It’s become quite a pattern. People who have cushy, corporate jobs, sudddenly find themselves dissatisfied. And then they set out to find themselves and their source of contentment.
Cue 48-year-old Tharanath Gajendran from Bengaluru. A mechanical engineer, Tharanath worked for multiple corporate firms for several years until, existential crisis crept in. Since then, he has been one happy man, primarily because he has been putting smiles on the faces of people who really need it. At least once a week, Tharanath gets together a bunch of volunteers who dress up as clowns and visit hospitals to cheer up patients.
After his job underwent a transition, Tharanath started a small business of IT-enabled services which, he says, earns him just about enough to sustain. He was already a part of a couple of pursuits with NGOs, like the Seva Cafe, and became more involved with them.
A few years ago, he visited St John’s Hospital, Bengaluru and observed two clowns from Australia cheering up patients. “When I saw the smiles on people’s faces, I realised that that was what I wanted to do.”
Tharanath gathers volunteers through a Whatsapp group and a Facebook page called Humanitario Clowns Bangalore. On these visits, while the whole group (at least 8 volunteers) has varying amounts of makeup on, Tharanath is the showstopper with his attire of a proper clown — complete with a coloured wig, a fake nose and paint on his face. And then they proceed to interact with patients — many of them kids. “We get them away from their everyday pain to moments of joy in a different world. It is therapeutic for them and for us as well.” The group generally visits the St John’s and Kidwai hospitals, at times attend specific children’s events, and even visit old-age homes and orphanages. They also interact with terminally ill cancer patients and autistic children. The conversation with patients is mostly laced with jokes and humour, but Tharanath understands that striking an individual rapport with every patient is important.
Reach Out: facebook.com/HumanitarioClowns