Artiste to don ‘Swampfire’ costume for charity work

Artiste Ravi Katpadi will wear a unique ‘Swampfire’ costume to raise funds during the Sri Krishna Janmashtami and Vittlapindi celebrations planned on August 23 and 24.

Katpadi told media persons at Udupi Press Club on Wednesday that the main objective behind the charity was to support ailing children. These children suffer from various diseases and their poor parents have no money to pay for treatment.

Ravi Katapadi’s performance as ‘human octopus’ ‘spiderman’, ‘Avatar’s alien’ and other characters in the previous years had attracted many people.

But what made people donate money was the cause behind the fancy dress.

This year, Ravi will be attired in a ‘swamp fire’ costume (a humanoid walking tree), portrayed in Hollywood movies.

Ravi Katapadi has handed over an amount of Rs 35 lakh for treatment of poor kids so far.

Beneficiaries

This year, three-year-old Shreethan from Mandarthi, five-year-old Pratham from Vakvady, Kundapur and 18-year-old Kiran of Hiriyadka had been identified by Ravi Katapadi as the beneficiaries of the contributions.

These kids are suffering from different ailments like liver cancer, low white blood cell count and brain haemorrhage.

Ravi Katapadi said in October 2018 he was invited to Muscat for a felicitation programme.

He met one Mangaluru entrepreneur, Kiran Poojary there. Kiran offered Ravi Katapadi a job in his company as an air conditioner (AC) technician.

Ravi revealed that he would join the company on one condition --that he should be sanctioned leave every year in order to visit Udupi during Sri Krishna Janmashtami in August in order to help more ailing kids, he added.