Chennai: Small and simple moments often leave a profound impact on people. Some even change the course of life for many. It may be a little gesture, a comment from a passer-by or even a cute smile that could make another person’s day beautiful.
It was one question on similar terms that touched V Rajarajan’s heart, leading the resident of Pudur, Chennai, to provide Rs 50,000 worth wheelchairs to Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur.
When his son Idhayan innocently pointed at a differently-abled person struggling to walk around the zoo and asked, “We are able to walk, but how will he?,” something clicked inside the 40-year-old. Speaking to News Today, Rajarajan, said, “I have been around wildlife for many years now and I also am learning wildlife photography. The incident happened four to five months back and when my five-year-old son asked that question, I decided to provide wheelchairs to the zoo so that differently-abled people will be benefitted.”
Having initially planned to provide the chairs on his son’s birthday in May, complications pushed the occurrence of the deed by a couple of weeks to the first week of June. “My son was very happy. He could not come that day during the handover because he had exams but when he saw the pictures, he was gleaming with joy. I take him to the zoo once every month, so now, he wants to see people use the chairs,” said the Pudur resident.
Hailing from Nattuchalai village in Pattukkottai taluk of Thanjavur district, Rajarajan has always been into helping others. He spends nearly Rs 1 lakh every year in helping tribal people, providing food and other essentials to volunteers in case of an emergency.
His love on the wild has made him travel the forests of south India, Maharashtra and even go to the other side of the pond to the wild terrains of Kenya.
“People should learn about wildlife. We all talk about water crisis now and wildlife is associated with rain. People do not understand the connection, but they are interconnected,” said Rajarajan. He also wants more awareness to be created on the matter for he feels people are moving further and farther away from nature. Concluding, he says, “Love animals, nature.”