Young artistes plan online concert to raise funds for Covid-19 relief
Youngsters are using their artistic talents to extend a helping hand, amid the grim scenario presented by the second wave of Covid-19.
While musicians like Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez and Foo Fighters are headlining concerts to raise funds for global Covid-19 vaccinations, artistes closer home are doing their bit to help their fellow countrymen battle the second wave of the pandemic. While many are helping arrange for oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, ambulances and plasma, a bunch of youngsters are holding a virtual concert to raise funds for those affected.
The 22 youngsters – students, professionals who share a passion for music and poetry and a zeal to use their skills for those in distress – will perform online from cities as diverse as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal and even Japan, on May 8. The event, ‘In The Dark Times, There Will Be Singing’, aims to raise funds for various marginalised sections of society hit by the pandemic.
Poet and co-organiser Parth Rahatekar, a 22-year-old creative media professional from Pune, shares, “This event speaks to the spirit of community that is sprouting in times of overwhelming grief. It came about after a few poets got on a video call a few weeks back and wanted to help the country tide over its suffering.” Along with fellow poet Nidhi Krishna, a 21-year-old student at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, he began contacting poets and musicians who they believed had “voices that were strong enough to heal”.
Among them was Delhi-based Nandini Srivastav, who was doing her Bachelors in Germany but returned home in the pandemic. “I believe art is one of the most powerful means of expression, especially at a time where we could all use some healing. It’s important for young artistes like me to use our art to extend a helping hand,” says the 20-year-old singer. And Pune-based Roshni Raheja, 22, an associate at a sustainability and social impact advisory firm by day, and poet by night, shares, “Watching the news, going through social media, seeing loved ones struggle with the pandemic, it’s overwhelming. As an artiste, knowing that something I already do can help, it was an obvious choice.”
How are the proceeds being donated? “We made a list of active online fundraisers for marginalised people. One can attend the event after they donate to one of the causes we’ve listed, and share the receipt via the email id listed on our social media handles,” explains Krishna. They are constantly updating the fundraisers, replacing them with new ones in case one reaches its target. The fundraisers have one thing common, they aim to support the marginalised – trans women, waste-pickers, migrant workers, people with disabilities and HIV. One fundraiser is also helping with oxygen procurement in Kashmir.
As the event is being held online, many Indians living abroad are joining in too. Swastika Jajoo, a Master’s student now in Japan who hails from Aurangabad, Maharashtra, is participating through her poetry. “I lost my grandfather to the virus this April. I attended his funeral via video call and mourning the death of a loved one alone has been a very harrowing experience. Through the fundraiser, I want to articulate my grief and the collective grief we face,” shares Jajoo who plans to perform a piece about the pandemic, her grandfather, and the ever-elusive nature of hope.
Touching the heart, in different ways
Assam-based researcher and illustrator, Najiba Yasmin, 23, currently in Amsterdam, is selling prints of her digital illustrations till May 9 to raise funds for Indian LGBTQIA+ persons affected by the pandemic. “Being away from home and hearing about the current state of affairs in the country, I wanted to do whatever was in my capacity to help. I am selling my artworks online to people based in Europe and donating the proceeds to an Assam-based queer group who are providing safety kits consisting of essentials like masks, face shields, medicines, sanitisers, and thermometers for LGBTQIA+ persons from a financially disadvantaged background,” she shares.
And Mumbai-based baker Dhruvi Desai recently held a weeklong bake sale, Act of Kindness, on Instagram to help Covid patients and medical personnel. “I lost my father to Covid last October. The fact that I couldn’t see him and say goodbye made me want to do something. Since baking is my forté, a bake sale seemed like the most feasible way to raise funds,” shares Desai, who is donating 100% of the proceeds, an amount of ₹42,500, to an NGO.
