SECOND LIFE
Helping hands
RESHMA S KULKARNI
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Despite her hectic schedule and glamorous assignments, actor Celina Jaitley takes pride in supporting various social causes.
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Hailing from a family who has always believed in service, it was a natural choice for Celina Jaitley to serve the needy. “Fur generations of my family have served the armed forces. I’ve seen the women in my family become intensively invol
ved in social welfare activities. My great-grandmother was among the first few women to establish medical practice in Goa,; whereas my grandmother, who’s my role-model and idol, was actively involved with the United Nations all her life. Thus, social activity has always been a part of my life and when the time came to do my bit, I was drawn to helping out the Missionaries of Charity,” says Celina. “After all, of what use is this fame and publicity if one cannot use it to better somebody’s life?” she asks.
For Celina, every cause that can gain from her support is important for her. Having begun her journey by helping the Missionaries of Charity, Celina went on to become a gay rights activist, at the age of 17.
“I chose to become a gay rights activist because I strongly believe in the adage of ‘live and let live’. I simply cannot fathom how the article 377 can exist in India, especially when we are trying to fiercely combat HIV and AIDS. My fight to petition for the amendment of article 377 and for India to legally accept homosexuality will go on for as long as I can help it,” says the fiery actor, whose softer side is evident as she talks about her work for protection of animals.
Love for Nature
“I grew up amid the mountains of Kumaon. My parents instilled in me a deep respect, love and fascination for Nature and its creations. They would track leopards and tigers in the wild to see their cubs or just to observe them in their habitat and that’s when my love affair with animals began. In fact, I still remember a baby monkey that my mother rescued and he stayed with us till he was old enough to be given to the forest department. Having seen India’s natural abundance at reserves like Kaziranga and Jim Corbett, I take pride in the wildlife, which is our national treasure, and am pained when I see it being abused by poachers, tuskers and insensitive people. It is our duty to protect our treasure-trove.”
In a bid to do just that, Celina has recently extended her support to PETA’s campaign to save elephants in captivity. “I’ve always felt pained to see elephants being paraded around the metros, often looking disdainful. When I joined hands with PETA, I was shocked to know the conditions in which they live. Elephants are social creatures and when they’re separated from their mothers at birth, they get bored, sad and frustrated. They also suffer due to pollution, malnutrition and abuse. It gave me great satisfaction.”
That apart, Celina has also been running an awareness blog on ‘IndiaFM’ where she writes on politics, terrorism and the causes she supports. “Through the blog, I try to do my bit to encourage the youth to join hands to mould the future of India. I believe, we can make a difference and some one has to motivate today’s youth to help our country be what we want it to be!”
Future plans
When asked how this has helped her, Celina says “I’d like to believe that it has made me a better human being. My involvement keeps me grounded. Secondly, I feel that I’m making a difference and that is immense growth-fuel for an individual. When I deal with so many big issues and problems in many unfortunate peoples’ lives, I feel we have simply no right to crib about our inconsequential problems. That has led me to become a contented person.”
In the future, Celina intends to run a centre for retired officers and soldiers. “Once military personnel retire or leave the army, it becomes very difficult for most of them to adjust in a civilian environment. I want to open a counselling centre to help them deal with civilian life. I also want to open a counselling centre for widows/children of soldiers who have lost their lives in line of duty and a placement agency to help provide them good jobs.”
This column features little known aspects of well known personalities.
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