KOLKATA: Setting up an example of humanitarian qualities, a six-year-old child artist, Debangkita Banerjee, contributed Rs 80,000 which she earned by performing.
She first donated Rs 10,000, all her piggy bank savings that she had earned by singing in musical soirees, to chief minister’s COVID-19 relief fund. The tiny-tot found it was not enough.
Accompanied by her parents, she started singing in the local market places during the permissible hours allowing traders to open their outlets, launched lockdown awareness drive, and asked people to contribute if they liked her performance. Moved by her "mesmerizing" performance, the audience in the local markets gave her a collection of Rs 70,000 which she again donated to the relief fund.
Debangkita’s mother Parama Banerjee said her daughter was moved by chief minister’s appeal asking people to donate to the relief fund. "The chief minister said she would gladly accept if a person gives Rs 5. It touched my daughter. She saved her earning by singing in a piggy bank for buying toys of her choice. I was touched when she said she wanted to give all her savings to help people suffering for coronavirus outbreak," said the homemaker.
Denangkita, a Class-I student, has a habit of watching the news on television and she came to know that many people were not following lockdown norms. "She decided to step out of home despite our objection. She wanted to make people aware of coronavirus by her singing skills. We did not resist her. She then started visiting the local markets and sang there. She literally begged to contribute if they liked her songs," said Parama.
Debangkita said all she wanted was creating awareness among common people so that they follow the norms of lockdown. "I saw in news channels how people were not listening to the government’s plea to stay at home and go by the lockdown norms. I thought if I could help to make people who are roaming on streets unnecessarily aware of the lockdown norms," she said.
Debangkita’s parents could not imagine her collection would be Rs 70,000. "She again said she would donate the sum to the chief minister’s relief fund. We are proud of her," added Parama.