The only time I remember hearing continuous praises, superlatives, and positive adjectives is during sports. When a young Coco Gauff hits a winner or when Sachin Tendulkar hits a straight drive or when Lionel Messi does Lionel Messi things, it is the commentators who bring colour to the magic. I haven’t felt the same about any other walks of life until I heard about Ashish Joshi. Ashish isn’t an athlete by definition but if dog rescuing was an Olympic sport, he would have had multiple gold medals by now.
Ashish with his dog Champ
Ashish lives in Aurangabad, where he has managed to create a magical space. Sometimes changing the world can be a difficult task, but Ashish has managed to change the world around him by not only helping animals but also by protecting the environment.
There are over 60 dogs in the neighbourhood, and Ashish has managed to vaccinate all of them and sterilise 56 of them. He feeds every single one of them every single day, regardless of his schedule. He has even built a small park for them to give them a safe spot, water and greenery. Where does this greenery come from? Well, Ashish makes it happen. Ashish and his friends organise countless plantation drives to keep his area full of trees. And it is not easy. In Aurangabad, water supply is as common as an empty window seat on the train during peak hours. It rarely gets through. Despite this, Ashish and his gang of environmentalists make sure they collect, save water for the rest of the day.
If you thought managing 60 dogs and a plantation space was a challenge, imagine doing all this while also pursuing architecture. Ashish barely gets three hours of sleep every night. Although from the stories I have heard, it is common to sacrifice sleep with most architecture students in the country. This just puts Ashish’s animal and environment efforts at a higher pedestal. How does one find the energy and mental strength to do all this?
The inspiration lies in a dog. A dog like no other. Champ, as he is rightly named, is Ashish’s biggest inspiration in life. Champ was found in a terrible state and his front legs had to be amputated. But that does not stop champ from enjoying the dog life. He has learnt to adapt, to walk on two legs and greet Ashish with the usual high amounts of excitement! Ashish says that seeing Champ deal with life and not only survive but also be happy, helps him keep working hard. There are many dark days, but Champ is the light which keeps him going.
Inspiring. Incredible. Spectacular. Breathtaking. Oh my god. Is that even real? How does he do that? Salute. Salute, my friend. Ashish is a hero every city on the planet needs right now. To help achieve even more, to help Ashish save more animals, plant more trees and build a better earth, donate via Google Pay on 7709050959. I promise you, it’ll be the best money you spend.
Really inspiring!
Great work Ashish 🙌