How would you react if your home is washed away by the fury of a river? For most people, it is a shock beyond recovery. But for a handful of few, it can alter their purpose in life.
Raja Ravi, a student leader, social worker, and teacher from Bihar, is clear about the purpose of his life. He wants to make Koshi’s epithet, “The Sorrow of Bihar,” redundant.
Raja Ravi – His Story
Born to a very prosperous family in Bihar, Raja Ravi shares that the Koshi destroyed the lives of his grandparents and his parents. They lost everything to Koshi. Ravi Raja’s father worked hard to become a lawyer. As a man of strong ethics, he found the profession too offensive to his soul. A visit to the nearby market area motivated him to start a school for the neighborhood kids. Raja Ravi beams with pride as he shares, “For 20 years, my father has focused on his school, and today it is one of the largest schools in that area.” Raja Ravi is motivated by his hardworking father in all facets of life.
While chatting about his teen years, Raja Ravi says, “Post my 10th exams, like everyone, I too left Koshi district to Kota for my IIT JEE preparations. But fate had other plans for me. I started getting migraine attacks and just couldn’t study. I tried everything – allopathy, alternative medicine, yoga, meditation – everything under the sun and moon, and yet relief was hard to come by. Left with no other option, I packed my bags and got back to my hometown. That was the end of my IIT dreams.”
One day his Uncle suggested that he must engage in multiple activities and not just academics. Soon, Raja Ravi was trying his hand at poetry, painting, social work – All activities significantly different from his routine. To his surprise, not only was he was winning accolades for his extracurricular performances, his migraine attacks too were gone.
Raja Ravi was a much-admired all-rounder and academic topper during his B.Sc. years at Patna Science College. While pursuing his M.Sc. at Patna University, he decided to contest for Council Member from his department. But to his dismay, he lost the election by just 15 votes. A few months later, elections for the central panel of the University were announced. Raja Ravi decided to contest for the position of Joint Secretary – a post that needed outreach efforts to 22000 students. Nobody thought he could come anywhere close to a win.
He says, “People assumed that only a ‘Dabangg’ personality could make it – and I wasn’t that. I decided to shatter such stereotypes.” Subsequently, he won with a record margin and became the Joint Secretary of Patna University. Though he surprised everyone with his win, he says, he was sure of his win.
Raja Ravi’s moment of social awakening came with the notorious Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), locally known as Chamki Bukhar. Children between the ages of 1-10 were victims of this disease. AES causes inflammation of the brain, leading to coma and death. Raja Ravi saw that lack of nutrition and years of lousy healthcare tragically killed more than 150 kids that year. Along with his friends, he went to every single house in Muzaffarpur, the epicenter of the disease, sharing information on combating the disease and rendering help in whatever way they could.
He was shocked that Primary Health Centers (PHCs) did not even have thermometers. Even city hospitals had abysmally pathetic facilities, with dirt and squalor right next to the ward windows. Burn-ward victims were suffering without electricity and dysfunctional coolers/fans – To him, the entire scenario was depressing. He says, “I realized I am not the right authority to correct anything, but I made sure the vernacular press and national newspapers highlighted these conditions of our healthcare system.”
Raja Ravi and his group of friends also rolled up their sleeves when Patna, the capital city of Bihar, was caught in heavy rains, flooding, and blocked sewers. He was surprised that the city authorities did not have blueprints for the city’s drainage system. People wading through chest-deep waters were getting sucked into open utility holes, and he did his best to pull a few of them to safety.
During the current pandemic, Raja Ravi focuses on educating people about the deadly COVID-19 and stresses masks and gloves. Under his father’s leadership, he is proud that their school distributed soaps and sanitizers to a large population spread across 100 villages in Bihar. Raja Ravi is also working vigorously to help migrant workers from Bihar, stuck in different parts of the country. Raja Ravi plays a pivotal role with ‘Achievers of Bihar,’ a voluntary youth organization. During the lockdown, they contributed heavily towards distributing food grains to 15000 migrant workers from Bihar.
Student leader Raja Ravi says, “Public life has many ups and downs in a reflective mood. Not all our aspirations to serve will be met. We deliver whatever we can to the best of our abilities. Bihar is still a backward state. But our people are diligent, hardworking, and well-skilled. We have to create opportunities for them. To encourage entrepreneurship and home-grown talent, we conduct Koshi Shikhar Sammelan. It is an annual event that encourages learning and provides a platform to showcase talent. We also offer seed capital of 5 Lakhs to 5 Startups with promising ideas.”
As for his personal goals, he shares, “My role is that of a teacher. I am currently working on my B.Ed. I plan to teach at my father’s school and would like to continue with my public service. If I can train our people to live up to their potential best, then I’ve done my little bit to Bihar.”
Raja Ravi participates in International symposiums – He was the official representative of Bihar at the South Asian Geo Sciences Conference.
He signs off with the words, ‘I would like to do two things.
1. Make people appreciate the fact that we cannot live in the past. Bihar must provide platforms for our people to shine.
2. Make sure that our districts are planned and sufficiently well-developed that Koshi cannot be referred to as the “Sorrow of Bihar” anymore.
We wish the student leader, the future statesman, and the teacher a life full of successful endeavors.
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