STOP THE HONKING RAVI KALRA

The first thing they did was to remove the ‘Horn Please’ signs, a common sight on the rear of most commercial vehicles in India. Those sign boards which they could not remove, they simply used black paint to cover up. “We must have removed or painted over around 10,000 signs,” recalls Kalra. Owners and drivers were not happy to see the activists defacing their vehicles. “I was beaten up several times along with my volunteers.

Some people even lodged complaints against us with the police,” he says. However, the initiative did not have as powerful an impact as he had hoped. Determined not to rest until he made a difference, Kalra decided to coin a few anti-honking slogans that were both educational and powerful.

He also declared January 1 as No-Honking Day and distributed thousands of bumper stickers with the message ‘Do Not Honk!’. Another sticker carried a slogan in Hindi: ‘Kutta bhi bina wajah nahin bhonkta’ (Even a dog does not bark without reason). “It did shame a few into reducing the use of the horn,” he describes. This time he was lucky.

RAVI KALRA Bio-

The campaign caught the attention of national media and the civic authorities such as the New Delhi Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which decided to back his cause. They put up ‘No Honking’ boards in several parts of the city. “I was really happy the civic authorities had taken note of the initiative, and their move was definitely a good one,” Kalra says.

Background

Belonging to a middle-class family, Kalra was born and brought up in Delhi.His father was an inspector with Delhi Police, so discipline and the importance of adhering to the law were lessons he was taught early in life. After graduating from Delhi University, Kalra, a 4th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo, founded the Indian Amateur Taekwondo Federation and offered training programmes to others which included among others, Delhi Police personnel, embassy officials and staff of several corporate institutions and schools in the city.

He also set up a business as a career consultant to those interested in taking up jobs overseas. Although he was doing well in his career, he was passionate about doing something in the realm of social service. “I tried to set up an NGO several times, but was unsuccessful because of the differences that used to crop up among the board members,” he says.

Other Efforts

Ravi Kalra established Earth Saviours Foundation with aim to make some difference in society, a small group of dedicated social workers and volunteers, which included young boys and girls.

They offered him their help and started supporting his projects. He is giving free shelter, basic education and food to beggars, mentally challenged and senior citizens. He has established a camp where poorest people of our society are getting necessary and basic help. Today, more than 20 such elderly are getting free shelter and three time meals who were becoming a somewhat difficult for their own families to support. Ravi Kalra and his team has been giving all their savings to this service since 2010.

RAVI KALRA Address-

“A spirit of caring and sharing is very important and needs to be encouraged for the betterment of our own lives and saving our lovely planet,” Kalra suggests. Anyone interested in helping can contact Ravi Kalra, 34 Green Avenue, Near ‘D’ Block Church, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi – 110 070, India. Mobile: +91-9818171695