Singer-Songwriter Rohan Solomon has released a new track titled Students For India, composed and sung by him, to salute the eponymous not-for-profit initiative, (SFI), for its round-the-clock effort in facilitating amenities to the needy during the pandemic. “I feel proud to associate with such amazing young individuals. I tried to capture the joy that someone in need may experience when they finally receive help. It’s about this hope that SFI provides to thousands daily.”
Solomon’s niece Tahira, a Class 11 student, is a member of SFI since its inception, which is how he got to know about the work they are doing in the pandemic. “I was very impressed. So, when they asked me to compose and sing their theme song, I was excited to help,” the artiste adds.Three Delhi-based friends — Tanush Sawhney, Manomay Ghoshal, and Puranjay Chawla — co-founded SFI in March 2020. The yet-to-be-registered group now has over 500 student participants across India.Tahira says, “Our core team, including the founders, Aadil Tanwir, Sohani Khanna, and I, sat together throughout multiple zoom calls, came up with lyrics, made the music video, and this is what we have at the end of all of that.”
It took them about 10 days of pre-production. “Once they gave me a direction of the sound they were looking for, it got super easy. I provided the melodies for their lyrics and then recorded, mixed, and mastered it. What could be better than celebrating the strides of young India towards making a positive impact in the society,” he says. All proceeds from the sales and streaming of the song will go to SFI.
Sawhney says, “After learning from a proven prevention model from the Czech Republic, we started implementing a mask utilisation model for the most vulnerable areas where social distancing was negligent. We worked with the police, local administration and other NGOs and were called upon to provide masks during the first outbreak at the Supreme Court.” They provided food to families in hard-hit communities and to migrants taking the arduous journey back home. “We have helped 50,000 families with over 10 lakh articles,” adds Chawla.
Tanwir believes that this song will highlight their organisation’s efforts in helping others. “We are working on a programme called S-PAD (Sustainable Pad Awareness and Distribution) through which we aim to generate employment for members from specific target communities in collaboration with self-help groups and the local administration,” adds Ghoshal.SFI plans to launch programmes for good mental health, and are working with psychologists and mental health professionals.