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Click here to go to the main page of Star of Mysore. She will sing in Pakistan in aid of children. She has built shelter for sex workers' kids in Nagpur. When many children her age pester their parents to provide them with all the luxuries possible, this little girl persuades all parents to forego a little luxury to help mend the hearts of little children, whose lives would be cut short for want of money for heart surgeries! While our Bollywood stars charge lakhs of rupees to dance or even be present at celebrity weddings, here's a young girl who will sing any-where but gives away all the money to charity! 
Fame and adulation can make you go heady, especially if you are just 13 years old. But Baby Palak Muchhal is different. Having been featured in almost all the print and electronic media, this child is indeed very modest. Though gentle as a swan, she has a heart of a lion! A singing prodigy, she has raised more than Rs. 75 lakh for heart operations for the poor, especially young children. Going about her mission "Saving Little Hearts", Palak has contributed for 142 heart operations so far and has 357 patients on the waiting list! 'God has given me some talent and I should thank him by doing what little I can for the society. Jab tak gaata rahoongi, tab tak garibon ke liye kuch to karti rahoongi' (I shall keep doing something for the poor till I keep singing), she says in an interview. Excerpts:
When did you start singing?
Actually at our weddings everyone sings or dances or showcases some talent. My mother says, when I was around 2½ years, during my Uncle's wedding she pushed me onto the stage to say some rhyme or a small song. But it seems I sang Chal bhi sajani ab kya soche, completely, which surprised my parents who took notice of my interest in singing and nurtured it. But when did you think of using your singing talent for a social cause?
When I grew a little older, I always actively participated in social service activities and asked my parents whether I could collect money from my singing, for a social cause. They readily agreed and I was giving small concerts, even as I trained under my guru Pandit S. Mishra. Why did you decide to help kids with heart problems?
Actually a 5 – year - old boy Lokesh from a school in Indore had a hole in his heart, but his parents could not afford the operation. The Principal of his school Mrs. Sunitha Shukla, who knew I sang to raise funds, requested if I could sing and collect money for his operation. I readily agreed and collected Rs. 55,000 for the show. But Dr. Devi Shetty, the well-known cardiologist from Bangalore, who saw the news being reported on a TV channel, offered to operate the boy for free! What did you do with the money?
I released advertisements and asked the donors to take back their money, as the operation was done free of cost. But all of them refused and encouraged me to set up a Heart Foundation with the same money. Ever since, I have started the 'Dil Ke liye' concerts and people all over the world have been very kind in donating towards the cause. So you have taken your mission abroad?
Yes! Apart from more than 25 cities all over India, I have raised funds through shows in London, Belgium. Dubai, Bangkok and am shortly visiting Pakistan on the invitation of the Rotary Club of Pakistan. I am very happy to be visiting the country and hope to carry the message of friendship too through my mission. I appeared face – to - face with the public of Washington in the Hello India programme on Voice of America too. You also raised funds for the Kargil soldiers?
Yes. I visited every shop in my town singing “Yeh Meri watan ki Logon” and asked them to contribute whatever they could. I was able to collect Rs. 25,000. I sang in aid of the Gujarat earthquake victims too and collected Rs. 3 lakh. Thanks to the people of Gwalior, I was able to collect Rs. 7 lakh during a charity show there. Such magnanimous donations by people who enjoy my music and also feel concerned about society has enabled me to harness more than Rs. 75 lakh for my mission. You have created a record of sorts?
I have been featured in the Guinness Book and Limca Book of records. Till now, I have held more than 285 shows. But this is just incidental. I quote the numbers, because more programmes will bring in more money to help more children. I am more concerned about how many kids are benefited than what record I make! Have you donated to any other cause?
Actually I did raise Rs.1. 5 lakh for the renovation of the Indore Palace. I am also helping 39 children of sex workers in Nagpur. The Rotary Club there brought the plight of these children to my notice and I felt very sorry for them. I thought I could be of some use to them by providing a little help for their education and well - being. With the help of Rotary Club and my collections, we have built a building for these children to stay. Your brother Palash too is going the same way?
Yes. He holds the record for the youngest guitarist. He too holds shows to raise money for kidney patients. How supportive have your parents been?
Very. It is because they are so understanding and supportive that I have been able to take up the cause with so much zeal. What do you plan to become?
A playback singer, of course! I want to get a graduation degree at least, but my passion is singing. What do you have to tell your friends?
Look around, there are so many of our friends who have nothing. If only we could spare a little for them, it would make a lot of difference to their lives. If you have a talent, try and make use of it to help others. Your dream?
To keep singing till my last breath and of course to meet my idol Lata Mangeshkarji. Her father Rajkumar Muchhal is an Accounts Officer in a private firm in Indore and mother Amith Muchhal, a housewife. They are happy that their kids are doing whatever they can for the society. “I run the family comfortably with the money I earn. The money that comes from her programmes should go to help the poor”, says Rajkumar. Eminent personalities including Ex - PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, President Dr. Abdul Kalam and former President K. R. Narayan, whom Palak has met, have appreciated her concern for poor children. Her singing talent too has been highly appreciated by the likes of Pandit Jasraj, Sonu Nigam, Anuradha Podwal, Annu Kapoor and others. Popular TV star Shekar Suman has donated Rs. 1 lakh to her Heart Foundation. Nandini Srinivasan
Courtesy: Star of Mysore Click here if you would like to Contribute or send a feedback.
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