
By NIMMI RAGHUNATHAN
ANAHEIM, CA – As is the fundraising norm, the event held at Servite High School here on Aug.12 was one that combined entertainment with a social cause. In focus, on this evening, were the disabled in India; the peg that the effort hung on was the staging of ‘Surdas’ a mono act by the well-known Shekhar Sen.
ANAHEIM, CA – As is the fundraising norm, the event held at Servite High School here on Aug.12 was one that combined entertainment with a social cause. In focus, on this evening, were the disabled in India; the peg that the effort hung on was the staging of ‘Surdas’ a mono act by the well-known Shekhar Sen.

What made the performance touchingly appropriate was that Surdas, the 15th century poet, was also physically challenged. The musician was blind but prolific in his compositions dedicated to Lord Krishna: sightlessness was ignored and the inner vision translated into words of such beauty that they linger on the lips of the devout even today.
Rashmi Shah who runs the Shah Foundation and is known for his charitable interests presented the event along with Voice of Specially Abled People founded in 2014 by Pranav Desai. The latter’s life is a modern-day tale of overcoming odds. As videos and brochures made clear, polio on both legs did not daunt Desai as he went on to get an education and climb the corporate ladder in the US. His success he wants to see replicated or at the very least have those marginalized because of their physical limitations, lead a life of dignity. Today the organization has 4,000 volunteers, has launched a VOSAP mobile app and with the support of the Indian government pushed policy initiatives to institute laws that are at par with the rest of the world.
VOSAP’s first fundraiser had the backing of Manubhai and Rika Shah of the Sarva Mangal Family Trust and Bhikhubhai and Pushpa Patel of the Tarsadia Foundation, both of who pledged to match $25,000 each. As the checks were collected from the audience and their names announced by volunteers, Hiten Shah, Rashmi Shah, Ragini Goel and Anand Rao Lingayat, amongst others rallied the audience for their monetary support. When it seemed for a short moment the $50,000 challenge might fall short, Uka Solanki, well known philanthropist in the area, upped his contribution to $10,000. By the end of the evening, the organization had inched above its goal with $120,000 in its kitty.
A happy Desai said that the message of empowerment of the physically challenged had resonated with the community: not only was the amount raised covered by high denomination checks but included even smaller ones for $20
Shekhar Sen too was eloquent in his appeal at the end of the program. His unscripted speech revealed his ease with words and the stage. His two-hour performance playing a blind saint was a marvel of articulation. Scripted by him in chaste Braj Bhasha, his supreme command over language was matched only by his fertile imagination.
Not much is definite about Sant Surdas but with the broad strokes of his life that are available, Sen spun tales that seemed endearingly real. It was a bit like watching the Oscar winning ‘Shakespeare in Love,’ where scenes were set to lead us toward the making of a particular play of the bard. Sen, with just the masterful use of words, vividly brought to life the interaction between the saint and his mother; the encounters in his 105-year long life with other giants of the bhakti movement including Mirabai, Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya, Swami Haridas and Goswami Tulsidas.
Each setting was a creatively used prop to envision how a composition of Surdas could have sprung forth. So, there from his childhood was, ‘maiyan more, main nahi maakhan khayo.’ The floods in the town brought forth the rendering of, ‘nis din barsat nain hamare.’ Then there was the lullaby, ‘jasoda hari paalane jhulawe.’ He sang his way through almost three dozen songs in various raags. Primarily focused on bhakti, Sen also managed to spin in some Hindu philosophy. Lacing it with humor he said one could stand at a crossroads and choose the path of artha or materialism by going to the bazaar; dharma by going to the temple; kama or desire by seeking out the red-light district and get moksha or liberation in the crematorium.
Sen’s play brought home the fact that human behavior has changed little over time. Intolerance looked and felt the same then as it does now. Intertwining an account of the temple wrecking Delhi Sultan, Ibrahim Lodhi, he posited in the words of Surdas: Hatred can break prayer beads worn around the neck but cannot remove the prayer in the throat. Sen was also careful to not condemn all of Islam or set it up as a religious conflict. His script has a Muslim befriend Surdas and say, “Lodhi has gone mad. They are even after Sufis and Shias”; Amir Khusro is lauded and his ‘chaap tilak,’ cheerfully sung.
While Braj Bhasha, the language in which Surdas composed might have been the common tongue in his time, the nuances of the saint’s poetry would have been lost on the Indian-American audience if it had not been for the two screens which rolled subtitles in English, efficiently keeping tandem with the artist on stage. The spartan production, if it were to be faulted, had to be for its length. Leisurely and calming in the first half, the second galloped along name dropping every famed 15th century contemporary of Surdas. It mattered little to the story and proved distracting. Sen is a master modern-day story teller following in the footsteps of the traditional kathakaar. Other than the digital and electronic help, just as in the bygone era, he has the same elements of music, devotion and daily life interwoven with the express purpose of pushing the believer closer to god. VOSAP volunteer Palak Shah thanked the artist and Usha Desai recognized all the donors on stage.