"Gullak," Hindi for "Tzedakah"

Being here in India for this holiday, I learned the following phrase today: "Father's Day par haardik shubh kaamnaayein!" ("We sincerely wish you a Happy Father's Day!" in Hindi). I have been learning so much Hindi and about Indian culture in general since I started volunteering with "Ek Koshish One Attempt," and I wanted to take the time to discuss one topic I found very interesting. Seeing Indian people's utmost respect for other life forms, especially cows, has been a touching experience for me. People are always conscientious about feeding plants and taking care of one another: As I mentioned earlier, we feed cows every morning, and we feed stray dogs every night. Another tradition that some people follow here is similar to what we call "Tzedakah" in my culture, Judaism. This picture shows the equivalent of a "Tzedakah box," a collection in a home, which will be given to a charitable cause. This charitable cause is specific to taking care of cows in India. Every day the team at Ek Koshish and I have been filling some money into this box, which will be sent to the charity on a subsequent visit. The bottom of the box has a lock, to which only the charity itself has a key. When I spoke to the teacher from our new program, where we teach illiterate children to read and write, she told me that one of our students (Mohini), a poor maid in Faridabad, believes in the cause too, donating what little she can. It is a real inspiration to see the care and love all people have here for one another, whether human or otherwise. I hope more people will come and volunteer here with Ek Koshish, as this has been the best way for me to learn Hindi and give back to a community in need! Happy Father's day everyone, and especially Happy Father's Day to the fathers in my family: Papi, Zayde, Tío Roberto, Tío Albert, Tío Ramon, Tío Alberto, David, Mario, Isaac, Freddy, Tío Charlie, Alan, Phily, Sal, Israel, Gil, and Uncle ji!