Daan Utsav, India's festival of giving was started by a handful of volunteers with a desire to promote the joy of giving across India, this year it is celebrating its 10th year of existence.
This wonderful festival, previously known as the Joy of Giving Week, promotes philanthropy in all forms and takes place every year from the 2nd to 8th October.
Daan Utsav, is neither an organization nor is it affiliated to one, like Diwali, or Mothers Day and Fathers Day, it belongs to everyone.
It provides you with the opportunity to contribute time, money, materials or skills to benefit an individual, organization or cause that means something to you. There are no markers to measure the extent of giving except the “joy” you experience as a giver.
Volunteers of the festival evangelise the idea of giving all through the year, across verticals to corporates, NGO’s, schools, colleges, housing societies, governments etc. No act is too small or too big.
Slowly and steadily this festival has grown from just an idea to a mass movement of giving.
This year's Daan Utsav also marks the beginning of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi, who has inspired people world over to give back to society.
Sheer grit on the part of the volunteers has brought together several eminent personalities from Bollywood, corporate and cricketing worlds to urge people to participate and contribute to the society.
The global ‘Giving Tuesday’ initiative is now observed in India as well, and falls on the Tuesday of the DaanUtsav week,” urged a letter released by the organisers.
This letter is signed by actors Amitabh Bachchan and Alia Bhatt, singer Lata Mangeshkar, businesswoman Anu Aga, industrialist Azim Premji, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, boxing star Mary Kom, Justice B N Srikrishna, Chhavi Rajawat and Devi Shetty.
The hope is that one day, philanthropy will effortlessly become a part of one's repertoire, and the joy pervasive.