My brother Dinesh has adopted a new purpose in life which is to help people improve their lives by changing their habits and live till the age of 100, which is a noble cause. I fully support his cause except for the fact that I don’t believe all humans who are already over the age of 60 are ready to live till the age of 100. Before you become cynical about my last statement, hear my thoughts first. 

I remember this famous line from the Hindi film “Anand” – “Zindagi badi honi chahiye, Lambi nahin” (life should be grand, not long). It doesn’t mean living a long life is not desirable but the real message is that life should be big, rather grand. 

The thought that not every human is ready to live till 100 is based on the fact most people who grew up with an age-old practice of retiring by the age of 65 have psychologically and financially prepared themselves to live till about the age of 80 or maximum 85. Now if they change their lifestyle and live till the age of 100, they will have a hard time living the last 15 years of their lives, primarily because they wouldn’t have –

• a purpose, 
• mental endurance, or
• Financial preparedness 

IMHO, life is wasted if not lived with a purpose. It doesn’t mean it has no value, it means one did not value it. While we are working and providing for the family and children, it seems our life has a purpose but once we are done with family duties, it seems there is no purpose unless we explicitly define that purpose. Hence, it is of utmost importance to have a purpose to live even after you have fulfilled your duties and are no longer working. I imagine living without purpose till the age of 100 can be meaningless and depressing for most. Purpose can be anything that fulfills your psychological needs and is a reason to wake up every morning. It does not have to be grand like my brother changing people’s lives or my friend Prakash changing the lives of hundreds of homeless people. It can be as simple as growing your vegetable garden, traveling around the world, raising your grandchildren, building a financial empire for the next generation, painting your masterpiece, creating your best film, or performing in a play or a concert… pick anything that your body, heart, and mind supports. Your physical health may also limit your ability to fulfill your purpose so plan accordingly.

What is mental endurance? It is the mentally prepared destination or target. For example, when I go to the gym, I prepare myself to do the treadmill for 30, 45, or 60 minutes. I experimented with this a few times when I prepared myself to do only 30 min. walk, I started feeling tired after 20 minutes and started watching the clock for 10 minutes to pass, somehow; and I had no pain until I reached 50 min. mark when I set my mind to 60 min. The same phenomenon plays a role in people’s lives. After retirement, we start counting our years based on our set age or parents’ age. We start planning to live say till 80, 85, or 90. Rarely anyone, except my brother, plans to live till 100. I’m sure he will live till 100 or very close to it. Our mental endurance is set for 80-90. 

Financial preparedness is one of the most critical factors in living happily in old age. Life is hell if you are not financially independent throughout your living years. So start saving for retirement as soon as there is financial comfort in your income level (be honest, there is no end to spending) and stop after you have reached your goal for the retired life (talk to a financial advisor or a financially failed retired person to understand how much to save). 

Freedom from financial stress is the only way to serve your purpose and have the mental endurance to succeed in life. If you are still below the age of 50, start building your life’s purpose, mental endurance, and financial health along with your physical health, now. 

Have a happy life!!! May you live as long as you want to live.

Today, my daughter Priya introduced me to a new term, “Environmental Anxiety”. Her explanation took me aback; it became so real that it shook me to the core. She said the way the environment is deteriorating, it is possible that in her son Zakir’s lifetime, he and his children may not be able to breathe this air.  And predictions of these kinds have created Environmental Anxiety in the parents of her generation.

After many decades of scientists preparing us for these days, the current heat wave, Canadian fires, the flooding in India, and many states within the US, increasing frequency, and the destruction from tornadoes are all becoming real. The effects of climate change are real and have arrived in our lifetime. And yet people are still acting ignorant about it. Almost everyone is talking about these changes but hardly anyone is changing their lifestyle. Personal convenience still beats global climate change in many people’s minds. 

There are still many ignorant people out there who believe it’s unnecessary noise made by liberals. This is not a liberal or conservative issue. This is our survival issue. Do we want to live a good quality life or do we want to watch humanity perish slow death by being selfish and ignorant? Think about our children and grandchildren. Think about humanity as a whole….  This is a wake-up call for all of us. 

Most people, including me, believe that one person cannot make a significant difference but I have started believing that 100 aware people can make a significant difference. And that is the purpose of this blog to bring change among at least 100 people, aware or unaware. Here are a few little efforts I make to make a difference in our lives. And everyone who reads this can share their ideas in the comments that they practice and can have a positive impact on our environment.  

1. I reuse and recycle anything and everything that can possibly be reused or recycled. I reuse all my plastic bags and wraps whenever possible. I reuse Saran wrap, and Ziploc bags until they are unusable; I reuse all plastic containers until they are not usable. And when they are not usable, then I recycle them. I don’t know if everything gets recycled so I don’t trust recycling either, hence, I reuse everything to its max usability. 
2. I hardly ever buy water bottles; carry my reusable bottle even on flights. I carried it in India and refilled it wherever I could. Water bottles are the biggest culprits nowadays in spreading the use of single-use plastic. I know we cannot live without plastic but we can minimize its wastage. 
3. Reduce the use of petroleum-based products that have an impact on the environment. Switched to an electric car, minimize plastic products; carry my own bags 90% of the time. If it is feasible, carry purchases in hand if I don’t have a bag. 
4. Certain grocery stores, Wegmans and Giant, in my area collect plastic bags for recycling. I religiously save every plastic bag, even Ziploc and saran wrap, and drop them off at one of these stores. And later I feel guilty for not supporting those stores, so I go buy groceries there. 
5. Keep my thermostat at 75 in summer and 68 in winter. 
6. Inspired by Priya, I am going to reduce my Amazon shipping, which I don’t use much anyway but sometimes there are not many options. Still, try to use their combined shipping packages option where possible. 

My mother used to say “We are what we eat”, and I didn’t understand back then but now I do. I have modified that saying to say – “Our environment is what we consume.” It is shitty because we are consuming shitty products.  Do you remember during Covid, the air quality became so good, and the wild and marine life around us started improving? Let’s try to bring that movement back by changing our habits. We can make small changes that may add up to be an impactful change. I don’t know the answer to the problem, I am thinking about how I can make a difference. I am hoping to influence people around me by learning from them and by bringing awareness. 

Here are a few things that I am urging people to consider about changing their lifestyles:

1. Be aware and think about how your habits affect your surrounding. Will it possibly have a positive or negative impact on my surrounding? Is this what you want your next generation to follow or do? Awareness is the first step on the road to recovery.
2. Reduce the waste in general, especially plastic and petroleum product waste, and reuse or change the product type. 
3. Stop buying and using plastic water bottles for daily consumption. They are also harmful to you.
4. Reuse, reuse, reuse.
5. Find ways to influence big product manufacturers and shipping companies like Amazon and Walmart to not use unnecessary plastic wrappings. Raise your voice against plastic wrappings. Write and demand wherever you can. We can start this movement. 
6. But before that Stop abusing the return policy of these large merchants. Don’t order products to test at home and return; don’t order items to use and return; don’t return products if they are in good condition but the box has no wrapping.  
7. Stop using environmentally harmful meat products.

Please share your good practices in your life that can have a positive impact on humanity. If nothing else we can try to reduce some environmental anxiety for our children and grandchildren. 

Homelessness in America is steadily increasing just as the funding to solve this problem. The funding has been continuously rising at a higher pace than the problem itself. So why is this problem not getting solved? Based on the HUD and Census data, we have approx. 600,000 homeless people in America today, about 40% of those are unsheltered, meaning living on the streets and the highest number of those are concentrated in 4 states, and DC being the host to the most. There are so many government programs and charitable organizations including religious institutions that are constantly working on helping homeless people. Yet, the problem doesn’t go away.

According to a few people in the non-profit business, nobody wants to solve the problem. Politicians cannot come to an agreement on how to solve the problem, some just want to throw money at it and some just want to cut it all. A non-profit is a business that prospers with the existence of the problem, not by solving the problem. Don’t get me wrong, millions of people are working hard to solve these social problems, but they are at the bottom of the totem pole. Some large non-profit organizations’ motivation is to stay in the business because it gives employment to so many.

But that’s not the focus of this paper. I intend to look at the issue of homelessness from a different angle and see if there is a possible solution, enough to at least make a dent in this problem. I was listening to a book called “Think Like a Freak” written by the same people who wrote Freakanomics. From their writing, I learned that people say they get motivated by lots of things but only take action by two things, money or herd (group) mentality. When people see a financial benefit, they will take action, or when they see a group of people doing something they join to be part of the movement. If a few people in the social circle buy an SUV, the herd will buy an SUV, if more people seem to be buying an electric car, the herd will buy an electric car. I know so many people whose beliefs and philosophies changed when they were thrown into a group and their actions worked totally opposite to their beliefs. And the last that I personally believe drives people to action is fear which can be called survival instinct. People act when they have the fear of losing something that can challenge their survival, at least in their minds. In the end, every person looks at a solution with just one factor – what is in it for me. If they don’t see anything that personally affects them, they will not act or participate.

So based on these phenomena, I thought of using these three motivators to craft a multi-prong homelessness problem-solving strategy. I have tried to utilize the 3 motivators and a what-is-in-it-for-me approach to come up with a possible workable solution. 

Of course, no solution is perfect but we have to look at it from the point of gains vs losses. If the gains outnumber the losses, we have to try it and continuously improve it to the point of optimum return.

This is only a thought paper, not a magic pill. And I admit, I have no experience from any angle except for being a spectator for far too long. I know people who have dedicated their lives to this cause and have not much to show except how they touched people and possibly prolonged their lives and homelessness. Yes, sometimes in the process of doing good, we become enablers of bad habits, practices, and beliefs. My intention behind this solution is to create a win-win proposal for every stakeholder and not to look at it from one single point of view.

So here we go –

Let us identify the groups that are actively associated with the homelessness problem-

1. Non-profit Organizations
2. Philanthropists / Social Donors
3. Homeless population
4. Government Agencies

Motivating factors to move these groups to work towards a common cause –

1. Financial gains
2. “Everybody like me” is doing it
3. Fear of losing something precious like a job, place to stay, benefits, etc.
4. Social Recognition
5. Vote Bank
6. Tax Break outlet

These are the salient points of the plan –

1. Organize communities of homeless people, just like shelters.
2. Build residential communities with a basic place to stay, and community places to share and improve day-to-day quality of life.
3. Make homeless people equity partners in the plan based on their contribution.
4. Collective outlet and mission of all non-profits engaged in this business in each community.
5. Non-profits provide Skills and Staff to manage the logistics.
6. Government agencies to do:
   1. financial oversight
   2. enforce laws to regulate unruly/illegal behaviors
   3. Provide social welfare money to the individuals part of these communities instead of individuals not joining these communities.
7. Philanthropists’ long-term commitment is required to maintain sustainability.
8. Social Donors are to commit to one year of donations so that we don’t have to raise funds for 12 months of the year.
9. A self-governance and ownership management training program for community members.
10. An exit strategy for the members who have graduated from the community program.

To start with the concept of a Homeless People Community in a densely populated area of homeless people, e.g, Washington DC.

Bring together all non-profit and government organizations serving that community. Create working groups made up of these organizations.

Seek help from individuals and non-profits who directly work with homeless people. Publish paper pamphlets and organize meetings in the area where homeless people live or at one place in their general neighborhood.

The purpose of the meeting and communication is to identify their leaders, but more importantly tell them about the concept of building their community from the grounds up, where they will build and operate everything as a community. And they will be the equity partners in whatever they build. Cajole and motivate the leaders among them to build a consensus in adopting this concept.

The concept is that external agencies and non-profits will provide the technical know-how and help with building a community residence for a given number of families/individuals/units.

Work with the state and federal government agencies to identify unusable land in the county, city, and state that the government can repurpose for building housing.

The equity in this partnership will be assigned to the homeless community based on the unit of work each community member performs. The concept is like a frequent flier mileage account, the more you fly, the more you get in rewards. For example, the organizers may decide that each basic unit with one Bedroom, Kitchen, and bathroom is equivalent to 1000 hours of community-building work. When a community member has put in at least 1000 hours of community-building work, they get assigned a basic unit to their name that they will own. Now, they can also extend their work to say 1500 hours of work then they may get a 2-bedroom unit, etc. The formula of this reward program has to be hashed out to make it enticing for the homeless community for the reward they can earn.

The idea is to have homeless people gainfully employed and learn new skills and be employable, the value of the community, and homeownership. They can continue to work on these projects to earn more rewards like household items, utility bills, etc. If they buy into this, they will be committed to this concept, and a herd acceptance of this idea may become popular among the homeless.  This project will fail if the community members don’t put in their sweat equity.

Raise funds using the current resources i.e. philanthropists, and local social donors. Once these people see some success stories, they will flock to donate money. Everyone likes to see underdogs winning. To them, this is a story to talk about at a charity gala and social events.

The last thing society will have to change is the culture of emotional blackmail. Government agencies will have to work aggressively to stop homeless people from settling on the streets and public spaces. If there are common laws that any law-abiding citizen has to follow, then the same laws should be enforced upon homeless people as well. Once these projects are underway or completed, the enforcement of no public encroachment should be the most crucial step in the success of this plan. Once there is enough capacity, homeless people should be punished the same way a common man will be punished for unruly behavior like loitering, drinking, urinating in a public space, and occupying public spaces. Every person should be required to pitch into building the community in any which way they can. Their benefits and freedom all should be tied to their contribution to their community.

Once settled then many other initiatives can be taken to help people in the community better their lives themselves, such as gardens and parks, fitness equipment, retail stores in the community etc.

The frequent community service program can continue within each community for the betterment of the community’s upkeep and help others.

What is in it for each group –

• The homeless people will earn their accommodation and other benefits. A sense of ownership and a better quality of life without losing anything. The fear of losing benefits will also keep them motivated to stay engaged. If nothing else, it will attract those who really want to get out of this life and are willing to go the extra mile.

• Government agencies will eventually not have to deal with that many homeless individuals and manage their benefits etc.  The political leaders can claim the success of these communities at election time.

• Non-profits can continue to work with these communities and do more skilled and meaningful jobs instead of just managing individual cases and struggling to raise more money every year.

Philanthropists and Donors will see the benefits of their financial stake in the improved lives of many as well as in the promotional material of these communities. Community centers’ name rights can be given to the highest bidders or auction on a rotational basis. A list of donors above certain levels can be published for public consumption in public forums and social media.

This trip was an unplanned trip, borne out of nowhere and turned into a huge travel adventure. In 35 days; visited 16 different cities, spent at least one night in 15 of them, and visited  9 new cities. Literally, lived off of my suitcase. A whirlwind tour. See the detailed itinerary at the end.

Highlights:

• Every region of India is so different that you have to reorient yourself for every region. From Delhi to Indore in MP to Kochi/Trivandrum/Kanyakumari/Madurai in the South to Assama and Meghalaya in the Northeast to Mumbai and Goa in the West to Varanasi and Kanpur in the North-Central region are wildly diverse in culture, food, languages, religion, and lifestyle. The only commonality is overpopulation and the middle and poor class’s struggles. 
• India overall is much cleaner compared to 20 years ago. Every city has artistic murals on its main highways and even in some tourist places depicting that city’s culture, art, and history. Every city now has Indian-flag-colored lights on its highways, which looks beautiful. But cleanliness has a long way to go outside of Delhi. New Delhi is super clean in its mostly tourist areas, besides Delhi, Varanasi has changed drastically, is super clean, and has a huge amount of tourism growth, but lacks a service mindset.
• People in the South and Northeast regions were extremely honest, polite, and courteous compared to the northern part of the country. Kochi is probably the best example and one of the finest cities to visit in the south. Kochi has a lot of history, modern comforts, places to see, and things to do for 2-3 days.
• Assam and Meghalaya need more infrastructure development to take on tourism to the next level. Beautiful country, and very inexpensive. People there don’t feel like they are part of India. They are left out of the development. Some development is happening but not enough for it to become a powerhouse soon. Cherapunji, Mawlynnong, Dawki river, and many other attractions are wonderful. Guwahati is just another big city, cannot enter Shillong without spending hours in traffic jams. Roads are horrible in many places like Uttarakhand and Ladakh. Ziplining on the way to Cherapunji was thrilling. Cherapunji reminded me of much of Uttarakhand and parts of Ladakh. Weather is important. Mountain ranges were covered with smog throughout, like my trip to Uttarakhand a year ago.
• Kerala is equally divided between Hindus, Christians, and Muslims but all religions live in complete harmony. They should set an example for the rest of the world. Similarly, Assam is predominantly Hindu but its neighbor Meghalaya is predominantly Christian and both states are equally at peace with each other.  All of India is fighting over beef but it is openly available and part of most Keralites’ meals every day. Southern people are very chilled and not in rush to go anywhere as compared to their northern neighbors.
• Goa is still one of the best tourist places to visit. Its beaches and shack restaurants are designed to cater to tourists. Just have a load of money to spend because you can spend a lot of money here if you like to have good times. 
• Mumbai is just the same as it has always been. Mumbai is New York of India. To see Mumbai, you have to go with some locals. Its cafes, bars, and restaurants can overwhelm anyone’s senses. Visited a cafe deep inside some hidden street inside the Bandra area, called Sabko, it has become a cult amongst the locals and tourists. Similarly, there are restaurants only locals will know about their food and existence. Having a celebrity along with you can get you a table and special attention in these places too. 
• Varanasi is much improved and much more commercialized since I visited in 2017. There are marked improvements in its infrastructure such as the airport, train station, trains, and highways but no one can help with its crowds and self-righteous, deeply superficially religious citizens. The service excellence is not what Varanasi is famous for, this is a city you come to, pushed thru the famous temples and ghats, and pushed out. No one seems to care about you, and you get overwhelmed but still feel that you have experienced a miracle. You come back still thrilled that you could see Varanasi.
• Kanpur has been my love for life, it doesn’t matter that it’s decaying at its core, it hasn’t changed at the grassroots level since I left the city in 1978. Except for a few concerned citizens, like the Kanpur Parivartan Forum and some more socially conscious people, the rest of Kanpur thinks alike. Even though the new metro, highrise buildings, and malls may give the image of 21st-century Kanpur, in reality, It is still living in the 70s, and it will not change anytime in the near future. But no one in the country can beat Mithas’s Jalebi, mithai, and Lassi. Kanpur is for family, specialty food, and Paan.
• Delhi has transformed into a modern city for the most part, comparable to any international city until you go to Old Delhi. Delhi has its own culture which is quite different from any other city in India. Its people are very adventurous, confident, and friendly, not your what-you-see-what-you-get types like in the South or even other UP cities, they are very self-absorbed, and love food. Go to any restaurant, they are all packed any time of the day. Delhi is foodies’ mecca. Its food places are popular from under-the-metro food vendors to seven-star restaurants. There is so much to do and see in Delhi that you can spend weeks and still not cover it all but Delhi is not for solo travelers, you must have company to enjoy it completely. And if you don’t like crowds, and cars, and struggle to reach anywhere on time, don’t go to Delhi then.   
• Religion has come to the forefront and has become prominent in most people’s lives, especially among Hindus. Religious tourism has become a thing in India. So many people are traveling to religious destinations, especially Shiva Bhakti (Mahakal) has become a cult in itself. I don’t know how and who started this but you have to see the lines at the famous temples. Poor people stay in lines for hours. Even Vivekanand Memorial is now treated as a religious pilgrimage location. Your position in lines is for sale. You can buy your way into any temple. I visited more temples on this trip than ever before. Except for one or two temples, I went in and came out without even seeing the main Idol because of the lines. Waited for 1.5 hours to get to Vivekanand memorial in the fast lane. There must’ve been a single-file kilometer-long line for general admission at 7:30 am and later in the day. The same for Padmnabhaswamy Temple, and Kamakhya Temple, Vishwanath Temple; couldn’t even go close to the Mahakal temple and Kaal Bhairav temples in Ujjain. 
• Important Travelling Lesson for going solo or no local persons – Look for 4-star and above hotels for a clean and good stay; a 3-star hotel ranking is deceiving. Demand 4-star if you are going with any tour. Getting a SIM card at the airport or in the city comes in handy when you have to deal with local hotels, taxis, Uber, etc. Always carry cash, cash is still the king unless you have PayTM or UPI for Indian transactions. Not everyone accepts your American credit card. There is no one rule, rules change with the service provider. Confirm everything, don’t assume anything.  Uber and Ola drivers can cancel anytime even after accepting the ride. You will have to talk to them after confirming the ride via the app. Uber is almost half the price compared to independent taxi drivers.
• I believe in buying from Indian local vendors instead of western big corporate outlets. Spend locally and help the local economy. 
• The last lesson – poor man is just poor, they have no religion or nationality, and their only hope is to get some money, love, and respect. At least treat them with respect. 
• The bottom line, you will enjoy India only when you give in to the Indian way, otherwise, you will stay miserable. You cannot enjoy India with the Western mindset. You will also learn about the Herd mentality in India. You cannot question anything, and you cannot apply logic to anything, Just have faith in the system. Even when things look bleak, they get done, you reach where you want to reach, may not be on time but you reach. In 35 days, I did not miss any taxi, train, or flight, nothing; my reservations showed up on time and I reached and achieved what I was set to do. I traveled and enjoyed every aspect of it, good and bad.
• Please feel free to send your queries, and questions directly via this post or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/manojtiwari

Trip Itinerary – Feb 12 – Mar. 18th, 2023

Feb. 12th – Departed from DC
Feb 13 – Feb 15th – Delhi
Feb15 – Travel by Train to Indore
Feb. 16th – Reached Indore, Ashoo’s Sangeet Program
Feb. 17th – to Ujjain for Mahakal Shiv temple and Kaal Bhairav temple but couldn’t see because of Shivaratri crowd, instead visited 2 other temples. Shadi in the evening
Feb. 18th & 19th – Indore excursion, Sarafa Bazaar
Feb. 20th – Flight via Mumbai to Kochi; 
Feb. 21st – Business meetings and Dinner
Feb. 22nd – Excursion to Fort Kochi and Jewish settlements, synagogue, palace, etc. Dinner in the evening at Grand Hyatt.
Feb. 23rd – Excursion to Periyar Estate and boat ride
Feb. 24th – Train to Trivandrum, Visit Kovalam beach and Lulu Mall in the evening
Feb. 25th – Train to Kanyakumari
Feb. 26th – Sunrise at Kanyakumari, excursion to Vivekanand Memorial
Feb. 27th – Train to Madurai
Feb. 28th – Flight to Guwahati
Mar. 1st & 2nd – Assam/Meghalaya 6-day excursion started. Zakai Eco camp in Kaziranga National park and visited Kaziranga National Park
Mar. 3rd – Shillong, Mahamrityunjay Temple
Mar. 4th – Mawlynnong, Dawki River, Bangladesh border
Mar. 5th – Cherapunji, Garden of Caves, Nohkalikai Fall, Mawsamai Cave
Mar. 6th – Guwahati, Kamakhya temple and Sunset Cruise on Brahmaputra 
Mar. 7th – Mumbai, Holi celebration with the family
Mar. 8th – In Mumbai, sightseeing, Sabko Cafe, dinner at Mahesh Restaurant with the family 
Mar. 9th – Flight to Goa
Mar. 10th – Goa, Morajim beach, Calamari restaurant, Aguada fort
Mar. 11th – Basilica and other Churches
Mar. 12th – Flight to Varanasi
Mar. 13th – Sankat Mochan, BHU, meeting with family, Ganga Arti, boat ride, Vishwanath mandir
Mar. 14th – Sunrise at Assi Ghat, Train to Kanpur
March 15th & 16th – meeting with family, Parivartan group, Farm visit, dinner with friends & family
Mar. 17th – Train to Delhi; lunch with the family. Flight back to the US.