Saavn, India’s No.1 digital music service, has partnered with Akshaya Patra to launch #MusicForMeals with the goal of feeding 5,000 children the mid-day meal on every school day for an entire year!

This initiative is the first of its kind, powered by music listening on Saavn. For every hour of music streamed via their website on apps, Saavn will donate towards one Akshaya Patra mid-day meal for one child.

Speaking on the vision behind #MusicForMeals Rishi Malhotra, Co-Founder and CEO of Saavn says, “Our goal as a company has always been to be as impactful as the music we stream to millions of users every day. Just as we have become India’s music streaming service, we want the Saavn team and our users to make a lasting difference in the world, especially in India, where children are the next generation of students, leaders, entrepreneurs, and the future of the country. We’re launching #MusicForMeals so that our users’ love for music can translate into sending children to schools for wholesome meals, on a daily basis. We are inviting other companies to join #MusicForMeals as it is an opportunity for all companies to collaborate and make a lasting impact. As we add millions of users and streams this year, we’ll grow our support for #MusicForMeals alongside it. We believe music can truly change the world in every way.”

Saavn will make a monthly donation to Akshaya Patra which will be implemented across the Foundation’s beneficiary schools in India. They just made their first contribution of Rs. 3.12 lakh to Akshaya Patra this February.

Shridhar Venkat, CEO of The Akshaya Patra Foundation conveyed the organisation’s happiness over the venture saying, “We appreciate the philanthropic values of Saavn and thank them for #MusicForMeals. This initiative by Saavn will help in serving meals to many underserved children on school days, helping them with an opportunity to attend school, focus and learn.”

We recently hosted ‘A Wall of Hope and Joy – 2015’ our annual photography exhibition from 24th to 26th January in Bangalore! The exhibition which was hosted at Mantri Square Mall was a huge success, with crowds of shoppers streaming in to take a peek at the beautiful photographs up for display, as well as local TV channels and newspapers. The event was inaugurated by Praveen Methil, Head of Mantri Square, and Shridhama Krishna Dasa from ISKCON.

The exhibition showcased different kinds of images. It featured:

• Images exemplifying Akshaya Patra’s work in providing the mid-say meal programme and its operations processes
• A thematically designed display of images showcasing the experiences and emotions of childhood. The themes were ‘A belly full of fun’, ‘Moments under a hopeful sky’, ‘Chasing dreams’, ‘As you like it’ and ‘Feeding 1.4 million children. Every day.’
• The top 50 images from Click a Smile 2014, Akshaya Patra’s annual photography competition. This contest was a resounding success with almost 1,500 photographs from nearly 50 countries worldwide being entered.
• Akshaya Patra images from famous photographer Vicky Roy

The exhibition which was on from 11am to 8pm on all three days was a stunning visual representation of Akshaya Patra’s aim to eliminate classroom hunger, and its mission to feed 5 million children by 2020.

The exhibition served to educate the visitors on the need to provide food for education, and also remind them of the glorious times of childhood. It helped convey the message that childhood is a time of hope and joy, something millions of children in India are denied.

Through these inspiring, evocative images Akshaya Patra hopes to have touched the noble heart of the public, and sparked the flames of change for the future.

Visit the Wall of Hope and Joy 2015 photo gallery here.