The YouTube poet

Vishwas’ works have gone beyond regional boundaries in popularity among netizens. His crisp humour and wit has won him a young audience. Be it more than 10 lakh viewers on YouTube or 15,000 fans on his Facebook page,the poet’s works in the national language have inspired thought and expression. His presence in Pune also reflects the group – Vandemataram Sanghatana’s ideals. The group takes its inspiration from the legendary Bhagat Singh. “A lot of youngsters want to bring about a change in society,but are unable to do so because they can’t work solo. And to work in a group usually means political affiliation. That’s where we come in – we are strictly apolitical,” says Vibhav Wagh,the state president for the organisation.

This group of youngsters believes in changing the system not through armchair intellectualism but through active participation in the process of social reform . Believing that a nation’s strongest social resource is its youth,they aim to meet the goals of Vision 2020,the plan to make India a superpower. “We work at the grassroot level,because for the top branches to change,it should start from the bottom rung,” Wagh adds.

Established on March 23,the day that Bhagat Singh was hanged by the British,the group has many laurels to its name. “We are the second generation of this organisation. The first generation was actively involved in spreading awareness against terrorism in Punjab during the Khalistan movement,” says Wagh.

Among their interesting projects is their time-donation camp. “Everybody organises blood donation or eye donation camps. We thought that the one thing the youth has plenty of is time. So,at these camps,participants pledge a certain amount of time each week to help the needy,” says Wagh.

The group is planning to start a youth entrepreneurship centre in the city. Swapnil Naik,president of the corporate cell of the group,says,“The institute will motivate the youth towards social change by teaching them to lead their lives with passion,rather than passivity.” And this is where Vishwas’ performance will help them. “We want to raise funds for the institute through this event. Vishwas’s works are very popular amongst IT professionals and since Pune has a strong IT base,the city was our ideal choice for the event,” Wagh adds.

The event will take place at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch,7 pm.