the pledge. “Many of our friends have
existing commitments that they need
to honour first. But for many of us,
especially the ones with no kids, this
is also a great opportunity to plan our
contributions. And for our generation,
there are many like us out there
who just want to know how. #LMP is a
great way to do so,” says Venkatraman.
“We hope we are able to encourage
more people to join”.
—by vanya lochan
BHARATI DASGUPTA,
Mumbai
Since childhood, Dasgupta, now
76, had seen a steady stream of visi-
tors welcomed to stay at their Mum-
bai family home. “They can’t come
to Bombay and not have a place to
stay. You must accommodate who-
ever comes, because you have some-
thing that they don’t,” she would hear
her parents say.
This small but significant lesson in
selflessness was engraved on young
Dasgupta’s heart, and she remained
true to her parents’ legacy ever
since. After serving with the Indian
Banks’ Association and heading her
own consulting firm, Dasgupta took
up full-time social work. In 2002,
she, along with three other family
members, founded Catalyst for Social
Action (CSA), an NGO that works in
the field of adoption and family-rights
care for institutionalized children,
a cause she came to love when her
granddaughter was adopted. Over
the next 10 years, she expanded CSA’s
efforts across state lines and into the
world of orphan care.
“When I first heard of the
#LivingMyPromise campaign from
Venkat (Krishnan) my first thought
was, I would never fit into the `1-crore
bracket! But, with some careful
scrutiny and research, I found that,
between my house, savings and other
assets, it all added up,” she smiles.
When asked if she ever felt both-
ered or concerned about neglecting
her family by giving away a large por-
tion of her wealth, she responds, “NotThe Power of Giving“The philosophy is simple—you have,
so you can; you can, so you give; you
give, so you impact; you impact, so
you change,” says Bharati Dasgupta.readersdigest.co.in 63