Not Just Gold: 6 Things You Can Buy This Akshaya Trithi to Make a Difference

Festivals are celebrated with much fervour in India. Today is Akshaya Trithi, a day on which the sun and moon are said to be equally bright. There are various other stories around the celebration of this day as well.

Akshaya is a term in Sanskrit that means ‘no decay’. It is believed that this day brings good fortune and luck in your life. On this day, most people start a new business, buy land or jewellery and invest in something. It is also believed that initiating new beginnings on this day will bring good fortune and luck.

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While buying gold bars and jewellery is something that is an eternal fad, why not try something different? Why not start something that will have a real, positive, impact?

Here are six things you can invest in, which will reap good results.

1. Fund a child’s education

You may not even have to look very far for this. Check with your house-help or those helping you in your building to find a child who may benefit by you sponsoring their education. You could make this a yearly feature and sponsor one child each year.

The goodwill and happiness you receive by doing this are sure to surpass the happiness a purchase of gold will bring you.

Get inspired by Sanjana Bhosale, a student of grade 3 who is selling her artwork to be able to fund the education of children. Isn’t that a beautiful thing to do? Read all about it here.

2. Organise a plantation drive

While you and perhaps your own kids could plant a tree, what would be even better is to get a group of kids together and organise a plantation drive. Ensure that you explain the benefits to the children and return to the plantation site year-on-year to see how well your plant is growing.

Empower children to take charge of the tree and care for it. You will be doing the environment and yourself a huge favour by doing this.

Read all about a Kerala auto driver who has managed to encourage people to plant and nurture more than 23,000 plants in Palakkad here.

3. Start a new venture or help someone start-up

If you could use the money that would otherwise be spent on buying gold this Akshaya Trithi to help someone start a business, you will be doing something great. How often have you marvelled at the food made by your house-help?

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Wouldn’t it be great if your house-help could start a tiffin service with the money you invest?

Or maybe someone you know is great at handiwork. So why not help them take that to the next level?

Read about all how a garment factory worker in Bengaluru started growing mushrooms in her terrace to earn more than Rs 30,000 a month. Find that story here.

4. Feed the hungry

This Akshaya Trithi, pack up food packets and distribute them as you go to work. If you have access to a nursing home or an orphanage you could even go there, spend some time and serve lunch to everyone who is a resident there.

If you wish to donate some money to a good cause you could check our story about the old age home run by Sudhir Goyal in Ujjain. Read all about that here.

5. Make a meaningful donation

With the temperatures soaring you might have seen many daily wage workers on the streets with no footwear. Sometimes even the children on the roadsides are running about without slippers.

This Akshaya Trithi organise a drive to collect and distribute footwear to these underprivileged people.

Read here about how 100 Parsi children came together to collect and distribute 12,199 pairs of footwear within a span of three hours for the underprivileged in Mumbai.

6. Initiate a cleanliness drive

You might keep your home sparkling clean but it will be of no use if you step out into a lane filled with garbage. This Akshaya Trithi, take on the task of clearing and cleaning up your street. Remember to engage children in this task and once done you will be able to enjoy the beauty both outside and inside your home.

Read here about how Jacob Cherian, a digital entrepreneur from Bengaluru, is a self-professed nature lover and a travel enthusiast, who has been picking up trash strewn across the natural trails that he had trekked across, for the past two years.

If you have some other ideas, do share them with us and if you decide to implement any of these then share that too.

Happy Akshaya Trithi!

(Edited By Vinayak Hegde)

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