Singer Nikhita Gandhi helps raise funds for Rajasthan charity in UK

Popular singer Nikhita Gandhi performed at The Rajasthan Foundation charity’s annual Diwali Ball in London to help raise funds for children’s causes in the state, including a special needs school in Bhilwara and a government school in Barmer.

Gandhi, the playback singer behind several chart-toppers from box-office hits across five different languages, said she was overwhelmed by the response of audiences in the UK.

“Sometimes I do get nervous about doing a show abroad because I wonder if the Indian population here also is listening to the same music as we are in India, or do they have a different taste in music and Indian films,” shared Gandhi at the conclusion of her UK visit earlier this week.

“But I was so overwhelmed and happy during my show. Everyone knew my old songs to the recent ones that dropped this year. When I was singing ‘O Sajna’ (from the film ‘Ek Tha Raja’) everyone was singing along and they knew all the lyrics. It just felt so good to receive such love and reciprocation and I really had a blast while performing for such a good cause,” she said.

The Rajasthan Foundation (TRF) was set up to alleviate poverty, hardship, and distress among underprivileged women and children primarily in the state of Rajasthan.

Its aim is to bring together the Rajasthani community in the UK through initiatives across three pillars of community, culture and charity.

“At the Diwali Charity Ball 2024, we raised thousands of pounds to support the ‘Home Based’ programme at Sona Manovikas Kendra in Bhilwara, a school for children with special needs. The funds will also help reconstruct a new girls’ washroom, a classroom and a drinking area at the Government Girls’ School in Barmer district,” said TRF board member Poonam Goel, a London-based philanthropist of Rajasthani heritage.

Since its inception in 2005, TRF claims to have been focussed on a mission to raise funds for charitable causes and has supported special needs educational institutes like Sona Manovikas Kendra (SMK) in Bhilwara and Navjoti Manovikas Kendra (NMK) in Jodhpur.

The charity says its donations have helped construct new buildings and improve wider infrastructure facilities for projects in the state over the years.

TRF has also supported Jaipur-based charity Jagruti to rebuild derelict and abandoned schools in slum areas. During the pandemic in 2020, TRF worked on food banks and also launched a “Connecting Elderly at Carehomes with Families” campaign, distributing electronic devices to care homes around London to enable self-isolating elderly inhabitants stay in contact with their families and loved ones.