One of the most thrilling moments for an artiste is when love and support arrive in abundance from fans. Gigs are back to zero because of the second wave but there’s still enough support to encourage artistes, a few of whom have stepped up to donate, hold fundraisers, release music and provide beds for those in need. Here are some of the initiatives that have been taken.

Kamakshi Khanna Sourced by Correspondent

Kamakshi Khanna: Indie singer Kamakshi Khanna was a part of two Covid relief fundraisers via virtual concerts. The first one was for FTC (For The Culture, online shopping media) Delhi where she and other artistes from India did a live stream to raise funds for Hemkunt Foundation and Khalsa Aid for the supply of free oxygen and medical assistance. The virtual concert managed to raise Rs 2 lakhs. The other fundraiser Kamakshi was a part of was Show Up For India which was streamed on Tanmay Bhatt and Samay Raina’s YouTube channels. Kamakshi performed alongside comedians and musicians like Raftaar, Ankur Tewari, Atul Khatri and Abish Mathew and managed to raise Rs 37 lakhs which was donated to Hemkunt Foundation and GiveIndia. “It’s truly a blessing to be able to be a part of something so groundbreaking from the comfort and safety of the bedroom,” said Kamakshi.

Sahej Bakshi and Mohammed Abood’s boxout.fm Sourced by Correspondent

Sahej Bakshi and Mohammed Abood’s boxout.fm: Online radio show boxout.fm hosted a weekend music festival that included 76 artistes from 20 countries. Held on May 15 and 16, the festival featured artistes like C-drik, Jengi, Nina Las Vegas, Daniel Tompkins from TesseracT and others. The donations raised by the festival have been given to the GiveIndia, a non-profit organisation that is focusing on Covid-19 patients and their families. So far the festival has managed to raise Rs 667,843.

Dhee Majumdar Sourced by Correspondent

hee is a man of many talents — videographer, musician and an artist. To help raise funds for Covid-19, the artist ventured into selling his art with help from Anindita Bose and Shreya Basu’s new online art festival, Art Breathes Life. Sourced by Correspondent

Dhee Majumdar: Dhee is a man of many talents — videographer, musician and an artist. To help raise funds for Covid-19, the artist ventured into selling his art with help from Anindita Bose and Shreya Basu’s new online art festival, Art Breathes Life. Some of his (and other artists) artworks have been uploaded on the website and the proceeds will go to GiveIndia. Dhee has personally put out five of his original pieces. “I have priced them at a pretty high rate based on the fact that someone is going to be giving that money as donation to help someone. The token of appreciation the buyer is getting is art,” he said.

Arjun Vagale Sourced by Correspondent

Arjun Vagale: The artiste from Goa has curated an initiative to put together a 14-track compilation called SOS that features musicians from the Indian electronic music community, namely Asymetrik, Func ft The Night, Ankytrixx, Murthovic, BLOT!, Browncoat, Kollision, Sublime Sound, Film, Kohra, Bhish, Audio Units, Dotdat and, of course, Vagale himself. The compilation — currently available on Bandcamp — is open for everyone to buy and proceeds will be sent to Hemkunt Foundation, an NGO doing on-ground Covid-19 relief work and providing oxygen to patients in need.

Siddhanth Kapoor Sourced by Correspondent

Bullzeye: Techno DJ Bullzeye, aka Siddhanth Kapoor, did a good job last year, distributing masks to those in need. After recovering from Covid-19 himself and donating plasma, Bullzeye is now a part of an initiative called Find A Bed. It is a youth-driven organisation with 26,000 students working across 160 cities in India to update bed availabilities for Covid patients. Bullzeye contributes to the site by sharing availabilities on his social media platform.

Rishabh Dhar Sourced by Correspondent

Rishabh Dhar: Other than helping with education-related needs of 100 families and giving them a platform to perform on, Rishabh Dhar and his NGO Pradiksha Hope took the initiative to help those in distress in the Sunderbans last year. Their relief work included distributing blankets and food to families in Sandeshkhali after Amphan struck. This year he is set to organise a blood donation camp. The Hindustani classical musician is working towards raising Rs 4 lakhs to help with the blood donation campaign.