BY SONAM MIRPURI
IRVINE, CA - Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of U S A presented Swarabhishek, a grand musical night on May 11 at Northwood High School here, with the desire to demonstrate gratitude and thank individuals who have continuously and generously donated to support children all over India and Nepal as well as to raise and promote...
IRVINE, CA - Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of U S A presented Swarabhishek, a grand musical night on May 11 at Northwood High School here, with the desire to demonstrate gratitude and thank individuals who have continuously and generously donated to support children all over India and Nepal as well as to raise and promote...
awareness to new attendees. Post dinner the program started with Disha Mehta and Ankur Patel, masters of ceremonies, calling on children of volunteers to sing the Star Spangled Banner followed by singing of the Indian national anthem by the Ekal core team volunteers.
Patel then requested Mayuri Desai, President of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter to address the gathering. Desai presented the audience with a shocking statistic. “Indian Americans donate about 1.5% of their income per year compared to the average American donation of 4% per year,” said Desai.
Giving her thoughts as to the reason for this drastic difference, Desai mentioned how Indians who came to the US have worked hard to earn their money. Therefore, are less willing to part with their hard earned money.
“It’s time to let go, it’s time to honor who we are as human beings, it’s time to show our awareness of what needs to be done, and it’s time to give,” said Desai.
Leaving the audience with this thought-provoking statement, Desai thanked the audience for taking the time to attend. “Remember that with education anything is possible… So, let’s educate those children who have no hope unless we give them that hope,” said Desai. Desai then requested Uma Gulani, Past Board of Director for the Region; Suresh Iyer, National Ekal President; and Pratibha Goyal, Regional Ekal President to join in performing the lamp lighting ceremony.
This was followed by a video presentation . on Ekal and brought to light the fact that besides literacy Ekal is also involved in health education, farming education, computer technology education, women’s empowerment to name a few It also presented insight as to how the Ekal schools function.
Mehta and Patel then introduced the highly anticipated artists of the evening: Neal Kumar, lead singer and keyboard; Rupali Deshmukh-Mehendale, lead singer; Deepak Chandla, tabla and percussion; Dhyan Nimsara Hewage, guitar; Jagdish Purohit, side rhythm; and Dani Ekbote, octopad and percussion.
Kumar and the team began with a few bhajans after which came time for the popular Bollywood tracks.
Tere Mast Mast Do Nain and Chand Sifarish were two of many songs Kumar sang to which the audience clapped along to the beats. Lag Jaa Gale performed by Deshmukh-Mehendale garnered much appreciation.
Kumar and group seamlessly transitioned between songs without the audience realizing thus creating a mash-up of many songs. Ramaiya Vastavaiya, Dum Dum Diga Diga, Palat, First Class, and Nagada Sang Dhol were the tracks which obtained the most love from the audience. Moreover, Kumar and group jumped eras in which the songs originally released without a glitch.
After the entertainment, the emcees were back with a PowerPoint presentation as well as stories of how Ekal Vidyalaya has helped individuals. The slides demonstrated how the money raised is put to use and attendees were encouraged to donate. Additionally, it stressed the importance of education.
One of the stories focused on Jaiwendari of Sagarthali from Uttar Pradesh who comes from a family that needs to earn money on a daily basis to have food on the table. Due to financial issues, she was only able to go to school until 8th grade. With Ekal’s Gramothan Resource Centers, she was able to pursue free tailoring training and now she earns enough to support her family. Now, she is saving money to buy her own sewing machine. This was one of the many success stories.
“Please open your hearts and your wallets to donate,” said Patel.
Mehta then invited Iyer to say a few words. Iyer spoke about the organization and how it has grown over the years. Subsequent to a brief tea break, attendees gathered back in the hall for the second part of the concert, during which Kumar and his group took requests from the audience. Kumar dedicated Yeh Bandhan To, to his mother and all mothers in honor of Mother’s Day.
The latter segment consisted of old and new songs as well as slow and fast tracks. The musical journey came to a close on a bang with Lal Meri Pat.
Concluding the evening Vishnu Yalamanchi, Secretary, thanked all of the volunteers who had worked tirelessly for months to make this event possible and to the audience for donating and attending.
Patel then requested Mayuri Desai, President of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter to address the gathering. Desai presented the audience with a shocking statistic. “Indian Americans donate about 1.5% of their income per year compared to the average American donation of 4% per year,” said Desai.
Giving her thoughts as to the reason for this drastic difference, Desai mentioned how Indians who came to the US have worked hard to earn their money. Therefore, are less willing to part with their hard earned money.
“It’s time to let go, it’s time to honor who we are as human beings, it’s time to show our awareness of what needs to be done, and it’s time to give,” said Desai.
Leaving the audience with this thought-provoking statement, Desai thanked the audience for taking the time to attend. “Remember that with education anything is possible… So, let’s educate those children who have no hope unless we give them that hope,” said Desai. Desai then requested Uma Gulani, Past Board of Director for the Region; Suresh Iyer, National Ekal President; and Pratibha Goyal, Regional Ekal President to join in performing the lamp lighting ceremony.
This was followed by a video presentation . on Ekal and brought to light the fact that besides literacy Ekal is also involved in health education, farming education, computer technology education, women’s empowerment to name a few It also presented insight as to how the Ekal schools function.
Mehta and Patel then introduced the highly anticipated artists of the evening: Neal Kumar, lead singer and keyboard; Rupali Deshmukh-Mehendale, lead singer; Deepak Chandla, tabla and percussion; Dhyan Nimsara Hewage, guitar; Jagdish Purohit, side rhythm; and Dani Ekbote, octopad and percussion.
Kumar and the team began with a few bhajans after which came time for the popular Bollywood tracks.
Tere Mast Mast Do Nain and Chand Sifarish were two of many songs Kumar sang to which the audience clapped along to the beats. Lag Jaa Gale performed by Deshmukh-Mehendale garnered much appreciation.
Kumar and group seamlessly transitioned between songs without the audience realizing thus creating a mash-up of many songs. Ramaiya Vastavaiya, Dum Dum Diga Diga, Palat, First Class, and Nagada Sang Dhol were the tracks which obtained the most love from the audience. Moreover, Kumar and group jumped eras in which the songs originally released without a glitch.
After the entertainment, the emcees were back with a PowerPoint presentation as well as stories of how Ekal Vidyalaya has helped individuals. The slides demonstrated how the money raised is put to use and attendees were encouraged to donate. Additionally, it stressed the importance of education.
One of the stories focused on Jaiwendari of Sagarthali from Uttar Pradesh who comes from a family that needs to earn money on a daily basis to have food on the table. Due to financial issues, she was only able to go to school until 8th grade. With Ekal’s Gramothan Resource Centers, she was able to pursue free tailoring training and now she earns enough to support her family. Now, she is saving money to buy her own sewing machine. This was one of the many success stories.
“Please open your hearts and your wallets to donate,” said Patel.
Mehta then invited Iyer to say a few words. Iyer spoke about the organization and how it has grown over the years. Subsequent to a brief tea break, attendees gathered back in the hall for the second part of the concert, during which Kumar and his group took requests from the audience. Kumar dedicated Yeh Bandhan To, to his mother and all mothers in honor of Mother’s Day.
The latter segment consisted of old and new songs as well as slow and fast tracks. The musical journey came to a close on a bang with Lal Meri Pat.
Concluding the evening Vishnu Yalamanchi, Secretary, thanked all of the volunteers who had worked tirelessly for months to make this event possible and to the audience for donating and attending.