Cover Parineeti Chopra and Parvati Mirchandani
Parineeti Chopra and Parvati Mirchandani
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Society’s most philanthropic stepped out in style as they donated generously towards Magic Bus’ cause
It was a night of glamour, good food, conversation and more when Magic Bus held its 10th annual gala at Capella Singapore’s dramatic circular ballroom.
The non-profit organisation, which was founded in 1999, equips children and young people in the age group of 12 to 18, with the skills and knowledge they need, to grow up and move out of poverty. Through 42 livelihood centres across India, 30,000 young people have been trained and 70 per cent placed in jobs in the organised sector so far. Besides India, Magic Bus also operates in Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The organisation held its first gala in over two years to celebrate its donors and supporters and to raise money for their work and its ardent supporters were out in full force to support their cause.
The night kicked off with canapes and drinks outside the ballroom as guests mingled with each other and took pictures at a photo wall.
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Guests were then ushered into the ballroom where they were presented with a menu that included tender and spicy chicken tikka, a thali of mutton, dahl and saffron rice and sweet gulab jamun.
As they ate, guests were treated to video montages of the work Magic Bus was doing in Asia as well as a speech from Parvati Mirchandani. As a young girl, Parvati also benefited through the Magic Bus programme as it saved her from becoming a child bride and gave her the opportunity to receive an education.
“I grew up in a place where survival was key. We needed to eat and so many children got pushed into child labour or were married young,” Parvati said with tears in her eyes. “I myself was asked to stop studying when I was 15 to get married but Magic Bus worked with me and gave me the courage to convince my parents to let me keep studying. Today, I am the first girl in my village to complete my Master's,” she continued before the room erupted in cheers.
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Guests were then treated to a short speech by actress Parineeti Chopra, the organisation’s guest-of-honour for the event.
“I grew up watching my own father struggle to give me what I needed to live and study and so I genuinely care to see young people coming out of this struggle,” she said. “You know, during Covid-19, everyone was affected. We lost our health, our jobs, everything. But clearly, we have not lost our drive to do good. I saw first-hand how Magic Bus was one of the first organisations to be back in action after the pandemic and that is very inspiring.”
After everyone had dined and laughed, Magic Bus began its auction. From tickets to Wimbledon 2023 to stays in luxury hotels in Bali and sporting lessons from professionals, Magic Bus clearly knew what would appeal to their audience. Guests made bids in excitement, driving up prices and contributing to a great cause.
Click through the gallery below for more photos of what went down at the Magic Bus 10th anniversary gala.
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Camillia Dass is the digital writer for Tatler Singapore.
