Back in 2007, singer G. Venugopal was performing at a concert in the capital city, when a group of individuals came to the backstage and introduced themselves as his fans. They had got together in an Orkut page dedicated to the singer.
“That was when I first heard of Orkut. The page had around 6,000 members already. The group later organised the first concert to celebrate my 25th year in the film industry,” says Venugopal.
That was the beginning of ‘Sasneham,’ a collective of his fans, who later came together on a blog to discuss various initiatives that can be taken up. One was a series of classes in art, music and craft for the residents of the children’s ward at the Regional Cancer Centre here. It helped that there were accomplished artists and singers among the fans.
Over the past two years, they have been active with the children at the Mahila orphanage in Poojappura, teaching them skills from glass painting to caricaturing.
The fan page has now moved to Facebook, with the number of members about to touch 4 lakh.
Response
On April 8, the ‘Sasneham’ group will launch an organ donation campaign.
Ever since the campaign was announced on the page on Sunday afternoon, asking fans willing to donate their organs to sign up, there has been an overwhelming response from various parts of the world. “More than 50 have confirmed their willingness. A group of 15 from Technopark has also sent in their forms. The final number will be known only on Wednesday,” says Gireesh, a co-ordinator of the initiative.
The programme is being organised in association with the organ donation awareness committee of the Indian Medical Association. The singer will inaugurate the function at the Mahila Mandiram in Poojappura at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
“I want this to be an ongoing process. The signs are encouraging and there has been a change in attitude towards organ donation. The other day, a girl had called up saying that she’s in Thiruvananthapuram and her parents are in Wayanad, and she wanted to know about the organ donation process if something happens to her. She had made the decision and was only concerned about how it is to be done. We are trying to make the people see donation in a positive way,” says Venugopal.
