BENGALURU: In this digital day and age, if you are someone with a massive following, sometimes the biggest help you can give, is to lend the reach of your voice to spread a message.
And that’s what snooker player Pankaj Advani is doing. Associated with many initiatives like Find A Bed, which provides people information about bed availability, and Med Friends, a group that gives medicines to Covid patients who can’t afford them, Advani is using his social media reach to disseminate informat i on on Covid resources. Speaking to CE, Advani starts by saying, “I am no Sonu Sood, let me be honest with you.
I don’t have a campaign of my own but I have been approached by people who are doing a lot of work. I am just spreading the word as much as possible. Take for example, Find A Bed, which is a great cause.” Apart from him, celebrities like Karan Johar, Masaba Gupta, and ace tennis player Sania Mirza are part of the campaign which was started by India’s International Movement Of United Nations. Advani also posted about Med Friends, an initiative started by fellow snooker player and friend Brijesh Damani.
“He started it with his team. They collect unused medicines from people who recovered from Covid and give them to the underprivileged,” says Advani. The group is active in several cities including Hyderabad, Chennai, New Delhi, etc. Advani, who is based in Bengaluru, says he wants to do more but is worried he will put his mother – aged 67 – at risk if he goes out to do volunteer. “There is a lot I want to do, but with an elderly person at home it’s not the wisest idea,” says Advani, who tested Covid positive in December 2020, a few weeks before his wedding.
With no tournaments scheduled, the sportsperson in him misses the thrill of it but tries to keep a positive approach even during this unprecedented time. Ask him what keeps him going, and he says, “Hope. I think this is the ultimate test for humanity. When times are good, people take many things for granted. With a little bit of gratitude, we can spread more hope and positivity and that starts by helping each other out.”
Last year he donated to the PM Cares fund, but this year he decided to help people who are closer home. “We tried to help the people who work for us as much as possible. For example, the domestic workers, watchman of our building etc… by taking care of their medical bills because they are not in the best financial state because of lack of work during the lockdown,” says the Padma Bhushan and Arjuna awardee.