BookMyShow’s Charity Arm BookASmile Dedicates Annual Event YESS to ‘Magnificent 7’ COVID Heroes

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | January 29, 2021 | News

BookMyShow YESS BookASmile

Online ticketing platform BookMyShow’s charity initiative BookASmile hosted its annual showcase event, Year End Success Stories (YESS) virtually on January 28, 2021. It was the second edition of YESS, in which BookASmile recognised and celebrated the extraordinary work of benevolence done by ordinary people across the country during the pandemic.

YESS 2020 was dedicated to the Magnificent 7 – selected real-life heroes who put their personal challenges aside and worked tirelessly beyond their call of duty to pay it forward to society. The event was hosted by leadership coach and inspirational speaker, Jeroninio Almeida. From artistes supporting other artistes, to the lead clown from a popular Mumbai-based circus ensuring that his community is taken care of, the event featured several stories from different pockets of India. These soulful stories were narrated by the heroes themselves speaking about their humanitarian journey and efforts during the pandemic.

The Magnificent 7 (YESS Heroes) are:

1. Biju Puskaran - Lead clown and senior artiste at Rambo Circus, Mumbai
2. Nisha Vishvakarma - Community leader for skill-building workshops at NGO Vathsalya Charitable Trust, Bangalore
3. Prince Mulla - Singer, song writer &music composer, founder of the ‘Artists for Artists’ initiative
4. Rizwan Bendigeri - Athletics coach at NGOBridges of Sports in Mundgod, Karnataka
5. Dr Shung Ming Chiu - Doctor and volunteer at the Commonwealth COVID Care centre, supported by the NGODoctors for You, Delhi
6. Sulendar Kumar Mahato- Youth leader & driver, e-Arth Kala Manch programme at the NGO Project Potential, Bihar
7. Chanda Sahu– Youth football coach at NGO Yuwa in Ranchi

Each hero was honoured by renowned artistes including theatre personality Anahita Uberoi, country music artiste Bobby Cash, ex-Naval officer and clown-magician Pravin Tulpule, Palate Culinary Studio & Academy founder Rakhee Vaswani, squash champion Ritwik Bhattacharya, singer and composer Sonam Kalra, Hindustani classical violinist and vocalist Sunita Bhuyan and poet and voice-over artist Nasir Khan. The event concluded with an interactive Q&A session.

Farzana Cama Balpande, Head, BookASmile said, “When we launched YESS in 2019, our aim was to create a platform that recognises path-breaking, inspiring stories of people who have defeated hardships to achieve their dreams. This year, with the pandemic disrupting every walk of life, we saw the emergence of many real-life heroes who stepped up to make a significant difference in and around their community. YESS 2020 is celebration of the goodness in people, with the hope that many others will get inspired and make this world a better place to live in.”