Hyundai #BeTheBetterGuy | PAUSE FOR THE PAWS

Wildlife and nature are two of the many aspects which India holds multitudes of. We as explorers never miss a chance to get into the forests to witness the animals we don't get to see much often, but what about the ones we see every day? The ones who are homeless, helpless and yet constitute a big and important part of the city ecosystem.

The #BeTheBetterGuy campaign has been an initiative from Hyundai to instil good manners within drivers when they're on the road. It intends to change certain behaviour by correction and education to ensure a more safe and respectful ambience on the road for vehicle users and pedestrians alike.

Hyundai as a brand have always been active advocates of road safety and responsible behaviour on road, and have been urging people to be the better guy via multiple campaigns across several years. We at Overdrive have also taken it up hand in hand with Hyundai to project the image of the better guy on road, and this year it was up to us to experience something which only pure passion can nurture.

Last year the #BeTheBetterGuy campaign took us to take a look into major issues faced in cities due to which the harmony of life on road gets disrupted brutally, and also is the reason for major road accidents, that's drunk driving. We also did attempt to familiarise people with the concept of silent zones in the city where one shouldn't honk considering the ambiance requires silence to function, such as hospitals and schools. This year the campaign delved further into the city ecosystem and looked beyond the wellbeing of just humans.

Statistics show that there are approximately 6.4 crore stray dogs and over 94 lakh street cats in the country. The number is so high that 77% of the Indian population reports seeing a stray at least once a week. With such a large population we often get to hear mishaps caused by these mute creatures who aren't miscreants per se, but just happen to cause problems unknowingly. The #BeTheBetterGuy campaign this year levels up and looks into the safety of stray dogs, cats and other animals who roam the streets and are prone to accidents due to an array of problems. A very important one being visibility.

Imagine a poorly lit road and you are driving, suddenly a dog or cat comes in front of your vehicle, the natural response is to apply emergency brakes to save the animal. However this sudden change of pace comes as a surprise to the driver or rider behind you and ends up in a collision or something even worse. How to tackle this problem with a simple step?

Get these stray animals a reflective collar.  So that when the headlight of your vehicle hits it, you can spot an animal from a safe distance to avoid collision. This will help to significantly increase awareness on the roads and save the lives of these innocent animals and prevent road accidents as well.

This led us to visit YODA and ask the people there about this step and how they are spreading awareness about stray animals in cities and also to get to know a few of those adorable animals.

YODA is short for Youth Organisation in Defence of Animals, and it is testament to the power of social media in today's time. Beginning with little steps as a Facebook community back in 2011, YODA has grown to be one of the most recognised organisations in aid of stray animals in Mumbai. Apart from Mumbai they also have a sister concern called Taco in Haryana which caters to stray cattle, and this shows nothing else but positive growth.

YODA holds state of the art facilities in Khar and Malad in Mumbai with a capacity of over 150 beds, well equipped OPDs, able doctors and a neat and clean environment for the ailing animals to recover in. Huge vaccination and sterilisation drives are a part of YODA's everyday business where they sterilise more than 200 animals per month to start with. Organisations like YODA truly inspire you to be a good samaritan, a better guy with their empathetic attitude towards the stray animals. They provide free of cost treatment to any stray animal that they rescue themselves or is brought to them, as they believe that every animal has the right to receive that treatment and be healthy and happy in their life, and I believe that couldn't define being the better guy any better.

The shelters were an eye opener. We had a great time there interacting with the people and meeting the stray animals who are residents and also the ones who are under treatment. They also allowed me to put the safety reflective collar on a few dogs there as well which turned out to be a great success after a few failed attempts. The animals despite being in pain are ready to offer their love, and we as humans must do our bit to be the better guy here and show concern towards these mute animals who are truly helpless and yet constitute such an important aspect of the city ecosystem.

Here at YODA we got to know of these generous individuals who are taking care of these helpless animals and this is a huge lesson of empathy for us. A lesson we all should learn and follow to make the streets a better and safer space for these furry friends who need nothing but some love and support. The management and staff here are all young individuals who are working for a cause with innate passion in their hearts and it shows. We spoke to Tania Sood from YODA and she told us about their journey and how they plan on growing further creating a safe space for the stray animals in the city, and further on, the country.

Here I would want to put in a special message of adoption. Adoption is a key method which can give these little ones a home and a better environment to grow in. Adoption is something which should be promoted strongly so that anyone who wants to have pets in their household don't shop, rather give a safe and loving home to these strays who will love you as unconditionally as any other pet in this planet. Additionally the stray dogs and cats we have here in our country are acclimatised to our climate and food and hence are easy to maintain and take care of.

This time Hyundai took the initiative a step further to include the other life forms which exist in our city environment. The #BeTheBetterGuy campaign surely speaks loads about the compassionate and constructive attitude Hyundai functions with, and we are thankful to Hyundai for this campaign which got us to witness ingenuity, generosity and pure love which filled our hearts with nothing but joy and a replenished need to #BeTheBetterGuy.