Musical Event for differently-abled soldiers at QMTI, Range Hills, Pune Pushp Hari Mirchandani Trust in association with Rotary Club of Bombay, Seacoast, orchestrated a very memorable, 3-hour event on May 4, 2024, for the physically challenged soldiers who had faced various types and intensities of injuries while on duty serving for the country.
These ex-servicemen are now undergoing three years of training and rehabilitation journeys at the various defence units at Khadki, Pune - Queen Mary’s Technical Institute (QMTI) for disabled soldiers, Artificial Limb Centre (ALC) & Paraplegic Rehab Centre (PRC). They are now training & working very hard towards new beginnings in their lives. This entertaining event was held in the auditorium of the Kargil Memorial Hall, at QMTI, Khadki, Pune. About 150 ex-servicemen who are undergoing rehabilitation at these institutes, attended the event, many of them along with their families, and thoroughly enjoyed this musical programme.
The event was anchored admirably by noted show-host Neeta Mirchandani along with her singer friends Mohan Verma, Bipasha Roy, Moahaan Shetty and ably supported by her husband, a Rotarian of Bombay Seacoast & a singer himself Vijay Mirchandani.
The entire team along with all the musicians came specially from Mumbai to perform in this wonderful event. After this show, the Rotary Club of Bombay Seacoast sponsored a High Tea for the audience, while Cadbury sponsored a delicious Chocolate cake & gift hamper for all the families of these Ex-Jawans. Col. Vasant Ballewar, Consultant Psychologist & Dean of QMTI & other officials stayed for the entire duration of the event and enjoyed the programme along with the jawans.
The jawans participated with full joy & excitement as several of them let their hair down & kept dancing and clapping to the music, with the families of many of them joining in towards the end. Some of the jawans seated on chairs or wheel-chairs were even seen participating as a mark of solidarity. Their chairs were actually being lifted by their fellow jawans who still had the strength in their arms, love in their hearts & deep empathy for their fellow ex-soldiers without limbs.
Two of the exservice members also came up on stage and sang a lovely duet in an extremely eloquent & soulful manner. In the end, Col. Vasant Ballewar thanked the entire team of performers & felicitated them by giving certificates to each performer on stage, acknowledging that this was the most entertaining show ever organised in their QMTI campus.
He also mentioned that, with the word of mouth going very strong for such an extraordinary event, this can result in further requests from other units in the country. He said such events will go a long way to help these fighting ex-Jawans stay included in society, rekindle their hidden passion if any, while simultaneously working hard to open new vistas in their lives.
Meeting & interacting with these soldiers & their families after the show was a very emotional moment for the entire team. The sheer joy on their faces was so evident with many of them coming forward to request that such shows should be organised at regular intervals.
