Hi everybody,
I am Bhawani Jaswara and I have been a journalist for over 20 years. In this period, I have dealt with and collected numerous cases and coordinated the efforts of many great social activists. This article is about one such activist: a common man from Kolkata, West Bengal, who is fighting against all odds to serve society. In my opinion, he is an icon and a real hero.
Abhishek Kundu, who currently resides in Central Kolkata with his family, was born in a lower middle class Bengali family. He spent most of his childhood in Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra. Later on, his family shifted to Kolkata. After completing his primary schooling (during which he suffered from a speech disorder), he witnessed many setbacks. When he was about to start his career, he lost both parents. This took a toll on his mental health. There are many articles available on internet that have already focused on his early struggles.
In spite of his difficulties, he began dreaming of a new humanity. He used his knowledge of psychology with zeal, in social welfare. He started working as a Global Suicide Prevention Activist. He is also the part of Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation and represents India. His work is not only limited to India. He has collaborated with 12 NGOs in Africa.
There is a major need of mental health consultants in this continent. He tirelessly conducts various awareness campaigns on anti-abortion, female hygiene, domestic violence, marital rape, suicide prevention and many more. In a short conversation with him, he elucidated his thoughts, vision and his implementation techniques.
Nowadays, he keeps trending on social media platforms for his social awareness campaigns. He has also been invited as a guest speaker on many platforms, including the Bangalore-based community radio station Radio Active 90.4 FM, My Canvas Talk, etc. to share his life experience and initiatives. For him, labels don’t mean anything. He believes in facts. Labels can’t save people, but a caring mind can.
His plans are concrete and he will be associated with startups to implement these plans on a larger scale. It may take some time due to this pandemic, but society will start changing with these initiatives. The most interesting answer I got from him was about his identity. Replying to my question, he just smiled and answered “ I am just a new ray of hope, that’s all. No other identity is needed to initiate good cause.“