Thane youth add a social touch to the festival of lights

THANE: Be it by collecting clothes and books and donating it to the needy or spending time with the elderly at old age homes, youngsters across the city have gone a step ahead to celebrate the festival of lights in a socially-conscious way this year.

During Diwali, people wear new clothes, exchange gifts and spend time with their loved ones. So, this time the youth decided to ensure that every section of society celebrates tje festival in a good way, a 23-year-old said.

Brahmand resident Ayushi Mishra (21) has been using social media as a platform to collect and donate clothes to slum children in Brahmand since the last five years during Diwali. He came up with the idea after he noticed the reaction on his maid’s face when she was given a gift during the festival. “My family always gives clothes to our maid’s family during Diwali. Whenever she would receive it, her face would lit up. This gave me the idea to do something for the underprivileged. I reached out to my followers on social networking sites and asked them to bring all the wearable clothes which they do not want to use any more and also some old notebooks. I segregate these items according their size and then ask my maid to spread the word in her area. Even though this is done at a micro level where we are reaching to about only 50 families, we are happy to see at least someone has benefited with our venture,” Mishra added.

While many like Mishra have adopted this method of celebrating the festival, some are planning to take time out of their routine and spend it with the aged at old age homes.

Vihaan Tiwari (10), a Vasant Vihar resident, also plans to do things differently during the festive season. Last year on Diwali, he prepared lemonade for his family and charged for it. That money he used to purchase gifts for the street kids at Teen Haath Naka. This year, he has decided to celebrate the day in the midst of the seniors.

“We were watching a video about an old age home and Vihaan was really upset to see that many people who are as old as his grandparents were lonely and were living away from their family. So, this time he wants to spend Diwali with these seniors and be a part of their celebration. He is trying to convince some of his friends as well to join him,” said Sheetal Kaul, Vihaan’s mother.

Meanwhile, NGOs have noticed a tremendous rise in the number of citizens reaching out to others during the festive season.

“Our NGO accepts wearable clothes and donations which is distributed to the tribal families in Raigad, Shahapur, Igatpuri and Dahanu during Diwali. We donate saris and comfortable clothes to Param Shantidham old age home in Taloja,” said Prathamesh Divekar (31), a member of Fandry Foundation.

My family always gives clothes to our maid’s family during Diwali. Whenever she would receive it, her face would lit up. This gave me the idea to do something for the underpriviledged