An English translation from Meghadootam - (http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sha/sha17.htm) 

On September 20th at the Regis College of Fine Arts in Weston, AIM for Seva Boston Chapter presented a scintillating and entertaining operatic ballet Meghadootam as part of their annual fundraising effort.  Based upon Kalidasa's famous poem of the Cloud Messenger  and choreographed by Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Menon, with music by Bombay Jayashri Ramnath,it was a beautiful amalgamation of music, dance and Sanskrit poetry that delighted the art lovers in Boston. Produced by Cleveland Cultural Alliance, this event was to celebrate and thank the donors who sponsored rural and tribal children in India to stay in AIM for SEVA chatralayas (Free Student Homes) and thereby ensure the completion of their basic education. Dikshita Kumar, a high school student  spoke about her experience of visiting a Chatralaya this summer.

The beautiful opening scene of Meghadootam, set the stage for the premise of the production. With subtle lighting effects, a yaksha is show behind a screen sitting desolate and yearning for his beloved wife. He is lost, alone and sad and narrates his woe while nature seems to watch and listen to his thoughts. The Yakṣha, a subject of King Kubera (the god of wealth) has been exiled for a year to Central India for neglecting his duties, and convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife at Alaka on Mount Kailāsa. Throughout the ninety minute production, the audience is part of that journey, where nature’s beauty in all its glory is described. Among the myriad shades of flora and fauna portrayed through the dance, we are witness to the journey of the megham from the dancing peacocks, the rain clouds, the deer in the jungle, the luminous moon to the beautiful sights of nearby towns as the cloud passes by on its northward course to the city of Alakā, where his wife waits for his return.

The artistic director draws inspiration from the many classical styles of India from Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathak  and folk at various stages of the presentation. The flowing panels behind the stage made an excellent backdrop and gained meaning once the music and dance began. The scenes were captivating and vivid and we get a glimpse of a forest of green birches, tears of the yaksha falling in gentle torrents, and the call for ‘Priya’ all beautifully portrayed. The costumes were elegant, and theatrically striking and in tune with the main theme. At times, it seemed a couple of scenes were repetitive and may have benefited with some narration for the audience to follow the story. 

Excellent lighting, music, movement and breathtaking visual effects made Meghadootam, an enjoyable production. The dancers performed with flawless perfection. They were light on their feet and displayed both athletic ability and grace in their fast paced Jathis. The male dancers were exceptional and exuded both ease and mastery over their movements. 

At the end of the dance program, Kumar Nochur, President of the Boston Chapter, conveyed his deep appreciation to the close to 475 donors and their family members who had graced the occasion. He pointed out that in this age of messaging through the cloud with our cell phones and other gadgets, we are only replaying the eternal Cloud Messenger story of love and longing with our new technologies.  After Prabhavati last year and now MeghaDootam, both very well received, Kumar said they'll be back next year with yet another unique production in the August-September time frame.  

He appealed to donors to continue their support for AIM for SEVA students on an annual basis, since the building and operation of chatralayas is an ongoing process, not just a one-time need.  Referring to the response from some donors that they have so many charities to give to, he said we could surely expand our heart to support multiple organization, each of which does sincere work to help in its own unique way.  The proven value of the AIM for SEVA model is that it reduces student drop-out rates from over 60% to close to zero through the care and nurturing provided in their chatralayas.

Following the dance program, all guests were treated to a delicious vegetarian dinner, kindly contributed as anna daanam (food donation) by  Rama Bhattar and Dosa Temple of Ashland, Minerva of Norwood, Tantric of Boston, and Walnut Grille of Newton. 

As of date, the organization reports that they have raised almost $95,000. The website AfSevents.org under the Boston link is still open to accept contributions.