Country battles Covid-19, and celebrations pave way for charity

Celebrations have been low-key amid the pandemic, and many have taken to mark birthdays and anniversaries by volunteering for Covid-19 relief or donating to noble causes.

Hardships often bring out the best in people. And this has been clearly visible in the last few weeks as the second wave of Covid-19 hit, prompting many Delhiites to try and help those in need. Be it verifying leads for oxygen beds, medicines and oxygen concentrators, or cooking food and delivering it to the needy in the neighbourhood – several citizens have gone out of their way. And while last year’s lockdown saw people celebrating their special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries in a low-key fashion, this year most have marked the date by doing something for the Covid-affected.

People are volunteering to help the needy affected by Covid-19, instead of spending money on their special occasions. (Burhaan Kinu/ HT (Photo for representational purposes only))

Rashmi Aggarwal, 19, had earlier decided to throw a huge party this year for her birthday in April – given she couldn’t do much for her 18th birthday in 2020 – but the grief all around prompted her to instead donate her savings to a nearby gurdwara’s oxygen langar. “It’s heart wrenching to see the grim situation in the country. My uncle’s entire family is battling Covid in Bengaluru, whereas some of my friends here in Noida have parents or siblings fighting the virus. Knowing what they are going through, I couldn’t even cut a cake for my birthday. I combined the funds meant for my birthday party with money my parents and grandparents gave me for the occasion and donated all of it to the gurudwara,” says the Noida resident, who donated ₹15,000 for the cause.

Fans of South Korean band EXO raised ₹1 lakh through an online fundraiser, to mark the birthday of band member, singer-songwriter Byun Baekhyun on May 6, and donated it to Mission Oxygen. Anu Konsam, Manipur EXO-L representative, which organised the fundraiser, says, “During these hard times we decided to do what we could for Baekhyun’s birthday. We got to know about Mission Oxygen and came together to collectively raise funds for it,” adding, “Raising ₹1 lakh in three days from a fandom mostly comprising students, it’s quite overwhelming. Covid-19 has hit us hard but let’s go through this together. Together we ‘can-dy’ overcome!” she adds, making a reference to Baekhyun’s solo song, Candy.

Another EXO fan, Gurugram resident, Shriya Banerjee, says, “Giving for a cause on member’s birthdays or group debut/ fandom anniversary is our way of saying ‘thank you’. Different fanbases keep doing fundraisers, be it in form of collecting cash or selling fan made merchandise, profits from which are donated for a cause. This is not only from a sense of community or belonging but is also because the idols themselves believe in giving. K-pop stars such as Suho supports ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) while Sehun volunteers to help less privileged children, thus encouraging the fans too, to keep giving back to society.”

While some celebs, like actor Viraf Patell, opted for a court marriage with fiancé Saloni Khanna, and devoted the budget earmarked for a grand wedding to Covid relief, ordinary citizens too have set aside wedding or anniversary plans to contribute to the cause in their own way. Delhi’s Akshat Gaur, an architect who runs his own start-up, had his anniversary in the first week of May. But instead of giving a treat to friends and family, he decided to keep the party going even longer by serving food to Covid patients in his neighbourhood. “I wanted to do something, but couldn’t zero in on something. One evening I spotted my neighbour, who was against eating outside food, collecting a meal left by a food delivery agent. Asked, he revealed both he and his wife were down with Covid and couldn’t make food. At that very moment my wife and I decided to provide meals to such needy individuals,” he says.

And they devised an innovative mechanism for it. “My wife and I aren’t good cooks, so we called our cook, who we’d initially sent on leave due to the pandemic. We told her that we wanted to provide for the Covid-affected and needed her help. She readily agreed and even brought another lady to help her. I brought the dry rations and with the help of a delivery service, sent food to far off places. Within my locality, I myself go and give out meals,” shares Gaur.

Exemplifying love and compassion is another young couple, who got married in April and dedicated their leave to help people on social media get verified leads. “We got married in April and were to go to the Maldives for our honeymoon, but soon after travel was restricted so we dropped the plan. Seeing that social media was flooded with pleas for oxygen beds, ventilators, etc, we decided to dedicate four hours in the morning daily to verifying leads for oxygen beds and plasma donors in Delhi-NCR,” says Sudha Krishnan, who has since joined back at work but still tries to help people. She adds, “My husband and I divided our work, he would track requests and I’d make calls and verify leads. It felt quite fulfilling to know we could actually meet some people’s requirements. I’m glad we put our leave to good use.”