The Power of Giving

Neuroscience says giving can make you healthier and happier. Here's how to start doing it right now.

- Sara Adhikari

The other day, I was in a giving quandary—a situation many will relate to.

It was an after-dinner outing with friends, sitting in a car like many other groups, in front of a famous dessert café in Bengaluru. The norm is that the waiters come to you, take your order, you eat your chosen guilty pleasure in the car, then pay for it and zoom off.

I was already ill at ease with a running engine and air conditioner, so I requested my friend to turn them off and we rolled our windows down. But halfway through the first few mouthfuls, a lad, who looked about 10 or 12 years old, came to my window and said: “Didi, I am hungry too.”

I froze. The mood in the car changed from convivial to uncomfortable and then confusion to panic. Should I give him what I was eating? Buy him another one? Give him money? Request him to leave? Should I assuage my conscience and the boy’s need of the moment? Or should I firmly discourage begging and possibly child trafficking?

This kind of predicament is an everyday occurrence in India. While many are inured to it, others want to address it by giving back—and in a way that will make a difference.

So, how do you go about it?

Donate during an event:

For instance, you can take part in DaanUtsav, India’s week-long philanthropy festival that starts on Gandhi Jayanti, 2 October. An annual celebration of giving in which 60 lakh people are expected to participate this year—from all corners of India and different walks of life—it is a perfect starting point.