A dance-drama to support AIM for Seva students in India

Regis College Arts Center, 235 Wellesley Street, Weston, MA

The beautiful Prabhavati, daughter of the powerful asura Vajranabha, grew up amidst the asuras, but possessed a kind heart. When the time came for her to find a suitor, she turned down all that came to woo her.

However, one day she heard of Krishna’s valiant son, Pradyumna. At the sound of his very name, she realized that he was the one she wanted to marry. As Pradyumna's stories of valor spread far and wide, Prabhavati grew more fond of him. Intending to bring Pradyumna and Prabhavati together, Krishna and Indra sent celestial swans to both of them to use as agents of communication. Through their conversations, Pradyumna also fell in love with the luminous beauty despite not having laid eyes on her even once!

Pradyumna, desiring to see his lover, undertakes a difficult task: to enter the kingdom of the powerful Vajranabha.

Come and enjoy the story of the defeat of Vajranabha
and the union of Prabhavati and Pradyumna,
while also supporting rural education!

The All India Movement (AIM) for Seva, recognized as a model organization by the United Nations, has been helping rural and tribal underprivileged children to complete their high school education, so that they can support their families and break out of the cycle of poverty.  AIM for Seva builds and runs Free Student Homes (called chatralayas), where students get free housing, food, uniforms, sports, healthcare, tutoring, arts and nurturing to develop their total personality and help them complete their studies in nearby schools.  This unique model of a home away from home, initiated in response to a tribal mother’s plea to help keep her three children in school, has reaped remarkable benefits, including an astounding decrease in the high school drop-out rate from 84% in remote areas to less than 1%.  Since its inception in 2000, AIM for Seva has directly helped about 20,000 students from 5000 villages, with a multiplier effect on millions of people.  There are nearly 100 district level chatralayas in 15 Indian states, serving over 3,000 children every year.  The vision is to have 300 chatralayas in as many districts by 2020.

To help achieve this goal and to raise money for current operations, the Boston Chapter of AIM for Seva is organizing a fund-raising event – a new dance production Prabhavati: An Asura Princess, by the talented and renowned Bharata Natyam dancer and actress Rukmini Vijayakumar.  Our goal is to raise at least $100,000 from Boston area donors.  We are glad to report that we have already got pledges for $52,000 from early patrons. 

We request you to donate generously to this worthy cause and sponsor one or more students at an AIM for Seva chatralaya.  A donation of $ 450 covers one student’s expenses for one year, and a donation of $ 3,400 covers support for one student in perpetuity.  Other sponsor levels are shown in the pledge form linked below.  Please note that more than 90% of donations go directly to the management of the chatralayas, and your contributions are tax-exempt in the US. 

Four reserved seats to the Prabhavati dance are earmarked for sponsors of $ 450 or more.  Please follow the link https://co.clickandpledge.com/?wid=65227 to donate online.  We will follow up with you by phone or email regarding seats for the dance program.   Kindly provide all your contact information in the online pledge form so that we can contact you.  Open-seating tickets to Prabhavati are also available at $ 25 (adults) and $ 15 (students) at Sulekha.com.

We thank you in advance for your most generous sponsorship of AIM for Seva chatralaya students, and look forward to your presence at the September 21st event.

The producer and lead dancer of Prabhavati -- Rukmini Vijayakumar -- has Boston roots.  She graduated with honors with a BFA in ballet and modern dance from the Boston Conservatory of Dance in 2008.   She lived four years near Symphony Hall, jogged along and sailed on the Charles, frequented Newbury Street cafes, and loved to eat JP Licks ice cream with her friends, sitting on her favorite tree on Commonwealth Avenue!  She also performed at Jacob’s Pillow a few years ago.  Rukmini says about her training at the Boston Conservatory: “[It] helped me become the dancer I am today. Even if I didn't train in Bharatanatyam there, it has helped with that as well.”  And about Boston: “I love Boston. It's the city where I became an adult, formed my ideals, and began to understand who I was. So I'm attached to Boston in an inexplicable way.” 

This is a great opportunity for Boston area dance lovers to see a locally trained ballet dancer performing in the traditional Bharata Natyam style, while also supporting a most worthy charitable cause.

·         For more information, please contact:  aimforsevaboston@gmail.com

·         AIM for Seva Website:  http://www.aimforseva.org

·         AIM for Seva Short Film: http://bit.ly/Rh3USP

·         Success Stories of AIM for Seva Students:  http://aimforseva.ca/success-stories/

·         To donate online: https://co.clickandpledge.com/?wid=65227

·         To buy Prabhavati tickets online: https://mycity.sulekha.com/prabhavati-an-asura-princess-in-boston_buy_614393

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