PAWS-Mumbai founder receives ‘Best Animal Activist’ Award
Sunish Subramanian, a young animal activist & founder of Plant & Animals Welfare Society – Mumbai (PAWS-Mumbai) an NGO working for animal welfare and environment protection, received the HEX WORLD NEWSMAKERS ACHIEVERS AWARD as ‘Best Animal Activist’ in an international event held at Taj Palace & Towers in Mumbai. There were 65 different categories in which awards had been given to achievers in an overcrowded world because of their outstanding contribution.
Personalities from the fields of politics, television, Bollywood, advertisement, media, IAS, IPS marked their presence at the grand award event. A superstar of the Millennium Amitabh Bachchan got the ‘Man of the Masses’, whereas Raj Thackeray received the ‘Heart Throb of Maharashtra’ award and others like Carliyta Mouhini as ‘Best International Singer’, Y.P Singh as ‘Best IPS Officer’, Smita Thackeray as ‘Best Outstanding Social Contribution’, Nandini Sardesai as ‘Best Teacher’, Vinita Kamte as ‘Best Writer’, Mahesh Manjrekar as ‘Best Director’, Milind Gunaji as ‘Best Travelogue Writer’, Bharat Dabholkar as ‘Best Media & Advertisement Person’ these were few of them.
Call him the messiah of animals and birds or simply an animal activist, but Sunish Subramanian has already made his mark. Few people know that the young animal lover from Bhandup is responsible for bringing animal activism in Mumbai’s suburbs.
Speaking to ‘Planet Powai’ he said, “There had been a lot of organizations in Mumbai, but there was none exclusively for the suburbs, by starting the organization Plant & Animals Welfare Society – Mumbai (PAWS-Mumbai) the help of other like minded friend. I started my activities from Bhandup and Powai,” says Sunish. In 2009 PAWS-Mumbai featured in “Limca Book of Records as Youth for Animals.
“My attraction to animals started when I was a child. I used to cry and ask my mother to buy me parrots, birds and other such small animals, keep them for a day or two and later release them free. My parents used to get angry as they used to spend money on buying those animals and birds for my happiness, but then I used to release them. But they did not know that their freedom was my happiness, “says Sunish.
He further elaborated saying, “Eventually, as I read and met likeminded people, I was attracted to this hobby. By watching television when I came across a show by Smt. Maneka Gandhi, I written to her after the programme and she responded by given me a membership and gave me few initial guidelines on how to become a hardcore animal activist. Once we di this,it was no looking back.”
He started his activities single handedly and now it has grown into major movement in the city. It has happened with the help and support from his family, friends and his well wishers especially, Pooja Bhatt, Maneka Gandhi, Sambhavna Seth, Anju Mahendroo, Seema Rahmani, Shayan Munshi and Aarti Surendranath as he told PP.