The diary of an accidental activist

By Anuksha Dey

Laly Randolf calls herself an accidental social activist. She represented Kerala at national cricket championships, has a postgraduate degree in English, and held a stable LIC job till the early 2000s. Besides, life kept presenting her with opportunities to make a difference. Today, Randolf is an active member of Kasa Mukta Bellandur (KMB) and is well known for her work in solid waste management.

Social activism

Laly’s first tryst with societal welfare was around 2002 when she was living in Koramangala. She had joined a small citizens protest against a restaurant in her area for its unhygienic working condition. However, her full-time employment left her with little time for social work thereafter.

The incident that changed it all

After 21 years of working for a public sector undertaking, and five years as a lecturer at St Francis PU College in Koramangala, Laly was drawn to social activism by accident. In 2013, a new chapter began in her life when she moved back to KPC Layout in Kasavanahalli after quitting her job as a lecturer. Laly was taking a leisurely stroll with her pet dog in KPC Layout when she came across a lady crying soon after a chain-snatching incident. Laly realised that if there was a sense of community feeling, someone would have helped her or that anti-social activity would not have occurred. The event motivated residents to come together and revive the defunct local residents association. As citizens started discussing their problems, the KPC Residents Welfare Association (RWA) started campaigns to resolve the woes of residents. “My main intention was to bring in a secure atmosphere by getting people to know each other, and create a sense of belonging within the community,” she says. “Once the residents came together, work towards development was only an automatic next step.”

Working with other activists

Laly got involved in more serious activism through fellow activist Madhubala when she was introduced to Kasa Mukta Bellandur. It was through KMB that she came to work with many veteran social activists in Mahadevapura constituency, and Bellandur ward in particular.

Eventually, she was part of projects, such as asphalting of Kasavanahalli Road, KPC residential roads, widening of Sarjapur Road, and so on, under the umbrella of more groups like Save Bellandur, Kasavanahalli Development Forum, and Bellandur Jothege, among others. She is also a Bellandur Ward leader for Bengaluru Navanirmana Party (BNP), a citizens movement for better and citizen-centric BBMP governance. She has also been selected as B. Safe Ambassador, an innovative activity for women safety by the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC).

While there is much left to be done in terms of development in Kasavanahalli, Laly counts her years of social activism in small successes. “Since 2013, Kasavanahalli got good roads with footpaths, Cauvery water, laying of underground drainage (UGD) pipe lines, effective coordination for Solid Waste Management, and a good number of street lights,” she says. “Over and above every change that is brought in, it is the satisfaction of making positive difference in people’s lives and in the localities that is closer to my heart.”

The challenges of being an advocate of social change

Being a social activist is not easy. It depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice: personal time and energy besides family time, stepping out of your comfort zone, and spending from your pocket. According to Laly, it is often a thankless job. “There is indifference, belittling of one’s efforts, and others taking undue credit for one’s sincere work. We have to deal with such matters without much heart burn,” she says with a laugh.

However, what drives Laly is the desire to help the needy. She believes that purity of intent is utmost important. “Problems can only be resolved by a ‘can-do’ attitude, which includes the intent to work for a particular concern that betters people’s lives,” she says. Her sports background has helped her to take matters sportingly and contribute to the success of welfare organisations. Her meticulous approach to problem-solving has assisted her in tackling the issues effectively.

Working through the pandemic

Laly was unable to step out of her home since the pandemic began. A medical history of pneumonia puts her at high risk. However, this has not stunted her spirits. She continues to volunteer and work for social welfare, often coordinating both large and small scale events, over the phone.

In June, she coordinated a “No Spitting Campaign” in Kasavanahalli to stop the spread of the virus, in conjunction with BBMP and Beautiful Bengaluru. Laly was a remote coordinator for the campaign while Pankaj Datta Sharma and Odette Katrak led the campaign on ground. “Right now, the most worrying problem for me is the lack of effective implementation of pandemic protocols,” she says. “Had everyone been careful, I could have stepped out and contributed more to society.”

Hopes for the future

Problems are still aplenty in Kasavanahalli. Many parts of the locality lack basic infrastructure, such as organised garbage collection, access to potable water, motorable roads, walkability, effective stormwater drains (SWD), underground drainage (UGD) connections, and proper streetlights. The growing commercialisation of residential areas, blatant violation of building bylaws, encroachment of footpaths, illegal digging of community roads by various service providers, removing of trees on the streets while constructing buildings without any replacement, and the commercial use of borewells are just a few problems that worry her. But Laly has a never-say-die attitude: “Giving back to the society, and building sustainable and eco friendly communities are a few other tasks I would like to work on, once I am able to step out of my house safely.”