We often find ourselves pitying the underprivileged and the less fortunate for their circumstances. But how often have we taken major steps to bring about a change? We are always waiting till we have the finances, the authority and the time to make a difference.
However, here’s a little girl who started it all with a lemonade sale at the tender age of 9.
Inspired by Salman Khan’s ‘Being Human’, Maanavi has a moving story behind what truly pushed her to start her own little venture.
She was in awe of the actor’s little act of kindness when he sent a short video on request amid his busy schedule for a young boy and a family friend suffering from cancer, and who also happened to be a Salman fan. This little girl had a new found respect for the Bollywood celebrity soon after that.
Eventually, following her philanthropic inclinations, she started with a fundraiser lemonade stall for charity outside her house. Later on, trying out a Garage Sale, selling off old books and toys, little Maanavi raised roughly ₹3,000 along with her lemonade stall, which she decided to donate to ‘Being Human’.
“Firstly, it was like he has a really busy schedule. Like we didn’t really expect anything but my mom ended up getting a 1 minute video where Salman Khan has taken his name, saying ‘There’s hope and don’t worry. We’re all here for you.’” said Maanavi.
She added, “From his busy schedule, he took out that little time and he just did that. He wasn’t even getting anything out of it but he still did that for someone. It was so nice. That was huge and that was why I wanted to give the money and this was the first time we sent it to the Being Human organisation.”When she met him at a film shoot once, she said, “He told me - ‘You know you should continue this. You should do this. Don’t stop it. It was just a one-time lemonade thing but he said continue it, make it your thing. Make it your organisation.’ I got the idea there, basically.”
On a thoughtfully amusing note, she named her organisation ‘For Goodness Sake’ taking inspiration from Justin Beiber’s song ‘Love Yourself’, when while listening to the song it suddenly clicked her, making sense of the two words which imply self-worth. And it is something her little charity venture truly abides by, to inculcate a feeling of self-importance amongst those who have meagre resources.Starting small, she has been doing wonders at an individual level. It isn’t the money that matters but the intention. 14 year old Maanavi is a bright young lady who thinks. Which, when pointed out to her mother, Manisha Pradhan Singh (a journalist by profession), here’s what a proud mom said:
Funnily though, the Shakespeare angle is, indeed, food for thought for any littérateur. Coming from a girl her age, the opinion is truly remarkable.“She makes me very proud. She also won ‘The Student Of The Year' in her school a year back. She also has a strong mind of her own now. She thinks Shakespeare is racist because every time he refers to a pretty woman he says ‘Fair’.”
Raising funds through Garage sales and stalls at Candies Bazaar and the Lil Flea, Maanavi has been helping little children from Kanya Pathshala in Darjeeling, her native place, an old age home and an orphanage in Mumbai. Few of the things she sells at these stalls include handmade and quilled bookmarks, canvas paintings, dreamcatchers, soaps, etc.
“A lot of people gave me their cards, their numbers, came up to me and asked me- ‘Can you give me your Facebook page? We’ll love to follow you.’ It was amazing,” said Maanavi.
She added, “I think we’ve done this thrice at Candies. First and the second time, it was like normal, chill, people came and people saw. But the third time it was unbelievable because people came up to me and said- ‘We came because we saw you.’”
Talking about how Humans of Bombay helped her initiative for Kanya Pathshala she said, “When Humans of Bombay wrote about me, it was a huge push. So many people suddenly came up to me. It was before my third Candies sale and people came up to me and said, ‘We came because we saw you.’ They followed me on Facebook and I had mentioned that there is this place called Kanya Pathshala which I help out because it’s state is so sad. It’s an all-girls school but the girls are not allowed to come there and so, they need boys just to educate them, just to have students.”She added, “In Mumbai people still have a mission to become something. But when I went there, they hoped to become a shepherd. They didn’t have those big ambitions. And they were so happy with what they have….. When we gave them school bags and umbrellas, the reaction was so different. It was like they were so happy with it, nicely putting their umbrellas back in the plastic bags. They were so happy with what they have and I felt like helping them more, doing more for them.”
She even set up a computer in that school and also donated a brand new laptop on behalf of a visitor she met at Candies.Also, doing her bit for old age homes and orphanages, Maanavi loves to spend joyous moments with those who she feels need her help. Painting canvas, singing and dancing with these people, and taking children out to Dominoes just to make them happy, this little girl has been truly spreading smiles. 
She also plans to do a workshop for convict children (children of convicts, spending their time in prisons as they have nowhere to go) prior to Christmas.
As a student of City International School, Maanavi also spoke very highly of how her teachers have been supporting her endeavours and others in her school who pursue their passion. Thankful to her peers and her friends about how helpful they have been, she intends to hold workshops and support the charity cell in her school.
Besides being bright, this little girl is a talented young soul who dreams of entering the music and the film industry, making music and contributing to iconic films along with doing her bit for social good. Maanavi has a long way to go and she is on the path to inspiring many adults to do their bit along the way.
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