Featured Word
Give
Dictionary Definition
To make a present of
Former Chairman, ICICI Bank Ltd.
When I was seven years old, I was walking with my grandmother in the village where I lived, and I asked her why two silos were kept in the corner of the road near the fields. She told me that the silos were meant to deposit rice either by the farmers after the harvest or by any villager who wanted to share the surplus rice he may have. The idea was that those who needed the rice for cooking food could take it from the silos without the need for begging, which is undignified. This left a lasting impression on me. I realized that there is sheer joy in giving, and the joy doubles if the donor remains anonymous. Sixty years later when I was chairman of ICICI, a youngster approached me for help in starting a foundation known as GIVE INDIA, with the view of reviving the culture of giving in the country. I told him a resounding YES, remembering what my grandmother told me when I was a mere child.
To GIVE is a privilege. For the last 20 years we have known that my wife has kidney disease and that she will eventually need a kidney transplant. Few years ago I went to the kidney clinic to find out if I could be an eligible kidney donor. I found out that due to my health issues I could not donate. For the next 2 years I worked on improving my health and was able to successfully donate my kidney in August 2022 through a paired exchange. We are grateful that both my wife and my kidney surgeries were successful. My wife now has normal kidney health. I have recovered to my normal health and resumed all my activities. When people ask me how I am doing, I respond 'I am doing better than before my surgery' since I am now not only back to being physically healthy but I also have this prized sense of giving. I feel privileged to have good health and have access to a superb kidney clinic at Stanford Hospital, so that I was able to successfully donate my kidney to my wife. I feel this mindset of privilege gave me tremendous strength and fulfillment which made me inherently resilient. Finally, I leave you with a question to ponder: should you GIVE with expectation of something in return or should you GIVE with no expectation in return?
Former California Energy Commissioner
One of the most famous and often quoted phrases in the Bible is, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son....' Giving up one's life to save another is something mere mortals rarely do. To GIVE is an act of sacrifice, love, and meaning; big or small, inexpensive or priceless, easy or difficult. I was healthy enough to give one of my kidneys to a stranger. My health was unchanged and my life has better since. After watching a friend donate his kidney to prolong his wife's life, I was moved by his act of giving and how it made him feel. I had to do the same. I didn't have someone I knew who needed my kidney, so I let the doctors decide who needed it most. Giving something that is priceless, that only I could give, and that I knew would help save a life was one of the most meaningful actions I've ever done and filled me with an indescribable sense of purpose, value, and selflessness. To GIVE is to be selfless.