TOUCHING LIVES

Prithviraj Kapoor hosting a guest who never left, Dharmendra encouraging sleepovers for fans and Sachin Tendulkar helping out a friend in need... Celebs show us how small gestures towards commoners help them connect with the larger meaning of life, says Seema Sinha.
DECADES ago Prithviraj Kapoor had a guest from Peshawar who was supposed to stay with the actor for about two weeks in his modest apartment in Matunga, Mumbai. But the guest never went back and stayed with the cinematic patriarch forever! “Perhaps the latest Bollywood flick Athithi Tum Kab Jaaoge was inspired from that incident,” says the actor’s grandson Rajeev Kapoor in lighter vein. “We Kapoors were always taught to reach out to the masses. We are people’s persons; we never behaved like celebrities and opened our arms to embrace people from all walks of life. We had an o p e n h o u s e, t h e r e were fest iva l s , parties… p e o p l e, families coming in for various o c c a - s i o n s , ” adds Rajeev.
Veteran actor D h a r m e n d ra would often have his fans come down from Punjab and the actor would let some of them stay in his bungalow. “I never felt like a star and I always wanted to reach out to the masses. I yearned for their love and admiration all the time, and I feel this relationship of love between my fans and me is thicker than b l o o d . . b a h u t anokha hai yeh rishta,” says Dharmendra.
One has heard of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar involved in various charities, including anti-cancer, children’s education, improving children’s health and hygiene, but one doesn’t know about the cricketer giving away Rs 17 lakh to a former Indian cricketer, whose mother was ill. According to sources, Mahendra Singh Dhoni recently bought three ambulances for a local hospital in Ranchi and his wife Sakshi was once seen rushing to Uttaranchal to distribute 1,000 blankets to the poor and needy.
Time and again, celebrities have reached out to people either through donations, charities, foundation or simple little gestures. Socially-driven Neerja Birla, vice chairperson, education project and wife of Kumaramangalam Birla, reaches out to several organisations like Muktangan, Akanksha and Make-a-Wish Foundation, with the former two supporting the education of under-privileged children and the latter fulfilling the wishes of terminally-ill children.
An active supporter of the charity organisation set up by her mother for female infanticide called Relief Projects India, Katrina Kaif has given many of her personal belongings for auction in Chennai to help set up a pre-natal centre. “I support my mother’s charity, which primarily cares for the abandoned girl child. Beyond this, when I do something, it is not really with any preset notion that I will get something in return except for a little joy that somehow, somewhere I am getting a chance to give something back to people who give me so much all the time,” says Katrina.
“When I feel low, I look at the beautiful cards these children have sent me, it brings a smile on my face. I feel I haven’t let my life go wa s t e, ” says act r e s s Rave e n a Ta n d o n , w h o helped rehabilitate about 30 girls, who had no roof on their head, about three years ago. Before they were shifted to a proper home in Vasai, these destitute kids found shelter in Raveena’s home for two years until the actress could collect funds and make arrangements for their permanent stay.
And today, she has only wish — “That I could enter these children’s minds and make them understand that they must use the golden opportunities that come their way.” Recently, she tried helping out a destitute 11-year-old boy, who had followed her home for alms. “I heard him out and told him to stay with me and wanted to enrol him in a school nearby, but he refused and continues to stay at Bandra station,” laments Raveena.
Always at the forefront of charitable causes, Salman Khan once rolled down his car window and started having a conversation with a beggar child when he was stuck in a traffic jam. Salman realised the child was unaware of his star status. Touched by his innocence, Salman got him inside his car, gave him a few packets of chocolates and some money before leaving.
Back home, actress Priyanka Chopra, who is the national brand ambassador of UNICEF, is involved majorly in educating the girl child, creating awareness and has also taken up the cause of female infanticide for many years through her charity foundation.
Small gestures go a big way. Actor Hrithik Roshan recently gifted a school bus worth Rs 10 lakh to the Dilkhush Special School set up for mentally challenged children in Mumbai. The school had just two buses with one needing repairs. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her own charity the Aishwarya Rai Foundation have pledged to aid the Smile Train, a worldwide movement that helps children with cleft lips. Last year, Vivek Oberoi, back after a holiday in Europe decided to celebrate his birthday with children at an orphanage. And actress Sameera Reddy represents an NGO that provides homes for homeless children in Mumbai.
What can be more humbling than giving back to the society?


Courtesy TOI dated 19.12.2010

Let us salute these Citizens who are leading by example to show us the path in giving back to soceity!