Vogue Warriors: Meet the women who used laughter to raise 25 lakhs in 48 hours for COVID-19 relief

Earlier this month, on April 11, India’s comedy scenesters once again used their strongest weapon to inspire change—that of jokes and laughs. Only this time, their efforts weren’t targeted at shattering societal stereotypes or roasting a celebrity, but fighting the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Organised by stand-up comedians Kaneez Surka and Tanmay Bhat, entertainment lawyer Amshula Prakash and artist and event management company Only Much Louder’s Abhishek Oswal, the Stay Home For India (SHFI) was a two-day marathon event hosted on Bhat’s YouTube page. An army of 88 comedians and artists—including heavyweights such as Kenny Sebastian, Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath—logged on to play games and chat with each other, as the group simultaneously held an audience of 30,000 live viewers and raised 25 lakhs to aid frontline healthcare workers and marginalised communities in the country. As users donated, their names were spammed on the chat by the artists as a way to make them feel special.

Comedic relief

SHFI is hardly the first instance of the comedy community contributing towards fighting the pandemic. Recently, Vir Das launched a six-part stand up web series called Vir Das at Home, charging Rs 499 for access, the proceeds of which are divided between six charities. “We are going to need to smile now more than ever and for a while. If you’re a funny person, this is the time to do your job. The best you’ve ever done it,” notes Das. A little further away from home, our favourite talk-show hosts—Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert—were hosting at-home versions of their shows, continuing to entertain fans around the world. Surka, herself, has been dabbling her foot in multiple projects, hosting The General Fun Game Show, a game show featuring fellow comedians as guests along with improv.

Before SHFI, in January, Surka and Prakash organised a similar series (titled Stand Up For India) with a posse of comedians to support the nationwide protests against the CAA and NRC. So, SHFI is an extension of the idea to provide aid when the country needs it most. The reason why an event put together in barely five days was able to have a massive impact is because every organiser had a specialised role, according to Surka. While Prakash was in charge of identifying where the money should go, Surka took the reins on getting the comedy community together, making hundreds of phone calls in less than 24 hours. “The way we designed it, no one had to perform. We were just coming together and playing games. There's a lot less pressure when no one has to rehearse or practise writing. They just have to come along and have fun. And I think everyone did it with a lot of heart which made a huge difference,” says Surka.

Creatives for change

From the start, the duo was bent on helping the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. “We didn't just want to see an NGO name and give them money, not know where the money was going. We took steps to understand where the money was going, which took quite a lot of time,” explains Surka. Prakash, who is well-informed of the NGO space in India, went into a rabbit hole of an extensive search to dig out the right beneficiaries for their efforts. “There are many fringe groups working, which don't have the social media expertise or means of advertising to showcase what they're doing,” she says. Finally, they zeroed in on two organisations—Covidindia.org and Kashtakari Panchayat Trust.

Covidindia.org is a crowdfunding effort for the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for frontline healthcare workers across India, with a current focus on Mumbai, Bengaluru and Bhopal. The other beneficiary, Kashtakari Panchayat Trust, is a union for waste pickers in Pune which provides support to nearly 8,000 waste pickers and their families, who do not have the choice to work from home. The trust provides its target community with ration kits, safety equipment, as well as sanitary products like soaps, gloves and masks. Today, waste picking is as essential a service to its beneficiaries as it is dangerous to its providers. It requires contact not just with people whose house you're collecting waste from but also with things that could have a high possibility of contamination. Surka and team found that this group was perhaps one of the most vulnerable and overlooked.

When Prakash and Surka were putting the event together, they had no idea that something that was seemingly so hassle-free to put together, could create an impact of such great magnitude. And that’s the lesson they want their audience to take away. “If someone wants to be inspired to do something, you don't have to look beyond what's happening in your immediate vicinity or the headlines,” suggests Prakash. Surka nods, “We comedians, as public figures, understand our influence. But you don’t have to be a public figure to hold influence. For instance, Amshula used the power of her personal networks to identify the right places to contribute the money to. Even that in itself is such an important step.”

Vogue Warriors shines the spotlight on the women at the medical frontlines and essential services—doctors, nurses, scientists, innovators—alongside behind-the-scene heroes working tirelessly to help us through the ongoing pandemic.

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