February 25, 2005

Spreading love across the continents

Sangeet Bahaar 2005 program raises $15,000 for tsunami relief

When the worst natural disaster in recent memory struck several countries, including their Indian homeland, a group of Evergreen parents and children got together to prepare a dance performance for the Sangeet Bahaar 2005 Tsunami Charity Relief Concert on Jan. 22.

Evergreen Hills residents perform the Manoranjan Dance. (From left) Back row: Achal Soni, Arun Kastury and Shivali Singh. Middle row: Prachi Raje, Nandini Gupta, Urvi Gupta, Chandni Patel, Sonya Vyas, Meghali Singhal, Vishesh Gupta, Armaan Fazal and Kalin Khemka. Sitting in front: Parth Kothari and Sumit Jain.

Joining local artists from Fremont, Sunnyvale and Cupertino, 14 Evergreen children ranging from 7 to 12 years old participated in a dance to a song called “We Believe in Love,” from the Indian movie “Iskh Viskh.” Sunita Gupta choreographed the dance.

In the end, the program raised about $15,000 for tsunami relief. More than 800 people attended the two and a half hour performance at the Campbell Heritage Theatre.

“We were so happy to entertain 800 people and felt so proud to help in such a good cause of raising money for tsunami victims,” said young performers, Vishesh and Urvi Gupta.

Achal Soni agreed. “It was truly a memorable experience for me. The show was very gratifying, entertaining and displayed the great diversity of the rich Indian culture and heritage. I was extremely proud to be part of it.”

“It felt great performing for tsunami relief because I felt I could help someone so far away,” added Meghali Singhal.
Sangeet Bahaar 2005, which means, “a medley of songs,” was organized by the non-profit organizations Manoranjan Arts and Performances (MAP) and the India Community Center.

Performing the Meghali dance are Evergreen residents (from left) Prachi Raje, Meghali Singhal and Shivali Singh.

Manoranjan is a group committed to showcasing San Francisco Bay Area talent to the local community to enrich the experience of both the artists and the community. It was founded on the conviction that local talent is of high caliber, brings cultural variety and is very relevant to the growing and maturing Indian community of Bay Area. The volunteer organization is committed to mine, harness and showcase this talent.

The India Community Center currently operates two facilities that serve the Bay Area, including a 20,000 square foot facility in Milpitas and a 5,000 square foot facility in Sunnyvale. For more information, go to the Web at: www.indiacc.org.

Sangeet Bahaar 2005 could not have occurred without the help of countless volunteers and corporate sponsors Technology Credit Union, Citibank, Signex and Hexaware.