Remember Tara Balgopal? The once premier Kathakali and Bharatnatyam dancer of the country in whose honor the Indian government issued a postal stamp, and who has now almost faded into oblivion and poverty during her twilight years.

Clad within the crooked walls of a dilapidated house with barely the means to sustain herself, this eighty-something woman’s life story is heartbreaking.

But, her circumstances took a u-turn (for the better) when a man named Nikhil Sarup read her story.

“At one point, her story was being covered everywhere, including on social media. Through some smart Googling, I found her number and decided to visit her. You have to understand; I am 6’3 and can be quite intimidating to those who don’t know me. So I decided to visit her with a female colleague so as not to scare her,” he says.

Scare her? Nikhil was certainly mistaken there. He was pleasantly surprised when he met her.

“She’s quite a firebrand. People think that those in need are passive individuals. However, Taraji is quite the feisty woman. The photos you saw were bad, but trust me the reality was much, much worse. Her house was completely run down and smelly. She also had no funds to speak of, not even to nourish herself. Her neighbours were not very friendly to her, simply viewing her as a South Indian woman living in a Punjabi neighbourhood,” he said.

Having witnessed all this, the man was moved. He knew he had to do something for Taraji, and for this, he got in touch with a crowd-funding platform named Ketto.

“I told her that I promise to get help and that there are a lot of people who are worried about her. I told her that all these people are willing to help, and, with them, I will raise money for her so she can live a better life.”

And Nikhil lived by his promise. Today, as we speak of her, Taraji has a caretaker who attends her from morning to evening, keeps her house – that has now been repaired and revamped – neat and tidy.

What’s more? Nikhil also employed a tiffin service for Taraji, but because she didn’t like roti-sabzi much, and craved for the South Indian delicacies that she has grown up eating, he contacted a restaurant named New Kwality Snacks near her house. When the owner came to know of Taraji and her living conditions, he offered to offer her meals for free.

Such is the far-ranging ripple effect of the kindness that one man initiated.

“If I could do one thing differently, I would have involved more people. In this case, it was easier for me to raise money than to get the work done. Campaigners should think about the best way to mobilize the funds once they’ve raised them. It would have been simpler to involve one of her neighbours in this cause, who could, say, overlook the painting of her house. However, this was my first crowdfunding experience and gaps are sure to arise. I look forward to helping many more through this brand new medium,” Nikhil added.

We can’t help but appreciate dearly the praiseworthy and benevolent efforts of this man to give someone as precious as Tara Balgopal a new life.