Music composer duo, Lahu- Madhav, are in the news for a different reason. This time, it is for their support to a very innovative concept. Recently they composed and released a music video which was made with a specific task in mind – spreading the word of a novel and useful concept, which addressed an important social urban need of the growing city of Mumbai
‘Whispering Palms’ is one of the many societies, housed in the Lokhandwala Complex of Kandivali, in the western suburbs of Mumbai. Like millions of people in this city, the residents of this society too, used to travel to their work places, commuting through the regular peak hour traffic jams, or through crowded trains and buses. Like majority of the Mumbaikars, the people living here also begged in vain, for the stubborn rickshaw guys to take them to the station, who just waited there with empty rickshaws, but refused to ply.
All this changed, a few months ago, when the citizens of this society decided to take things in their own hands. They started a WhatsApp group called “Lift Kara De”, a group and a concept which immediately brings to mind Lincoln’s definition of democracy – “By the people, of the people and for the people”.
This concept is a simple and effective one. The group consists of people who commute to work in their own vehicles , i.e. lift givers, and people who do not have vehicles i.e. lift seekers. All that the members of this group have to do, is post their time of departure and destination in the group, preferably 30 minutes in advance, and connect to travel together. To make things easier, a blue dot or a red dot, both WhatsApp symbols, denote whether the person posting the message is a lift giver or a lift seeker. As of now, more than a 150 people of the society and the neighbouring societies are benefitted by this venture.
After seeing the huge success of this idea, Madhav , who is a member of this group, thought that the concept needed to be taken to the next level – by spreading this idea to other societies to replicate the LIFT KARA DE model in their localities. With this in mind, he and his friend Lahu, who have already carved their name in Marathi Films as an upcoming composer duo, decided to compose and record a song which explained the concept in detail. Ajay Pande, from Headway Media, was impressed by this idea, and decided to chip in by making a video of the song for better impact. The members of the group themselves rendered the song which was launched this week on YouTube.
Speaking about its success, Lahu said, ”We were really impressed by this concept, which is serving so many citizens. It not only helps in solving the auto rickshaw menace, but also helps in saving the fuel, and easing the traffic. It was a very refreshing experience to compose this song, as we needed to compose a simple but effective melody, like a jingle. Most importantly, we had to keep in mind that the song was being sung by common people, who were perhaps singing in the studio for the first time. We needed to make their experience a cherished one.”
Madhav adds. “It is amazing how day to day problems can be solved by constructive thinking and social unity. We only hope that more and more people share this song and this concept, to other parts of the city and country. The more the people replicate this idea in different localities, the better for Mumbai as a whole.”
“It is amazing how social media can be used in such a constructive way. This can be a good example for people who feel that applications like Whatsapp only waste our time with senseless forwards. This is an excellent way of using the social app for the general good of the society,” said Ajay Pande, who made the video as a contribution to a social cause.
Santosh Shetty, who floated this idea initially, was excited about the concept going viral on Youtube. “The group is of the people, by the people and for the people”, he said. “The lifts are voluntary. There is no money involved. The concept runs on the basic principle of helping each other – If I am going in car, why go with 3 seats empty? As we have a lot of women members too, due diligence is taken to ensure their safety. As a process, whenever any new member is added, he needs to be introduced by an existing member, and he also has to send a request from his official email ID. That done, we add him to the group. It is endearing that even with the clause of having a request from the official email ID, we have even CEOs of companies in the group.”
Hemali Ajgaonkar, a woman member of the group said, “We feel absolutely safe to travel with the people in the group, quite simply, because we know them personally. I do not have to waste my precious morning time begging for rickshaw guys to take me to my office. I feel fresh when I reach my office, making me a more productive asset for my company.”
After the song went viral on YouTube, already people have started replicating the idea of LIFT KARA DE in other parts of the city. In a very innovative way, this initiative is another example of the famed spirit of Mumbai, where people care for each other. As the tagline of the group goes – “Hum Chale, Sab Chale.”
Link to the LIFT KARA DE Official Song Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE4IKZ1bNA4