Udavum Karangal of USA sponsored a benefit concert at the Keefe Technical School, Framingham on Sept 8^th, 2007.

            This featured the well-known vocalist and stage performer Mr. C.S. Ainkaran and his music group including Ms. Anitha Krishna. Local performers Vasanth Murthy and Meena Sundaram accompanied them. The instrumentalists were Shino on keyboards, Sabu on guitar, Natesan on tabla, Balu on Drums and Rhythm. The sound engineer was Tony. Priya, Swarna, Shruti and Aruna provided chorus support. KrishnaKumar was the emcee of the evening.

The name of the concert was Thenisai Mazhai and featured light/film music in Tamil.

            The evening’s performance started off with a bang featuring the hit song” Ballelakka Ballelakka” from the movie Sivaji. The whole group was on stage and the high-energy singing by Mr. Ainkaran got the adrenaline flowing. The chorus (including the emcee KK) provided full vocal support.

            Mr. Ainkaran then changed tracks and proceeded with a classical number “Shankara” from the movie Shankarabharanam. The emotional tone of the song was right-on and the execution was flawless!! Anitha Krishna then presented a beautiful rendition of “ Kaatil enthan geetham” from the movie Jaani. Her classically trained voice did full justice to the song.

            The concert proceeded at a good pace, with excellent song selection and execution maintaining the highest standards of stage performance. The songs spanned the years with both oldie-goldies and the latest hits and the performers effortlessly wove their magic  into the minds and hearts of the audience.

            A few songs that deserve special mention include Kathal Oviyum from the film Alaigal Oivathillai, a duet by Anitha and Ainkaran that was beautifully done, Kanne kalai mane from the movie Moondrampirai soulfully performed by Vasanth Murthy, Konja Neram from Chandramukhi rendered in a playful vein by C.S. Ainkaran and Meena Sundaram and Kaana Inbham performed buy Mr. Ainkaran where he rendered both male and female vocals!!

            The song Manram vantha from Mouna Ragam elicited an encore and the finale by C.S Ainkaran and Anitha  maampazhalmaam from the movie Pokkiri got people dancing in the aisles. The concert was a grand success with excellent vocals, music and song selection. The artistes traveled from Tennessee( C.S.A), New Jersey( Anitha.K , Tony and Chorus) and Chicago(Instrumentalists) to regale the New England audience.

            The audience was engaged by Krishna Kumar who threw in a bunch of challenging questions pertaining to the songs; he was aided and abetted by Mr. Ainkaran. The dedication, preparation  and enthusiasm of all the performers and the response of the audience was palpable throughout the evening, aided by the fact that the concert benefited such as worthy cause as exemplified by Udavum Karangal.

            During the intermission, a short film about UK and their project was screened. It brought home the message of the importance of giving and being involved in the community. The organizers who helped make the concert possible and worked tirelessly behind the scenes include Geeta Kannan, Lata Vasanth and their team of volunteers.

Udavum karangal” Helping Hands” is a non-profit organization with a goal of serving orphans and destitutes.  The organization was founded by Mr.Vidyaakar, who worked in the slums of NSK Nagar, Chennai , in a free clinic as a social worker in 1983.

            When an abandoned child was left in his care, he started the Center and the organization has steadily grown in scope and number. In 2006, about 2000 people benefited from the services of UK. These range from infants and children, including special-needs and HIV positive children to mentally ill adults and the elderly who are abandoned, ill or dying.

            Udavum Karangal provides a broad range of services including Residential homes for orphans, sick children, and adults, Short-term stay centers, Rehabilitation, Medical facilities, Education and training, Ambulatory and Mortuary services, Disaster relief (e.g.; the care provided by UK in Tamil Nadu after the devastating Tsunami of 2004).

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