09 June,2021 05:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Pallavi Smart
A screenshot from the musical event, Samarpan
Param Mody (left) and Malhar Sanghvi
The duo from Vile Parle studies in Std XII in Jamnabai Narsee School. They hit upon the idea while interacting with their grandparents. "The pandemic has been especially tough for senior citizens stuck inside homes. Many are feeling low because life is not normal and because of illness and death around us. Hence, I thought of a recreational event," said Malhar, who discussed the idea with his friend, Param.
With the help of their Gujarati tuition teacher, Jimit Mull, the duo came up with Samarpan, an entertainment-cum-fund-raising event. They brought together popular singers from the community, educators for motivational talks, stand-up artists and a group to perform retro Bollywood melodies. "We created a video of the work done by Santokba Premkorba Charitable Trust and asked the audience of around 500 people to make donations," Malhar said.
Although the programme was for only one evening on May 30, the duo plans to continue raising funds. A recording of the event uploaded on YouTube is being shared widely. "The money will be used to provide face masks, oxygen concentrators and PPE kits for hospitals in rural areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh," Malhar said.
The duo said that getting the senior citizens onboard has been a unique experience. "They are not really tech-savvy. Getting them all on WhatsApp groups was a tough task which we managed with the help of young members of their families. We spoke about the programme's purpose on videos and shared them on WhatsApp. A few performers, too, created videos to promote participation from the seniors," the duo said.
