Thanks to everyone who shared their good wishes. " Ella Pughazum Iraivan Oruvanakee"
All Praises to God Alone.... On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 7:09 AM, Sath Murthy <sath.mur...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Congrats to Vithur and other fans who are doing this fantastic event > every week. > > Good deeds always get noticed even though it takes a little time > > All my hearty wishes are with you. > > Sath Murthy. > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Thulasi Ram <karoke...@gmail.com> > *To:* arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com > *Sent:* Sunday, March 8, 2009 12:22:56 PM > *Subject:* Re: [arr] In their maestro’s FOOTSTEPS > > feels great! Congrats Vithur and team. > > On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 3:28 AM, Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@yahoo. > com<catchg...@yahoo.com> > > wrote: > >> >> In their maestro’s FOOTSTEPS >> >> This group of AR Rahman fans feeds the poor every Sunday >> >> Lakshmi Kumaraswami | TNN >> >> For the past one year, a group of people on motorbikes have been >> congregating at Kodambakkam >> every Sunday. Laden with food packets, they hop off their bikes and >> distribute it to anyone who >> looks like they need a meal — rag pickers, sewage workers and beggars. >> These good Samaritans >> have one thing in common: they are all diehard fans of music maestro AR >> Rahman. >> >> Last March, after meeting on an online group, some of the members — >> Vithur, Uma Shankar, >> Rakesh, Rasol Hanifaa and Somu — decided to do their bit for society. >> “Usually, we post a >> message on the site saying we’re going to meet and distribute food to the >> poor. Subsequently, >> many people turn up,” says Vithur. The group assembles at Shri >> Mahaganapathy fast foods in >> Kodambakkam and buys packed food — usually tomato or brinjal rice along >> with an appalam — for >> Rs 300 to Rs 500. Then they drive around the area, handing out food to the >> underprivileged. “We >> initially started out in Annanagar, but then decided to focus on >> Kodambakkam. As Rahman lives >> in the area, we feel like we’re doing a service and staying close to our >> mentor,” says Uma >> Shankar. Vithur adds that the students of KM Conservatory also often help >> out and they end up >> feeding at least 40 people. >> The group is united by their love for Rahman and inspired by the AR Rahman >> Fo u n d at i o n >> , which works towards eradicating poverty and hunger. “His humility pushes >> us to do something >> good for society. This is our small contribution to a cause he supports,” >> says Rakesh. On >> special days like Independence Day or Rahman’s birthday, the group visits >> orphanages and >> distributes a special meal. They organised a similar meal on Rahman’s >> return to the city after >> his triumphant run at the Oscars. “Usually, when we distribute food, we >> don’t mention Rahman’s >> name. But this time as we gave away special sweets and food, we said >> ‘Ellam pugazhum >> irraivanake’ as a tribute to him,” says Vithur. He adds that the BlaaZe >> joined the group when >> they distributed free meals after H Sridhar, Rahman’s sound engineer, >> passed away. >> The group plans to continue this service as long as possible. “We would >> like to expand but >> with our hectic schedules this is the only way we can do it regularly,” >> says Uma Shankar. >> Rakesh adds that there isn’t a better feeling than seeing the happiness of >> the people they >> feed. “It would probably be their only meal that day. Sometimes I leave >> the packets by their >> side while they are asleep and when they wake up, nothing can match the >> look on their faces,” >> he says. >> lakshmi.kumaraswami @timesgroup. com<lakshmi.kumaraswami%40timesgroup.com> >> >> GIVING BACK: The fan club before heading out to feed the poor >> > > > > -- regards, Vithur
