The united spirit:
Of the many events and people
who have made the year 2008 special for Jaipur, it's the spirit of the youth that needs
Rajiv Khandelwal (TOI Photo) |
special mention.
Be it for the Bihar flood victims or for the victims of the Mumbai terror attack or closer home, the victims of the serial blasts that rocked Jaipur in May, the youth of the city has shown extraordinary courage, generosity and sensitivity.
On May 14, a day after Jaipur witnessed the serial blasts, youngsters from all communities, from various walks of life and from different social strata got together at hospitals across the city either to donate blood or to distribute food and drinks to the family members of those who were admitted in the hospitals with injuries. There was so much help at hand that doctors of most hospitals had to come out and declare that they had enough blood in the blood banks for the blast victims, and that they didn't need anymore donors. Hats off to that generosity!
When people in Bihar lost lives, homes and livelihoods to the wrath of the Kosi, MBA students of a city institute took to polishing shoes of passerbys to create awareness about the victims and to collect money to help them. "Youngsters have realised that there is a lot that needs to be done for the country and much of it we can do ourselves," says student Varsha Chandraroop who was a part of the campaign. Then we had the Airborne Riders, a group of young bikers zooming around the town on their bikes to spread awareness about AIDS and environment conservation. Students from various institutes organised candle light vigils and paid tribute to the heroes from the uniformed forces who lost their lives while fighting terrorists in the Mumbai attacks.
On a more local note, the year also saw youngsters across colleges in the city raising their voice against female foeticide. Says Shyam Saini who joined the drive, "Nothing can be as shameful as female foeticide. We have vowed not to let such things happen."
Cheerleaders
While the length of the cheerleaders' skirts made cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai and Kolkata frown, apna Pink City, that is completely in sync with its traditional roots, welcomed these zesty girls with an open heart. Unlike most other IPL teams, the cheer squad here was not asked to do a cover-up job. Decked in their flowing yellow short skirts and flaunting their green pompoms, the foreign cheerleaders became quite a fixture at the Jaipur matches. Adding to the fun of cheering for the team, every time these girls did their dance routine the crowds went crazy. And we say cheers to the sportsman spirit of Jaipurites.
Raghavendra Rathore
M oved by the mishap that struck Jodhpur days before the Delhi Fashion Week, the designer altered his line and restricted his colour palette to reds, white and black. This style guru has also been instrumental in getting the government to sanction an exclusive venue in Jaipur where big names from the fashion industry will showcase their collections. This project is through, and now Rathore has pitched for the Couture Week to be hosted in Rajasthan.
Shane Watson
This Australian all-rounder surely has a heart that beats for the Pink City. Moved by the plight of Jaipur's street kids the cricketer joined hands with a Sydney-based NGO, after returning to his homeland, post IPL. And he returned soon, keeping the promise he had made to the kids to spend time with them. And not only did he tell them that he was just a phone call away in case of trouble, he has since urged other celebs to support these kids.
Rajasthan Royals
The T20 team from Rajasthan – the team that had no big names except for Australian
biggie Shane Warne as captain and coach. With Halla Bol as their anthem, they played with their might and heart and rose steadily up the charts to become the surprise winners of the high-profile IPL'08. As Warne in his winning speech said, "This one is for the people of Jaipur," the desert state made a place for itself in the cricketing map of the world forever.
Rajiv Khandelwal
This Jaipur boy's debut with the film Aamir raised quite a few eyebrows. Initially considered as just another television actor wanting to make it big on the silver screen, Rajeev Khandelwal silenced critics as Aamir gave a tough competition to Big B starrer Sarkar. Aamir was one of the first releases in 2008 that marked the trend of successful small budget films in the year. Hats off to this Jaipurite. And now Rajiv is busy with his two films set to release in 2009.
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