Month: November 2022

NEWS PATROLLING ( 12 May 2017 )

Chennai, India – NewsPatrolling.com: When floods devastated Chennai in December 2015, it had literally shut down the source of income for many household. The effect was felt throughout Chennai as it did not spare even a single area. Lot of individuals and companies involved themselves towards the up liftment of the affected class.

SMILE Foundation was one of the organization that took the initiative to bring back the lost hope among the families. Though the organization is working across various geographical areas, this time they established training centres in Mammandur, Salavakkam, AP Chatiram & Nelvoy road. Some 235 deserving women candidates from across 12 villages were identified and were given stitching training under Project Thiramai.

As a part of the project, an event was organized on 10th May 2017 where all these 235 women were given certificates and sewing machines to self sustain and support themselves. The event was attended by dignitaries from the State Government. The members who were present in the event were:

Mr M C Sampath – Minister for Industries, Govt of Tamilnadu

Mr P Thangamani – Minster for Electricity, Excise and Prohibition, Govt of Tamilnadu

Mr Sanjeev Dham – COO, SMILE Foundation

Ms Poonam Kaul – Vice President-CSR, Pepsico India

The event saw the participation of all the 235 women being present at the venue with great enthusiasm.

Speaking about the initiatives, Mr Sanjeev Dham-COO, SMILE foundation thanked Pepsico for their support in supporting the initiative which saw how the women whose families were affected by floods and other natural disaster willingly came up to take part in the drive thereby enhancing their capabilities to stand up on their own legs. He further added that the initiative was unique and saw the participation from physically challenged women too. Through Project Thiramai, training has been given to women across the four training centres and n successful completion, certificates and sewing machines were given to the candidates.

Poonam Kaul, Vice Preisdent – CSR, Pepsico India noted that the company feels proud in supporting such an initiative which has seen the rise of women from economically weaker section. Pepsico has joined with SMILE foundation to support these women across Kancheepuram district from various villages and by making women learn stitching, it would enable them to join the garment factory companies which are in abundance in the area. The decision was taken after considering the employment opportunities post training which has helped hundreds and thousands of families. The foundation has been doing three initiatives namely Smile-on-Wheels healthcare vans, School Cleanliness and Project Thirami.

Under Project Thiramai, the women not only gets trained to stitch but also were given training to repair the and maintain the sewing machine themselves. The training period is for 3 months. Along with the training, these candidates were also taught about Yoga, Meditation and also given awareness training on obesity and nutrition which would help in eradicating the poverty.

Pepsico India has been taking part in the growth of Tamilnadu since 1989 which has 5 manufacturing plants across the State. Through Production, Sales and Distribution it supports 15,000 families and for the better yield of food grains, the company has already joined hands with more than 400 farmers and working with them. By doing this, the company has helped them save more than 30% of water and the highlight to this is the savings of 1.5 billion liters of water that has been saved in the year 2015 alone by these initiatives.

When the floods devastated Chennai in 2015, Pepsico had deployed its Sales unit and those who are employed in their production unit to take part in the rescue operations. The company has also supplied more than 1.4 liters of Aqua Fina purified water along with 38,000 kilos of Quaker oats.

Minsters M C Sampath and P Thangamani spoke about the initiatives wherein they lauded the company and the foundation for doing the great work. They said they look forward to their contribution and continued support enriching the lives of many families.

The event concluded with the distribution of sewing machines to all the 235 women who has completed their training.

Team of newspatrolling.com personally attended the event and the blog coverage is what we have witnessed it live. 

Source: http://www.newspatrolling.com/project-thiramai-by-pepsico-smile-foundation/

The Hindu (November 13, 2010)

THE FREE PRESS ( May 01, 2017 )

The “4th India Dance Week” is a vibrant celebration of Indian and World dances coming together on one single platform, this super energetic festival ended on a grand note on 30th April, 2017 at Dublin Square in Phoenix Market City, kurla.

The India Dance Week is one of the largest, most active and thrilling dance competitions in the country, hosted by Internationally renowned Choreographer and dance maestro Sandip Soparrkar. This festival invites participants from across the country to celebrate dance, representing the diversity of dance forms practiced in the country.

The “4th India Dance Week” was graced by gorgeous actress Sangeeta Bijlani who performed on her hit track “Oye Oye” from her blockbuster film Tridev and later gave away the winning trophy to the winner.

Source: http://www.freepressjournal.in/entertainment/sangeeta-bijlani-karan-mehra-and-vinod-kambli-at-grand-finale-of-4th-india-dance-week/1060665

One India One People Magazine (22 April 2017)

India Times (14 November 2010)

The poor boy is inspired by APJ Abdul Kalam so much so that he starts referring to himself by the name of the former president. Living in the Dakshinpuri slum area in New Delhi, Harsh dreams of being in Bollywood.

“I always dream of acting, singing and and dancing in Bollywood films. I watched Slumdog Millionaire many times. I wanted to do that kind of roles. And when I got this role I was very happy,” Harsh told PTI.His father Ashok runs a small business. Though he finds it difficult at times to make ends meet he always encourages his son to pursue his goal.To chase his dream, the young boy has been participating in theatre workshops and reality shows. He reached the fourth round of Dance India Dance this year.In the film, Harsh works in a dhaba (owned by Gulshan Grover) and his life takes an unexpected turn when he befriends the son of an erstwhile king of a princely state. And when he reads his friend’s old books, he hopes of achieving his dream. Child star Hussan Saad, who was seen in Delhi 6, plays the role of the rich friend.

“Through an engaging, entertaining and fast-paced narrative like a fable, the 87-minute film takes the viewer to the world of Chhotu, who at one point starts referring to himself as Kalam after watching on TV, the former president speak about how he got his education fighting several odds,” says director Panda. Grover, who recently bagged a role with Hollywood siren Salma Hayek, says his role in I Am Kalam gave him a different kind of satisfaction. “I have worked in over 400 films but working in movies of this genre gives you a rare kind of satisfaction. Necessity of proper education is something we should try to focus on more in our films, ” he says. The film has won a number of awards and recognitions on the international circuit.

It won the best feature film at the Lucas International film festival in Germany, the prestigious Don Quijote Prize of the International Federation of Cine-Clubs (FICC) awards, the special mention at the Cinekid Film Festival and the audience award at Babican London Children’s Film festival.

It will be showcased in a number of upcoming festivals in India and abroad including the International Film festival of India at Goa later this month. Produced by Smile Foundation, the film took six months to complete. The strong narrative, scripted by Sanjay Chauhan (of Pan Singh Tomar fame) talks about how every child deserves to live his childhood, no matter where he is born. The cast includes French actress Beatrice Ordeix who plays the role of a tourist.

The music is composed by Susmit Bose – often referred as the Bob Dylan of India – and Deepak Pandit.

Source: http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/article/0f1l1580sg1fd?q=Bollywood

bridging-gap (April 2017)

Express India (14 November 2010)

After having bagged a role in a film that premièred at Cannes, 10-year-old Harsh Mayar from Dakshinpuri is getting ready for a career in acting Inside his one-room house in Dakshinpuri, a slum cluster in south Delhi, Harsh Mayar dreams big. Of a grand stage lit with flashy lights.

Of a troupe of dancers pirouetting in garish costumes. Of singing a racy number, his body gliding to the upbeat tempo, amidst screams, cheers and claps. Of Bollywood. “I want to be an all-round entertainer — an actor, a dancer, a choreographer and a singer,” says the 12-year old, who studies in class VIII at Yogi Arvind Sarvodya Bal Vidyalaya school .

Mayar may be 10 years away from realizing his dream but the preparation has already begun. He recently played the protagonist in I Am Kalam, a film that premièred at Cannes in May, won the Best Feature Film Award at Lucas International Film Festival in Germany, screened at the London Film Festival last month and will be released in December. In I Am Kalam, Mayar plays a boy much like himself. A poor boy who works at a dhaba and is determined to go to school. He befriends a rich kid and tries to read books, his idol being APJ Abdul Kalam. Mayar also recently completed the shooting of three episodes of Koko Ki Story Bori, a series to be telecast on Pogo. In April, he made it till the fourth round of Dance India Dance. And he is now preparing for an audition for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Mayar’s parents never imagined their child on stage or in front of the camera, even though his mother Rita says she was surprised by how “happily and enthusiastically two-year-old Mayar would move and shake to Ek pal ka jeena (the 2000 song that established Hrithik Roshan as Bollywood’s most rubbery dancer).” Mayar’s father Ashok runs a tent business which, he says, earns him “very little money”, sometimes not even enough to earn two meals a day, thus forcing him to take financial help from his extended family and the NGO, Smile Foundation, which also produced I Am Kalam. “When you are only struggling to survive and provide your child a decent education, how can you think of honing his extraordinary skills?” he says.

When Mayar was six, his class teacher told his parents that the child is “very bright and if guided well, can go far”. When his uncle came down from London (where he is a cook at an eatery), he was impressed by Mayar’s mimicry of Bollywood actors. He offered to fund his training in acting.

In 2005, Mayar enrolled in an acting workshop (funded by his uncle) at the Sri Ram Centre, and did the role of a monkey in a play. Two years later, he attended another workshop and did a supporting role in a play. In 2008, he played a small part of a clerk in a play at Kamani auditorium. The same year, his uncle (a news cameraman) tipped him off about an audition for Vishal Bharadwaj’s film, Chillar Party. The casting team of the film was in Delhi. Mayar went, acted out a drunkard, and got selected. He was not selected at the final round in Mumbai though, and went into depression. “I cried for many nights,” he says. When many families think acting is a risky career and try to discourage their children from pursuing it, it is surprising that everyone in Mayar’s family supported his aspirations. This time, his aunt found a person who knew I Am Kalam’s director, Nila Madhab Panda. Mayar shot for 24 days in Bikaner for the film and was paid Rs 21,000 for it, which he gave to his parents. He flew with the crew of I Am Kalam to Amsterdam for Cinekid, the largest international film festival for children, last month. He still preserves the badge he was given there; it has a photo of him in a black coat and a bow-tie and his title mentioned — “filmstar”. Currently, Mayar is waiting for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’s auditions. Meanwhile, he’s not having sugar or fried food. In Diwali, he had only one mithai.

He also jogs and hangs from a rod every day. And changes his hairdo every fortnight, each style matching that of a celebrity. “My last style was copied from Justin Beiber, my current one is what Shahid Kapur sported in Kaminey,” he says. He always folds the sleeves of his T-shirt and wears only tight-fit jeans. “I want to be a star. That’s why I am starting early,” he says.

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/dreaming-big/710784/

Indo American News (March 31, 2017)

The Indian Express (November 14, 2010)