Anuradha Pal's Covid Relief efforts

Beat the Blues with Anuradha Pal

When the Covid lockdown hit the world in March 2020, Tabla maestro Anuradha Pal went on a mission to help the poor and ignored in society. First, she launched a live program called ‘Beat the Blues with Anuradha Pal’ on 22 March 2020, to alleviate stress and depression by spreading positivity of Indian music, spirituality and culture… Soon loyal fans from Argentina, Brazil, USA, Japan, India and Europe would log in religiously Live! every day on Facebook and Instagram to bask in the power of Anuradha’s music and charisma as it helped them to beat their blues of depression, since the monster of Coronavirus had hit our lives and livelihood, badly. Sharing over 1800 minutes of her rich knowledge and experience over 64 free sessions, Anuradha Pal engagingly presented a new topic daily on Indian music, demonstrating her commitment to Heal the World through Music…

Anuradha Pal’s Kala Ke Sangh Fundraiser

Pained by the dismal condition of the poor Tribal and Folk musicians across India, Anuradha Pal launched a campaign called Kala Ke Sangh in July 2020 to help the marginalised tribal, folk, classical musicians & instrument makers, who were struggling to survive due to cancelled events and no support. Through her music organisation Sur aaur Saaz events, she curated and presented a 4-day online Kala Ke Sangh music festival featuring 27 leading Indian musicians like Bhajan Samraat Shri Anup Jalota, Pt. Satish Vyas amongst others, to sensitise people about the plight of these ignored communities and generated support from her CXO corporate friends, Zonal Centres, Ministry of Culture & ICCR.

Her Sur aaur Saaz team painstakingly connected with poor artists across the country and published a google form so that any tribal, folk, classical musician or instrument maker could apply confidentially for help.

Beneficiaries

Sent Financial help and Food ration to 350 poor musicians across 20 states of India – Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh & New Delhi. Beneficiaries include –

Underprivileged communities – Bhil, Garo, Kathodi, Koch-Rajbongshi, Dhadi tribals, Kathputli (Puppet) artists, Manganiar, Lakha, Jogi, Meghwal musicians, Charkula, Ponung, Matka Bhawai, Terahtali, Kalbeliya dancers, Manta Drummers, Knife jugglers & Bahurupiyas.
Sent financial aid directly to bank accounts of Covid-affected poor, ailing, disabled persons, studio technicians & instrument makers (Morchang, Sitar, Sarangi, Kamaicha, Dhol, Hudka, Tabla, Pakhawaj & Tanpura makers).
Musicians benefited – Folk & Classical dancers, Orchestra players, Jaagar & Malwa Folk musicians, Ghazal, Bhajan, Chorus, Bar, Karaoke singers, Carnatic & Hindustani Classical vocalists & instrumentalists, Khadtaal, Alghoza, Kamaicha, Dholak, Nagada, Jaltaal, Pakhawaj, Dhol, Tabla, Nadaswaram, Mridangam, Kanjira, Ghatam, Morchang, Veena, Sarangi, Damau & Harmonium players.

Please Help Us

Owing to the large number of applicants who need monetary help desperately, we humbly request for your generous contribution towards this noble cause of protecting our culture and heritage.

All Indian residents and those with NRO accounts can make a Bank transfer to our trusted partner Jalota Welfare Foundation and get tax exemptions u/s 80G.

Beneficiary Name : Jalota Welfare Foundation
Account No. : 0059000104165416
IFSC Code : PUNB0005900
Bank & Branch : Punjab National Bank, Dadar (W), Mumbai – 400028.

Aatma Nirbhar Kala Ke Sangh Festival

For any artist, the joy of performing is the ultimate high. Hence to boost their morale in these difficult times, Anuradha Pal through Sur aaur Saaz events launched another superb initiative called ‘Aatma Nirbhar Kala Ke Sangh Festival‘ in January 2021, giving 25 marginalised artists from diverse states – Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kolkata, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, UP, Maharashtra & Punjab – presenting the traditional Folk/ Classical music of their respective states in a celebration of India’s unity amidst diversity, leading upto India’s Republic Day – a fantastic opportunity to perform, earn and monetise their art through her popular Facebook & Instagram pages. The audience could donate directly and book the musicians for concerts, so they could become ‘Aatma-nirbhar’ or self- reliant to earn from their art, in these difficult times.

Stree Shakti URJA

During the cold wave in North India in Feb 2021, Anuradha distributed warm blankets to over 200 houses in Kasniyawad village near Udaipur and provided some medical relief to poor children & women from the Bhil community.

With the terrible second wave of Covid-19, Anuradha realised that several poor women who had lost their husbands, or were abandoned/ disabled and destitute would be most terribly impacted. With the extended lockdown on cultural events, these impoverished women with 4 to 5 children each, were struggling to survive, without any education/ skills or support of any male member.

Hence in June 2021, under the Stree Shakti URJA initiative we provided these marginalised, widowed, old, disabled and destitute women the energy – URJA, which is synonymous with the gift of food ration. We transferred money to our team members in the villages who got Ration and groceries kits packed. Then our team drove to over 12 villages and personally delivered these kits to the homes of 50 poor, disabled, widowed or old women to energise the Shakti of these Strees.

In November 2021, we sent Food Ration to 20 poor Bhopi households in villages, to brighten up their Diwali.

Our Stree Shakti – URJA project is ongoing and budget permitting, we plan to send food kits & medical help to marginalised women and unemployed poor, across remote villages in India.

Other initiatives

In September, Anuradha donated 81 superb reference books in memory of her late father and doyen of the Pharmaceutical industry, Mr Devinder Pal, to the Bombay College of Pharmacy library.
On 11th Oct 2020, i.e., International Day of the Girl child, Anuradha instituted the Padmashri M.T. Vyas Stree Shakti award, in memory of her grandfather and well-known educationist Padmashri M.T. Vyas, to encourage young girls towards Indian music and dance and social service. In a grand online function, the book ‘The Teacher and the Taught’ written by Padmashri M.T. Vyas and edited by Anuradha’s mother Ila Pal was released by the Honourable Union Minister of Education Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in the presence of various luminaries from the fields of Culture, Music, Film and the Arts. Here, Anuradha and her husband gave the award along with a Kisan Vikas Patra Award (to long term benefit the poor farmers of our country) of Rs 1,11,111 from her dear actor friend Shri Jackie Shroff.
On her birthday on 8 May 2021, Anuradha and her husband donated a wheel chair, walker and over 1200 gloves and masks to patients, doctors and frontline workers in Mumbai’s BMC Covid care centre and MLC offices.

Kala Ke Sangh Festival (August 2020)

To raise awareness about the total economic breakdown for marginalised musicians across the country, Anuradha Pal’s organisation Sur aaur Saaz (SAS) curated & produced the FIRST EVER Online 4 Day Music Fundraiser festival called Kala Ke Sangh featuring 27 Top Musicians like Bhajan Samrat Anup Jalota, Pt Satish Vyas, Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Dr. Soma Ghosh, Taufiq Qureshi, Sanjeev & Ashwani Shankar, Ajay Prasanna, Shubhendra Rao, Anuradha Pal, Saskia Rao de-Haas, Gauri Pathare, Ravichandra Kulur, Giridhar Udupa, Sunita Bhuyan, Murad Ali Khan, Abhishek Borkar, Shikharnaad Qureshi & Ishaan Rao!! This festival was shared live on 1st, 2nd, 9th & 15th August, on @SASevents page on Facebook & Youtube to raise donations from over 1 million followers (including partner pages). Please subscribe to our YouTube page here.

Heartfelt thanks to all our respected, participating Musicians, our valued Partners – Blue Cross Labs, Hemendra Kothari Foundation, Lupin’s Lupisafe Hand Sanitizer, Ministry of Culture, ICCR, Teamwork Arts, Cultre, Artist Aloud, Radio Mirchi, Business Connect, Wockhardt Foundation, Jalota Welfare foundation, Avid Learning, Hindustan Times, Midday, JAJAM Foundation, Kalashraya Artshelter, our very important donors, students of APCA & supporters across the globe.

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