The unknown Lata Mangeshkar for the children
: Luit Chaliha, December 12, 2010
Sarbani Mazumdar who is not famous as Lata Mangeshkar but with the similar voice, a street singer and social worker with a unique talent renders melodious songs in Assamese, Bangali and other languages in different places of Assam and West Bengal in order to collect donations for ‘Thalassaemia patients’. in Sivasagar, Assam on December 12, 2010
She is a street singer but she does not sing for a living. The variety of songs that she belts out at every street corner is a medley from the repertoire of Lata Mangeshkar and she has dedicated her voice to the cause of thalassaemia. The money that is poured into her kitty is donated to poor thalassaemia patients for treatment and blood transfusions.
“It all started in 1999 when Vajpayee asked for donations for soldiers engaged in the Kargil conflict from the public. I was able to collect Rs 35,000 at one go and donated the entire amount to the Army Central Welfare Fund,” Sarbani stated. Next she sang and donated 600 blankets to the flood-affected of Murshidabad. But what touched her most was the suffering of children affected by thalassaemia.
“I decided to do something for these people who were to poor to provide proper care to the victims who required blood transfusions almost on a bimonthly basis and sometimes an operation,” Sarbani says. “I took to the road once again for their cause and have adopted 45 thalassaemia patients in different places of West Bengal and seven in Assam till now,” she further added.
Among the seven patients of Assam three are Makhan Chandra Paul of Kharupetia, Jyotishna Das of Haibargaon near Nagaon and Pranatosh Malakar of New Bongaigaon. Every month she sends Rs 500 to Rs 700 to these families and has also undertaken the operation of two which cost between Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000.
Sarbani has appealed to the people here to contact her in case anyone in need requires aid in treating this blood disorder.
