A laudable effort by a group of college-going students – Vivaan Welfare Association – to impress upon the people of the port city the plight of the orphaned through a street-play on the Beach Road drew a muted response.
One would have expected that the Sunday crowd that throngs the promenade would have some time to spare to think about the lives of the less fortunate. However, it was not to be as most preferred to be engrossed in trying to recharge their batteries for the rat race in the week ahead.
The few who stopped by were fortunate to witness the spirited play Aashayien, performed by members of Faces Drama Club, on the plight of orphans and under-privileged children. The audience was visibly impressed by the zeal of the students that was evident in the entire programme that lasted about 20 minutes.
ADVERTISEMENT
The performance not only drew applause but also helped raise a sizeable collection that would fund the programmes the young social entrepreneurs have drawn up for the less fortunate.
The members of the Vivaann Welfare Association have been working with the children in the slum areas and last week they raised some 650 kg of rice from households in Lawson’s Bay Colony and Visalakshi Nagar and distributed it among an old age home, an orphanage and a leprosy care centre, secretary Pallavi Chatterjee said. The association is trying to make slum-children and orphans independent enough to support themselves, spokesperson Nitin Reddy said.