BENGALURU: They say music has no language barrier and who better to know this than a Korean pop fan. And what’s the best way to celebrate the birthdays of the members of your favourite K-pop band? Contribute towards society, no matter where you are, says Bengaluru-based student Sasha Ranganath. The 19-year-old spearheaded a fundraising campaign to plant 100 trees in Bengaluru this September, to celebrate the birthdays of three band members of boy band BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates to Bulletproof boy scouts). Word eventually spread and in a span of just one week, Ranganath’s campaign on crowdfunding site Milaap reached its goal of Rs 30,000.
Ranganath has been a part of the ARMY fandom (BTS fans refer to themselves with this term to indicate their strong backing towards the band) since 2015 and says both the band and the fans regularly organise projects for members’ birthdays or for releases of new albums. And while Ranganath has been an active contributor to other causes over the years, this year, they chose to start a cause of their own. To celebrate the birthdays of Jungkook, Namjoon and Jimin – on September 1, September 12 and October 13, respectively – Ranganath reached out to city-based Reforest India and has finalised a plot in Gottigere to plant the trees.
“I reside in Bengaluru and everyone knows we are no longer the Garden City of India. So, I thought the best way to celebrate Jungkook, Namjoon and Jimin’s birthdays would be by doing something for the city,” explains Ranganath.
Interestingly, this sense of charity stems from personal initiatives taken by the band members. For example, one of the members, Jin, donated food, bowls and blankets to an animal shelter for his birthday last year. Similarly, for his birthday earlier this year, J-Hope donated money to provide scholarship to students from low-income families. “So this is something ARMY members adopt too. In the past, fans have donated clothes, food items, planted trees or even helped rehabilitate trauma victims,” says Ranganath, who believes the band’s meaningful lyrics about the struggles of being a young person and mental health helped them deal with their own such issues.
The campaign too saw fans from different parts of the country, such as Chennai and Delhi, make a donation to the cause. “Someone from the US also made a donation. The highest we received was $50, which is around Rs 3,500,” explains Ranganath, adding that Rs 300 is needed to plant and maintain each one of the 100 trees.
With the fundraising campaign proving to be a success, the K-pop fan is now on the lookout for volunteers from the fandom to carry out the actual planting in September. So far, about 10 have come forward to help.
But when asked about a favourite member among the three for whom the campaign is being held, Ranganath’s immediate reply is, “I love all members equally and will work on social and environmental
welfare projects for all of them in the future.”