Utopia is a term used with a fervent hope and a sanguine expectation. A hope, that the place we live in, could be made perfect. An expectation, that the conditions we live in could be made ideal, socially, politically and morally. Making this hope a reality with respect to the social and moral aspects thereby influencing the political aspects is very much in our hands by just being kind, generous and unselfish.

In Andhra Pradesh, where watching movies is a passion to most of us and discussing relentlessly about them is a favorite fixation, most of the fans are lost in a made-up trivial world of box-office records and maximum 100 days centers. But amidst millions of such fans, there are a few people who always go that extra mile to help and serve the needy with utmost humanity. With this section, we would like to showcase such noble people, no matter whose fans they are, who are working hard to make a difference to the society we are a part of, who are striving to change the place we live in into a Utopia.

A small girl called Srujana is suffering from a disease called Thalassemia, which needs a blood transfusion every 21 days. For the past one year, a group of Chiranjeevi fans are donating blood to her to make her survive by pledged their unconditional support to her.

The team of idlebrain.com traveled from Hyderabad to Kurnool on 30th September 2002 to interview the parents of Srujana, the donor Suresh and the consulting doctor Dr. Govinda Reddy.

Excerpts -

Prem Kumar (Srujana's father)

Tell us about Srujana.

I am Prem Kumar and my wife's name is Hema. I used to work as an operator in a factory. My daughter Srujana had frequent bouts of fever and whenever we took her to the doctors, they gave her tablets and syrups. When we visited Dr. Venkateswar Rao, he told that us that we should inject 50 ml blood into our daughter's body. We were not sure as to why a small kid needs blood to be injected. We waited for two more months and went to Wadia Hospital [in Bombay]. There, her fever got intensified and her heartbeat became very weak. The doctors in the hospital took blood from Srujana and us and tested it. That's when the doctors declared that Srujana was suffering from Thalassemia major. They told us that it's a genetic disease and it affected our kid as we had gone for menarikapu marriage [Srujana's dad is her mom's maternal uncle (mavayya)]. They also informed us that new blood has to be injected into Srujana's body for every 21 days throughout her life.

We stayed in Bombay for two years as that hospital gave free blood to Srujana. Since I was staying here [in Kurnool] and my family was in Bombay, it was very difficult for us to manage. And that's when we decided to bring back Srujana here. We searched for friends and relatives who could give blood but in vain.

We then gave a paper advertisement in local newspapers and fans of Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan responded to it. They have been giving blood to Srujana for the past seven months. They also promised that they would take care of blood donation in the future as well. We would also like to thank Dr. Govinda Reddy of Padma Chandra Kidney Center for his help throughout.

Other voluntary organizations promised us help in terms of donating blood. But none of them came forward to do it.

Is there any way of curing this disease in the long run?

The doctor told us that we could take bone marrow from our younger daughter and inject it in Srujana. This operation would cost us anywhere between Rs 12 lakhs to Rs 15 lakhs. We cannot afford such a costly treatment and even if we could afford it, we are not sure how it might affect the health of our younger daughter.

How did you get it touch with Chiranjeevi fans?

I asked Mr. Suresh (President of Kurnool Chiranjeevi Fans Association) for blood without stating the purpose of it and he gave us the blood. Later on he saw our advertisement and came to know about the real reason. He contacted us and helped us with blood for the past 10 times. He also promised us his help for blood in the future as well.

Smt. Hema (Srujana's mother)

What was your reaction when you came to know that Srujana was suffering from Thalassemia?

I felt very sad. This was a total shock to me. Srujana was suffering with frequent fevers but I never knew things would become so drastic.

Did any of your relatives come forward to donate blood?

No.

How old is Srujana?

She is just 7 years old

Can she speak properly?

Yes.

Dr. Govinda Reddy (Consulting Doctor)

Tell us about Thalassemia

Thalassemias are a group of genetic blood disorders that affect a person's ability to produce haemoglobin. Thalassemia is an inherited disease, which means it is passed on from parents to their children through their genes. It is not infectious and cannot be "caught" like common cold. It will not develop later in life, nor can a child outgrow it.

Thalassemia can be divided into two main types: alpha-Thalassemia and beta-Thalassemia. Each of these types is further divided into Thalassemia carrier, Thalassemia intermedia, and Thalassemia major.

A person who has Thalassemia major cannot produce enough haemoglobin to survive, and therefore needs blood transfusions every three to four weeks in order to grow and live normally.

Is it possible to do marrow transplantation to cure Thalassemia?

It's still in evaluation stage. That technique is harmful as of now.

We heard that though it does not give you any monetary benefit, you visit each and every blood camp organized by Chiranjeevi fans and do the grouping of blood?

Generally, fans are known for making a ruckus and indulging in petty fights to show the supremacy of their favorite star. But Chiranjeevi fans in Kurnool are a surprise package. They have removed all my prejudices about fans with their noble deeds. Around 130 Chiranjeevi fans turned up for a blood camp on one call.

Rayalaseema is known for moodha nammakaalu [superstitions]. In such a place, even the mother hesitates to give blood to her own kid. In a place where we don't get water freely, Chiranjeevi fans are donating blood without any second thoughts. We should appreciate Mr. Suresh for channelizing the fans' energies in a positive direction.

What is your message to Chiranjeevi fans?

Chiranjeevi is a very busy and successful star. In spite of his hectic schedules, he is doling out time for a social cause. His fans, being young and energetic, should take the spirit forward and help the society become a better place.

We are planning to set up a special blood donor club here. We are conducting eye camps. We have operated around 300 poor people and helped them retain a clear vision. We are doing everything possible to bring smile into the lives of those people through Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust. Chiranjeevi is giving inspiration to the youth who are idling on the street to come forward and take part in the social activity.

Tell us your observations about Chiranjeevi

I like Chiranjeevi as a person. Though he has reached the pinnacle in his profession, he cares a lot for the common man. Blood donation or eye donation has nothing to do with Chiranjeevi's profession. Maintaining a statewide blood bank is a Herculean task. Yet he is doing all that with an ample support from his fans. That shows how much he cares for the common man. Though I do not worship him as a hero, I worship him as a great human being as he has the ability and inner motivation to reach out to the poor and needy just like Mother Teresa.

C Suresh (Chiranjeevi Fans Association president for Kurnool District)

How did you know about the condition of Srujana?

A friend of mine is a relative to Srujana. They used to come to us and ask for O+ blood and we provided them with the blood four times at regular intervals. I happened to see the paper advertisement and realized that Srujana was suffering from Thalassemia and that she needed blood transfusion for the rest of her life. We then pledged that as long as Chiranjeevi fans are there in Kurnool, we would continue to donate blood to Srujana.

We would like to thank Mr. Govinda Reddy for helping us out in our camps and all other medical help without charging any money.

What prompted you to become fan of Chiranjeevi?

I liked Chiranjeevi because of his dances and fights. And now we are proud of him as a human being and his achievements through Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust.

You used to get satisfied by putting banners to the theaters earlier. What was your reaction when Chiranjeevi called for blood donors through CCT?

When we started meeting Chiranjeevi 15 years back, we used to tell him how we decorated theaters and how we celebrated the success of his films. He used to pat us and encourage us. But Chiranjeevi changed his outlook in the past four years. When we meet Chiranjeevi now and tell about the records and theater decorations, we don't see that interest in him anymore. But when we tell him about the deeds of the trust and blood donations we see a sparkle in his eyes. When we told him about we giving blood to Srujana, he felt very happy. Now, he discourages us if we spend a lakhs of rupees for theater decoration. At the same time, he appreciates us if we do a social work without spending any money. He tapped the enthusiasm in us and directed us to use that for doing social service.

Chiranjeevi called us to Hyderabad in 1998 on the eve of his birthday. We carried out a procession from YMCA where Chiranjeevi donated blood first and then all of us donated blood. We arranged a blood donation camp in Kurnool on the same day and 60 people donated blood. This noble trust, which started in 1998, has been multiplying henceforth with a great success.

We are willing to donate blood, even if somebody calls us during mid night. All the people in our district contact us first for any blood requirements. We are very proud of it.

Did you do any other social activities?

We saw an orphan girl, who was repairing shoes, on the road recently and we arranged Rs 25,000/- and donated her with a shop to continue her work.

We arranged an eye camp recently, which was attended by 350 people. 110 were given spectacles and 40 people were operated. We organized this camp with the money from our own pockets.

Tell us about your personal opinion on Chiranjeevi

I am not in a position to give an opinion. With a call to donate blood in 1998, he changed our lives, for the better. We are trying to live up to his word and his magnanimous personality by carrying out our duties in the right direction trying to help the society we live in.

How do Chiranjeevi fans co-exist with fans of other heroes?

We might be having many differences in other aspects. But when it comes to blood donation we all unite. When fans of any other heroes need blood, we come forward to help them and if Chiranjeevi fans need blood, fans of other heroes don't hesitate to donate blood. When it comes to serving humanity, all the fans have common goal.

What other activities did you do so far?

During Kargil war, we donated Rs 25,000/- from Kurnool district towards Kargil fund on behalf of Chiranjeevi fans. During the time of floods in AP, we donated Rs. 10,000/-. We also donated Rs 10,000/- for the earthquake relief funds in Gujarat. Chiranjeevi spent about 20 lakhs to buy materials and he sent a team of 12 members to Gujarat to help the people out there from the disastrous earthquake. And I am proud to be one among those 12 selected people. After getting inspired by this, all our fans collected a fund of 3 lakhs and met honorable PM Vajpayee and donated that money to PM's relief fund.

(During the interview with Mr. Suresh, there was a call from Sai Hospital who were in search of O- blood and it was arranged immediately)

Credits:

Onsite Team: Siva Shankar and Giri
Editing and packaging: Jeevi & Sreya Sunil