” What can I do for the society ? ” think some of us , ” why should I do for the society ” think some of us. Some of us conveniently say “that’s not my job, there are people for it “. We all are born, and the society , along with our parents raises us. Most of us study, get jobs, get married , have kids, raise them , eventually die. What do we give back to the country and society that has given us everything ?

Being grateful to the society is as good as and as important as being grateful to our parents. Nobody can change the world upside down but all of us can be the small blocks that build the huge monument called change. Most of the complex problems that our society faces indeed have simple solutions.

All of us have opinions on everything. On films that we see, the clothes that we wear and food that we eat. It’s just a matter of fact and time to extend those opinions to the society and its dynamics – the house that we live in, the roads that we travel on and the water that we drink. In an age where some of us think that questioning the system is an easy and effective way to project ourselves as ” intellects” , we should try and understand the very system first. We should fathom the fact that we are , knowingly or unknowingly contributing to the functioning of the system and there in lies our responsibility to make that contribution a positive one. But then we start thinking as to how small our contribution really is , what’s the big deal about it and what difference would that make in the larger scheme of things .

There are enough illustrations around us to make our own sceptical theories wrong ! Per capita waste generation in urban population varies between 500-750 g and if we can segregate our own waste, reduce, reuse by home composting, won’t we make a positive contribution ? Per capita water supply in urban areas is roughly 120-150 l , are we not making a positive contribution by saving some of it ? By following the queue, waiting at the traffic signal, paying our taxes properly, making way for the ambulance – are we not making a positive contribution ? This positive contribution in social domain would ultimately lead to contributions in economical and administrative domains too – Google maps was born out of crowd-funding. The true caller app that we quickly browse through before picking a call grew out of crowd sourcing. Arkyd – which envisages space telescope for everyone is a path breaking government driven crowd sourcing project. Empires have been built by individuals, governments have crumbled by and because of individuals. Anyone and everyone has a definitive role to play in the system – the sooner we realize it, the better it is !

That now leaves us with the question- where do I begin ? Do I create a Facebook or a Twitter ? Yes those attractive options are always there but it’s always good to begin with smaller things.. Keep your house clean , keep your neighborhood clean , keep your road clean, segregate waste, use water judiciously – even keeping the tap closed while you brush or shave saves significant amount of water. Contribute to road safety, obey the laws, never lose morality and integrity, educate people around you, help people around you.

Become a citizen – that transformation that we make from being just an inhabitant to a becoming a citizen is the first step towards becoming change makers. Superheroes don’t come in real life, it is us who become that by the way we live, by the way we contribute to transform lives of others and eventually transform the system and the world !