadhu Vaswani Mission, in its endeavour to make the winters comfortable and warm, continued its blanket sevas in Khandala. 8th and 9th January 2021, a team of 10 Mission volunteers set out from Pune. “We were greeted by an overcast sky and a wintry breeze. One can only imagine how the villagers are enduring it in their humble hutments. We are trying our best to reach out to as many as we can through this blanket seva initiative,” said a Mission volunteer. The volunteers start early at around 8:00 am; packing and loading of blankets is done in advance. In a self-driven car, driving through difficult terrains these volunteers distribute blankets to surveyed villages. “Coupons are distributed to needy households, with one blanket for each family. On the day of the distribution, at the designated area, blankets are given against the coupons so that it reaches the right hands,” added the volunteer. The Mission also distributed biscuit packets to children.
Brother Lal Advani, Mission’s 86-year-old volunteer who has been at the forefront of the Khandala sevas since the lockdown times once again actively participated in the sevas. Ushering in advance his 86th birthday that falls on 14th January he said, “Age is in the mind and I do not know what fear is, and therefore neither has been a deterrent to me. My role is modest, all I do is help the volunteers with the villages, connect them with the needy families and take them to the locations for they are remote and hardly known to commuters. The joy on their faces upon receiving the warmth of a blanket is a feeling that is warmer than all the blankets put together! It is sheer bliss to spread this love of the Masters.” 8th & 9th January 2021, in the continuance of the sevas, the Mission distributed 285 blankets in the villages of Babdeowadi (52), Dandwadi (47), Wankhalwadi (65) and Katlachiwadi (121).
In addition, 13th January, in observance of Dada Yagna, a seva-drive distributing Solapuri chaddars — 2 in each house was carried out in Khandala. 13th January 2021, 300 Solapuri chaddars were distributed in the villages of Palasdari katkarwadi, Varne katkarwadi, and Anjurun katkarwadi. The Mission, on its way to the villages and back, served the voiceless ones also, distributing biscuits to chickens, dogs and monkeys.
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