Rice Bucket Challenge! Hats off Manju Latha Kalanidhi !!!

Rice Bucket Challenge! Hats off Manju Latha Kalanidhi !!!

Let us Replace the Icebucket Challenge with Rice bucket challenge. The aim is to raise money and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also called Lou Gerhig’s disease), a fatal neurodegenerative disease.

A Hyderabad-based journalist, Manju Latha Kalanidhi, believes that it is a bit senseless to copy the stunt in India, a country where clean water is a luxury for many. Instead, she has come up with the rice bucket challenge, where people are encouraged to cook or donate a bowl or bag of rice to a poor person. They then take a picture of themselves and post it on Facebook and nominate friends to take up the cause.

“The idea of dunking oneself in icy cold water, shrieking in horror and then uploading the bizarre video felt preposterous. I wanted to just do something local, meaningful without wasting anything.” says 38-year old Manju Latha Kalanidhi. “So rice replaced water here.” “You can donate to any needy person—a poor kid, a vegetable seller, your maid, driver, watchman, orphanage etc.”

She began charity and rice bucket challenge last week by donating to a a daily labourer who sells idlis/dosas in a small stall run from his bicycle. 

Manju says she chose rice for donation because it rhymes with “ice” and is an integral part of South Indian diet. The challenge doesn’t produce spectacular videos like the ice bucket challenge, but if it catches on, many hungry stomachs will be fed.