Ex-students of Podar college raise Rs 25,000 in one day for senior

Anish Shetty, a former student of Podar college and a junior to Rohan, took the lead in helping him. File pic/ Pradeep Dhivar

A few ex-students of Matunga's RA Podar College got together and managed to raise R25,000 within just a day, for one of their seniors, who lost both his parents to COVID-19 last month.

Thirty six-year-old Rohan (name changed to protect identity), a lawyer who passed out of the college back in 2008, lost his mother and father to the novel Coronavirus within the span of a week, and he has been "going through a period of stagnation" since. On the job front too, the company he has been working for, has been affected in the lockdown. He has two older siblings.

His friend (and junior from Podar) Anish Shetty, whose family owns the famous Durga Restaurant and Bar next door, put out the word among old college friends and well-wishers of Rohan on Monday, in a bid to raise money for him. "I and Rohan are not from the same batch but he has been an integral part of Podar, because he was involved with all sports related activities," said Anish, speaking to mid-day.

Many contributors

"I and a friend from Podar came together, and many contributors, out of the sheer goodness of their heart, also donated some money for the cause," he said. "It is very endearing to see such a positive side of humanity in what has been such a horrific year so far…it is like a silver lining. We have managed to raise around Rs 25,000 in less than a day. We don't have any specific targets to be honest. His (Rohan's) father was a civil servant who helped people throughout his life so I think this is the world's way of saying thank you." Anish added, "Everyone has come together to help him grieve the loss of his loved ones. The least we could do is to help him with financial aid to move ahead in his life and start afresh."

"I am going to use this monetary assistance to support my people in our time of need. I am going to take this as an opportunity in a positive way and start afresh," said Rohan.

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