Governor reaches out to 14-year-old who sings hymns for living

Fourteen-year-old Sapna Sakhare cannot believe her luck. The Solapur local, who has been singing hymns at various programmes for the past two years to help her family make ends meet, was offered Rs 50,000 by none other than Maharashtra governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, who had learned of her after reading a newspaper article. The governor’s wife Vinoda Rao handed the girl a cheque on Sunday at a programme in the Council Hall in Pune.

Sapna, who has two siblings, studies in Class 9 at Srimati Laxmibai Vittalrao Durafe high school in Karmala block. Her father, Balasaheb Sakhare was injured after falling down from a pole in 2014. Since then, he has been receiving treatment in government hospitals in Solapur and Pune. The girl’s mother lacked the wherewithal to provide for the family.

Since the time of her father’s accident, Sapna — who had been singing bhajans and kirtans of Saint Tukaram and Dnyaneshwar since childhood — started chanting these melodies for a living. Alongside her devotional music, the teenager has been spreading social messages in favour of education for girls and against female foeticide.

At the event, Mr Rao asked Sapna about her hobbies, her teachers and what she was studying in school. Sapna also performed a bhajan for the governor.

Speaking about the pleasant turn of events, P.G. Gawade, principal of Sapna’s school, said, “It was unexpected that the governor would extend a helping hand. We are delighted to meet him and we assured him that the school would let Sapna avail of every opportunity.”