Music heals. It entertains. But, for Mustafa Parvez, it also provides. He uses music as a tool to bring people together and support a cause.
When the country went into lockdown, Mustafa realised that people affected by the pandemic would benefit if more people got involved. So, he started the ‘social cause music festival’ along with his friends. This virtual festival would bring musicians from across the country (and the world) to perform in a 12-hour line-up of back-to-back virtual concerts. He says that they had a dual aim – to raise awareness and funds for COVID-related causes, while also to entertain and help people feel at ease through the lockdown.
Having started about two weeks back, the digital festival has 30 artists performing each weekend. It has raised an approximate of ₹5,00,000 which is being used towards supporting daily wage workers, and musicians affected by event cancellations.
“Staying home is the bare minimum already expected from citizens. I really wanted to contribute in a bigger way.”
Mustafa believes that one must leverage one’s skills, interests, and talents, to help others. He conducts events for a living. So, it was imperative for him to use virtual concerts to do his bit.
“Someday, later in life, I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren that during the COVID-19 pandemic, I did my bit…I played my role.”
He adds that people usually get stuck in thinking that there isn’t much one can do. But suggests that each of us should simultaneously do our bit and that will definitely change things faster than we imagined. And it does not have to be something herculean – we can even start with each person supporting just one cause, no matter big or small.
Mahindra salutes the challenger spirit, efforts, and vision of people like Mustafa who are using their skills to help those affected by the pandemic.
If you know someone who is doing their bit to help the community fight this crisis, tag them or share their stories with us in the comments.
We will share more such stories of #PeopleWhoRise across our social media handles.
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