Most people just talk about or wish for change, but Priyadas G Mangalath has found a unique way to walk the talk and be the change.
To inculcate ideas of equality and to sensitise the youth, he started Altius in January 2009. A collective of socially committed youngsters based out of Kerala, Altius seeks to build an alternative society where the word disparity belongs to a bygone era. To do so, the members learn to respect all sorts of physical labour and take up odd domestic jobs in their free time.
“What’s common to Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Che Guera?” asks Priyadas (57), while talking about Altius’s role models. “Pure, unconditional love for humanity,” adds Priyadas, who runs a software company in Thiruvananthapuram.
“A passion to bring about a change in society drove us to launch Altius,” says Priyadas. “Since change can be generated and propagated through youngsters, we realised Altius as a collective of young people who are globally competent, as well as socially committed,” he explains.
And a year ago, a more action-packed version of Altius was launched—Altius Crows, which has 140members at present. “We believed that equality would not be possible till we learn to respect blue-collar jobs. So the Crows members themselves do any kind of domestic work such as house cleaning, washing, plumbing, painting, coconut picking and the like,” says Priyadas. The members charge a fixed rate from the house owner and complete the work in a stipulated timeframe. “We do the work in a professional manner within the stipulated time. If we fail to do so, we never charge extra. This is part of our work ethic,” says Vishnu Mahesh M, an Altius Crows member from Kozhikode, who is in his third-year of college.
Angitha N, an undergraduate student, recently attended a camp conducted by Altius Crows in Kottayam. “It was inspiring,” she says. “We learnt to climb coconut tree using machines. All the students who attended the camp were motivated and vowed to join Altius Crows. My family also supports their ideals. The members have been able to develop social sensitivity through the activities they do,” she says.
The members, too, have had interesting experiences. “I first went coconut picking at advocate Mohandas’s house,” says Vishnu. “I was nervous as it was my first experience. But Mohandas Sir was impressed with our initiative and we also discussed Altius and its objectives. It was very fruitful and we both gained much from this. It encourages me even now to continue what I do with Altius Crows.”
For Rouf, a third-year computer science student, Altius Crows was a great opportunity to overcome his shyness. “Earlier I was too shy to face a crowd or even to talk to a stranger. If somebody came to my house, I would run into my room. Now I can speak to anybody, thanks to Altius,” he beams.
And all members agree that their communication abilities have definitely gone up several notches after they joined Altius. “Altusians stay in regular touch through emails. We receive emails from people from different walks of life. Many of them are in top positions in various organisations and this provides us great exposure,” says Abhijith, a member from Kozhikode.
Altius is planning a Singapore trip in December to expose its members to the outside world.
Priyadas, along with some selected Altius members, will comprise the team.
“Half the expense for the ticket will be collected by each team member,” says Vishnu. “We gathered the rest by working at a seven-day camp in Thiruvananthapuram,” he adds.
Well, the sky’s the limit for Altius scouts.