India, Sept. 6 -- W hen words fall short, music steps in. That's the spirit behind Advaitha - A Symphony, a campaign using melody to spark awareness about the often-overlooked issue of drowning. What began as a singing competition on World Drowning Prevention Day (July 25) now reaches its crescendo today, with 12 finalists, shortlisted from 78 entries across Delhi-NCR, vying for the top three honours. After three intense rounds, the finalists, aged 13 to 19, will showcase their talent at the city's grand finale. But this is a mission with heart. "This is not just a music award event, it's a mission. Every day, there are incidents of accidental drowning, often involving youngsters," says co-organiser Renu Kaul Verma, who lost her 18-year-old son, Advaitha, a gifted singer, to drowning at Pune's Pawna Lake in June 2024. Verma stresses that "most incidents are avoidable with proper safety measures - life jackets, signboards, awareness drives. Sadly, it's hardly talked about until tragedy strikes. If even one life can be saved through awareness, that's success". By blending music with a message, she adds, the campaign hopes to "ignite awareness and inspire change". The event doubles as a tribute to Advaitha, in whose memory his parents set up the Hemant Bala Advaitha Foundation. Alongside the competition, the evening will feature a short film on water safety and a performance by Nagpur-based rapper Vinod Waghade aka Garam Kalakar. He will perform Baarish aur Haadse, a rap that confronts the urgency of addressing accidental drowning: "As an artiste, I believe if you need to send across a message to Gen Z, there's no better way than music."...