Tuesday 03 / October / 2023
Muscat: Having been instilled with an ethos of generosity very early in life, 17-year old Santrupth G.R. Vedanthi, a student of the American British Academy School Muscat and an Oman-based musician, has always been at the forefront of giving back and making a difference in the community he lives in.
Continuing to live a generous life, Santrupth has donated 50 solar lanterns to poor students in a school in Gowdgere, a village located on the outskirts of Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The idea of donating lanterns came to Santrupth after he realised that the area constantly faces power cuts.
Santrupth, a class 11 student at ABA School Muscat majoring in science, has a keen interest in computer science. However, he also has an interest in the subject of renewable energy, especially solar energy. Hence, to further his interest and fulfil his charity mission, Santrupth spent a number of days in a factory in Bengaluru that manufactures solar lanterns, which were donated to the students in Gowdgere.
As a musician, Santrupth raised the money for solar lanterns through his album sales and through funds from the numerous concerts at which he performs.
Helping out
Speaking of his donation, Santrupth said, “When I heard about the power shortage problem, I realised solar lanterns could solve the problem for school students who often go back to darkness in their homes, which hinders their studies. Students who benefitted from solar lanterns included not just those from Gowdgere, but other villages, too. Parents of the students expressed immense happiness on receiving the lanterns.”
Explaining his involvement with charity very early in life, Santrupth said, “Often, we think generosity has to wait until we have graduated or till we have a job. But we can start as early as when we are in school, and there are so many ways to give other than just giving money. Even the smallest act can make a difference, and the sense of satisfaction you can get by contributing to society is immense.”
Last year, Santrupth donated 50 per cent of his income from concerts and sale proceedings of his album ‘Palasampada’ to help set up a drinking water facility in Gowdgere. Nearly 400 families benefitted from the drinking water plant. Before setting up the plant, Santrupth had supplied 25 litre water bottles for each family in the village to solve the immediate problem of water shortages.
Santrupth was recently presented the ‘Youth Award’ for his contribution to charity through his work in the field of music. Indra Mani Pandey, Ambassador of India to Oman, presented the award at an event organised in partnership with the Oman Hockey Association. He was honoured with the award for being a youngster with a vision and passion to serve society.
Santrupth, who has shown great promise in the field of music, has been using his talent for charitable causes since he was eleven years old.
He has donated money and funds for a variety of charitable causes from the money raised through his performances in Oman and India.
While Santrupth balances academics, music lessons, concerts and fundraising with ease, the young man has always managed to connect his passion for music with causes close to his heart.
Cancer education
In 2014, he donated OMR1,000 to the Oman Cancer Association (OCA) from the money raised through his performances in Oman. Since then, he has been setting aside money he earns through his concerts for such causes. All the money he has earned through the sale of his first album, ‘Amogha Milana’, is being donated to the cause of cancer education in Muscat and for Manonandana, a school for the mentally challenged in Bengaluru.
Santrupth has also donated proceeds from his performances to the Bangalore Hospice Trust – Karunashraya, which provides free professional palliative care for advanced stage cancer patients who are beyond cure. He was also part of ‘Trinity Live in Concert’, organised in Muscat to raise awareness and funds for the Association of Early Intervention for Children with Disability.
On the music front, the talented Santrupth has been selected to attend a one-week Stanford Jazz Workshop starting on July 16 at Stanford. Also, Santrupth completed a five-week scholarship programme at the US-based Berklee College of Music (BCM), at 13, where he became the youngest student to clear eighth grade in drums from London’s Trinity College of Music.
Santrupth, who plays five instruments, has performed on the drums at India’s renowned composer A R Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho Muscat’ concert. He has also shared the stage and been mentored by Sivamani, Gino Banks, Bikram Ghosh, Dilip Doshi and Arun Kumar, eminent names from the world of percussion.
His inspirational journey is an example of how a youngster with passion, coupled with determination, can do good in society.
