On January 21^st 2023, MOHAN Foundation organised a Rangoli Festival in association with Chennai Metro Rail Limited and Uptown Kathipara to promote the cause of organ donation and the national tollfree helpline. The venue was Kathipara Urban Square (Zone 2), Chennai. This is the 4^th edition of Kolam festival organised at Chennai. The theme of the Rangoli competition was “Gift of Life through Organ Donation”.  

28 teams, comprising both adults and students participated in the street art. The students from ACS Medical College, School of Allied Health Sciences, Anna Adarsh College for Women, MMM College of Health Sciences and MOP Vaishnav College for Women. The adults’ category had both women and men competing. Rangoli were created using traditional powders, flowers and other material.  Nearly every design incorporated the toll-free helpline number (18001037100).  

All teams were given 2 hours to make their street art. The designs were judged on their relevance to the theme, colour balance and presentation of the teams. Judges for the adult category were: Mrs. Srilakshmi Mohan Rao (Thread work artist & social worker for education and employment of girl child), Dr. S.K Gayathri (Social Activist and Actress), Dr. R. Gayathri (motivational speaker and Bharat Natyam Dancer) and for the student category were: Mr. Summer Kumar (Artist, fitness trainer & 2 times kidney recipient), Ms Rashmi  (Rangoli artist), Mr. Ragavan R (Transplant Coordinator at Fortis Hospital, Vadapalani), Mr. Periyanayagam P (Transplant Coordinator SRM Hospital, Kattankulathur).

The prize winners were:

At the prize distribution ceremony, Dr. Sunil Shroff, Managing Trustee, MOHAN Foundation spoke of the value of donation and thanked the participants as well as the judges for their support.  He explained the role of the National toll free helpline as a source of information as well for coordination of real time donation.  

The judges were delighted to be a part of this unique event and gave their comments about the art presented to them.  Mr. Summer Kumar spoke of his story as an organ failure patient and the gift of life he received. A student spoke of the loss of her grandfather to kidney failure and of her guilt that she was ignorant about transplantation. 

MOHAN Foundation is grateful to the management of Kathipara Urban Square for the space and CMRL for the permission. The National Toll free helpline is supported by SBI Foundation who were also a major supporter for this event. The event was also supported by some well-wishers - Allset, Elektronika Sales, Oriflame, Nexus VIJAYA, Rotary Club of Chennai Bharathi. MOHAN Foundation is thankful to all the participants who came with their material and spent time to promote a cause and promoting the toll-free Helpline.

To sum up, it was an evening well spent among artists who designed for a cause, creating a platform to spread the message of organ donation through National Tollfree number. Public visting the gardens in the Kathipara Urban Square Phase2 also came  to check out the rangoli event. Nearly 200 people visted the rangoli area.