Khushi Archive 2017 

March 2017: Glastonbury

WE'RE GOING TO GLASTONBURY!

Yes, that's right . . .Khushi is going to be heading down to this year's Glastonbury Festival for some seriously muddy Khushi Feet fundraising and Khushi Hands trading!

Khushi Hands has been offered a trading stall. We are looking forward to selling our hand-crafted recycled-sari artisan products to the 175,000+ people attending the festival.

Khushi Feet, meanwhile, is providing a team of volunteers to do the litter picking on site in exchange for donations to the charity.

Glastonbury is the largest festival in the world, showcasing some of the most famous artists on the planet. Khushi is only a small organisation but we are always striving to make our fundraising and awareness raising as big and exciting as possible. So we are thrilled to have the amazing opportunity to attend Glastonbury Festival 2017 - 21st-25th June at Worthy Farm.

April 2017: Khushi Concert in the USA – ‘The Musical Paperboat’

Last year, New York-based Indian musician Aakash Deep got in touch with us here at Khushi Feet and said that he shared our passion for wanting to help street children in Kolkata, India. He took action decided to put on a fundraising concert to raise money for Khushi Feet. The concert (which was called ‘ANTORER ANTORALEY’) was a huge success and raised $3602 (over £2000) for Khushi Feet to send out to the street schools we support in Kolkata.

Aakash even went out to visit Subir Roy (the founder of the GNCEM street schools) in Kolkata to give him the funds in person. In response to this visit, Aakash said: “I don’t know how to express my joy after seeing the work GNCEM are doing to support these children and helping society on Kolkata.”

This year, our amazing friends over in the States are putting on another concert to raise even more money for us to send out to help Kolkata’s street children and their schools. The concert, presented by Aakash Deep and Alo, is called ‘MONPANSHI’(???????) – ‘The Musical Paperboat’. The event will include musical performances from Aakash Deep (a signed vocalist of ‘Times Music India’), and dance performances from RDM (Rhythms of Dance & Music) students directed by Mitra Purkayastha. Aakash Deep and Alo describe the concert as a “small humble effort to be the change we wish to see in the world”.

Shrabani Nandi is organsing the event. She says, “It is a great philanthropic cause. We can help a street child’s education and enhance the quality of life of these kids. It’s one small step for us, but one great step for humanity.”

The ‘MONPANSHI’ concert will be taking place on Saturday 6 May 2017, from 5pm, at North Brunswick High School (98 Raider Rd, North Brunswick Township, New Jersey 08902). Tickets cost $15. For tickets, call (917) 683 7576.

You can also visit the event’s Facebook page.

It promises to be a great concert, so if you are local to the area, make sure you don’t miss out. Buy your tickets today! All proceeds go towards the education of street children in Kolkata.

May 2017: Monpanshi

Here at Khushi Feet, we love it when people show their support for our cause and get enthused to do something to help us raise money to improve the lives of street children in Kolkata.

Recently, we have been completely blown away by the fundraising efforts of some of our supporters in the USA.

In New Jersey on Saturday 6th May, the 'Monpanshi' concert was held. The event, organised by Shrabani Nandi, was described as a "small humble effort to be the change we wish to see in the world". That "small, humble effort" raised an astonishing $6,500 (with more donations still to come). That's over £4,800 for Khushi Feet! Which is over 410,000 Indian rupees for the street schools in Kolkata!

"I am so happy. I never thought we could raise this much," says Shrabani. "That day was full of events in New Jersey, but still people showed their love and support. We had a very successful event." Shrabani has a message to all those who attended the event and made generous donations: "I am really overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from you all. I don't know where I'd be without it. You guys have lifted me up. Thank you. Love to you all."

The vibrant and exciting Indian-inspired event included dance performances from RDM (Rhythms of Dance & Music) students (directed by Mitra Purkayastha) and musical performances from Aakash Deep (a signed vocalist of Time Music India). Aakash extends his thanks to Shrabani for pulling the concert together. "A very special thanks to Ms Shrabani Nandi for managing and executing the event so wonderfully. And of course from Mitra and the RDM students who added many colours to the palette of 'Monpanshi'. Thank you once again. Your support truly helped the cause!"

And this isn't the first event these guys have organised to support Khushi Feet. In 2015, Aakash Deep's 'Antorer Antoraley' concert raised $3602 for Khushi Feet and personally went out to visit the GNCEM street schools in Kolkata to hand over the cheque.

Once again, we are incredibly overwhelmed by the fundraising of Shrabani and her team. When we expressed our gratitude to her, her response was this: "I am really happy and honoured to be a part of your great cause. Honestly, you inspire me to be a better person. I literally got inspired by Khushi Feet's work."

Well, things have come full circle now, and Shrabani is inspiring us! If she's inspired you to do something to raise some money for Khushi Feet, please get in touch. However big or small, simple or off-the-wall your fundraising idea is, go for it! Being part of Khushi Feet and doing something which will help change the lives of some of the poorest children in the world is incredibly rewarding and actually, it's great fun too! We can guarantee it'll make you feel 'khushi'.

August 2017: Bonfire of the Insanities Announcement

Sleepy little Cornish village Morlington Hill is about to embark upon its annual bonfire celebration, 'The Burning of the Bush', when someone spots an arm sticking out of one of the bonfires. Help the local police investigate one of the most bizarre and shocking murder mysteries yet!

Following on from last year's sell-out success 'The Fall of the Pollocks', join us on Saturday 4th November 2017, 7pm for 7:30pm at Mount Ephraim House, Staple Street, Hernhill, Faversham, Kent, ME13 9TX for a night of drama and a delicious three-course meal, prepared by Corinne’s Creative Kitchen (Taste of Kent award winner) and Chetna Makan - the Great British Bake Off 2014 semi-finalist.

During your meal the drama will gradually unfold as colourful and entertaining characters (played by professional actors from 368 Theatre Company) introduce you to a world of mystery and intrigue. Over coffee you are invited to fill in your murder enquiry form, and then - in true Agatha Christie style - the murder is re-enacted and an accusation made. At the end of the evening, the table that has spotted the most clues wins a prize.



Bonfire Of The InsanitiesTickets cost £38, with all proceeds going to Khushi Feet, helping to provide an education for children living on the streets of Kolkata.

Our last Murder Mystery evening was sold out well before the event so buy your tickets now! You can buy online (subject to a 0.75p credit card charge), or order your tickets if you are able to pay for and pick them up from Faversham.

We look forward to welcoming you to Mount Ephraim for an evening of murderous fun.

October 2017: Glastonbury Update

Earlier this year in June, at team of Khushi Feet supporters went down to Worthy Farm in Somerset to attend Glastonbury Festival for a unique Khushi fundraising experience. We joined the Glasto Recycling Crew in exchange for donations to our charity. Team member Emma Smith reflects on that experience.

So now I can call myself a festival-goer. Strangely, I didn’t think I would ever go to a festival – let alone Glasto. Why would I want to sleep in a tent, survive without a shower or surrender to the grotty, soiled toilets?

Well, this is why:

I had the chance to get up at 5:30am every day to litter pick. Just typing this sentence still sounds nuts! Every day the alarm would sound, I would grumble, put on my sweaty shirt and plod on down to our litter picking plot. Why was I doing this? To be awake for the greatest number of hours, of course! No, that was not the reason – I love sleep and really missed it at Glasto. Instead, I was seeking what others often refer to as the ‘festival feel’. Strangely I found this whilst being surrounded by other voluntary litter pickers, not whilst listening to Ed Sheeran - even though he was great, and I was definitely a flustered fan girl. A sense of unity was what I was after, and this I found whilst litter picking. It didn’t matter what you looked like, or how much conversation you were able to make as everyone was there for a reason – to make a difference. This was when I realised I was there to be a part of something more than just the musical hype, I was there to experience the Recycling Team with my best friend (the wonderful Emily Cook - who runs Khushi Feet) and a brilliant team of Khushi Feet supporters. I could not have picked a more friendly, driven and admiral team to have experienced this with. The best part is, this was my first opportunity to contribute to Khushi Feet – and I can’t help thinking that for every piece of litter we picked up, it was as though we were offering a ‘Footstep to Freedom’.

Khushi Feet's team of 15 litter pickers collectively spent 360 hours litter picking while at Glastonbury Festival and raised a total of £1,500. We'd like to thank the team for their incredible hard work and commitment to what was an exciting but exhausting fundraising experience.

November 2017: Murder Mystery Fundraising

Khushi Feet held its second Murder Mystery night on Saturday 4 November and it was a great success!

The event took place at Mount Ephraim's manor house, an impressive venue in Hernhill near Faversham in Kent. The Bonfire-themed murder mystery entertainment unfolded around a three-course meal which was provided by local Indian chef Corinne Goodman with dessert provided by The Great British Bake Off semi-finalist, chef and author Chetna Makan. While coffee was served, guests filled out their accusation forms before the actors' denouement revealed the murderer. Prizes and booby prizes were then awarded to the winning and losing tables.

It seemed to be a hugely enjoyable evening for all, as all our guest left with a big Khushi smile on their face. One of our guests tweeted: 'Just had a great evening at the murder mystery dinner. Had no idea whodunnit but enjoyed it nonetheless!'

Best of all, the evening made a whopping £1567! This impressive total is thanks to the generosity of our guests, the hard work of our volunteers and the support of those who provided their services for the night.

Special thanks to: the owners of Mount Ephraim for allowing us to use their beautiful venue, Nigel Fairs and 368 Theatre Company for providing such brilliant a murder mystery for us to solve, Corinne's Creative Kitchen for cooking really delicious starters and main courses for our guests, and Chetna Makan for preparing a divine dessert and generously donating the profits from the sales of her book 'Chai, Chaat & Chutney' to Khushi Feet.

This money will be sent to the GNCEM street schools in Kolkata and spent on new clothes which will be given to the children as Christmas gifts. These children live on the streets or in slum areas of the city and own nothing - nice new clothes to wear will help the children to know that they are incredibly special and valued.

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Go to: Khushi Archive 2018