Cancer Institute Foundation (Boston Chapter) is hosting its annual fundraiser “Tha Ka Dhi Mi Tha” – Indian Classical Music and Dance extravaganza on May 17th at Keefe Tech Auditorium,Framingham. Cancer Institute Foundation (WIA) - http://www.cifwia.org is a 501(C) (3) registered US Non-Profit Organization dedicated to raise funds and support the Cancer Institute, Adyar, India. The Institute has state- of- the- art facilities for diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of cancer as well as rehabilitation and houses 423 beds of which 297 are free. Over 1,25,000 patients from all over India, parts of South and South East Asia are seen annually. More than 66% of them are indigent and are treated free of charge. Cancer Institute (WIA) 1954-2013 is ushering in the Diamond Jubilee this year.

“Tha Ka Dhi Mi Tha” is planned as a gala event with over 21 renowned Music & Dance artistes performing on stage and 150+ students participating from 15 Music & Dance schools in New England region that spans half a day and has 2 segments:

1. Music – Carnatic & Hindustani vocals, Instrumental music, Light Music
2. Dance – Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Odissi, Folk

CIF’s core volunteer team Sreeranjani Rajagopalan, Anitha Balasubramanian and Kalyani Dhandapani started with the planning and the groundwork for the event since the beginning of this year. The idea was to open up the event for all, so anyone could register and participate. Registration flyers were sent out and Sree Ranjani started contacting artistes who would be willing to work with CIF to put the event together. Smt. Aparna Balaji volunteered to work with various music schools coordinating the classical music segment. Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju was happy to coordinate the performances of various dance schools for the dance segment. Apart from coordinating the performances of various schools, Aparna and Jeyanthi are also working together with other artistes for the respective musical and dance finales that are poised to be grand shows in themselves.

Music segment includes performances by 6 Music schools including Vocal, Percussions & Violin. The music finale “Raga Tala Jugalbandi”(thanks to Krishnan Parameswaran for the title) is a fusion of Carnatic and Hindustani vocals with percussions and violin. Aparna Balaji and Shuchita Rao will be performing with Mahalingam Santhanakrishnan (Mridhangam), Amit Kavthekar (Tabla), Krishnan Parameswaran (Violin), Preeti Chakravarthy (Harmonium), Sriram Ramesh (Kanjira) and Ravi Iyer (Ghatam). As a pre-finale performance, Uma Sankar and Priya Anand will be performing with Mahalingam Santhanakrishnan on mridhangam and Krishnan Parameswaran on violin. Meena Sundaram and Sankar Gangaikondan, the most sought-after light music singers from the New England area, will bring to life some of the evergreen melodies from Bollywood.

Dance segment includes performances by 9 dance schools of various dance forms. Neena Gulati and Jasmine Shah will be dancing along with their students during school performance segment.

“Through the Ages” – The dance finale by the Sakhi group (Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Suman Adisesh, Sujatha Meyyappan, Thenu Raajan, Poornima Surya, Vyjayanthi Prasad, Deepa Rajamani) will be taking the audience on a journey with some rare and offbeat pieces, culminating with a fitting Thillana that promises to enthrall the audience.

Dr. Manju Sheth, Board Certified Internist, past President of IMANE, with tremendous passion for women’s causes and community service will be the Guest of Honor. Two well-accomplished & enchanting women from New England: Ranjani Saigal and Anu Chitrapu will be the MCs hosting the event.

Buy your tickets today, come with family and make sure you do not miss this opportunity to spend a great evening with music, dance and food. Every dollar you spend supports the noble cause of cancer treatment for the poor and underprivileged. The event also showcases the local music and dance talent in the Greater Boston area.

Online tickets are available in Lokvani & Sulekha.
http://www.cifwia.org/boston/boston.php

HELP US IN OUR CRUSADE AGAINST CANCER!

CIF is deeply grateful for all the support we have received so far from the community, mainly the generosity of the artistes and also support in the form of free services, sponsorships & marketing without which we cannot organize an event at this scale.

CIF group is also looking for volunteers to join them. Please send an email to sreeranjani@cifwia.org or info.boston@cifwia.org.

Performing schools
Music Schools
Abhyaas school of music (Smt.Aparna Balaji)
Anubhava School of Music (Smt. Tara Anand)
New England School of Music (Sri. Amit Kavthekar)
RASA Institute (Smt.Shichita Rao)
Sruthilayaa School of Music (Smt.Uma Sankar)
Shanmuga Priya School of Music (Smt.Priya Anand)

Dance Schools
Triveni School of Dance (Smt.Neena Gulati)
Upasana dance school (Smt. Mouli Pal)
Prafulla Academy of Kuchipudi and Music (Smt. Prafulla Vellury)
Amudhasri Dance School (Smt.Kalaimangai Anbalagan)
Natyanjali Dance School (Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju)
Chhandika - Chhandam Institute of Kathak Dance (Smt.Gretchen Hayden)
Sarasalaya School of Dance (Smt.Preethi Ramesh)
Aangikam School of Academy (Smt. Jasmine Shah)
Satrang group

What the Artistes say …

Krishnan Parameswaran

Everyone has friends or family members who have been touched by cancer. The Adyar Cancer Institute is a leader in research and treatment of this terrible disease. The free care offered there to those in need is generous and noble. Supporting this activity through a musical fundraiser is a pleasure.

Jeyanthi Ghatraju

I have a personal connection with the treatments at the Cancer Institute in Adyar. My childhood friend's sister was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was able to fight it with dignity. Although she lost her battle about 2 years ago, I came to know through my friend how much the doctors and the staff took care of her even at the last moment. Throughout their ordeal they came across people from all walks of life being cared with commitment and dedication and the more I heard about it, I felt that this is one of the causes I'd work hard for in my commitment to serve the needy.

Mahalingam Santhanakrishnan

One way or other we are all impacted by this scary disease. Some of us have seen or seeing this up close and personal as well. If the privileged struggle so much with the treatment of cancer, there is no telling what the underprivileged go through. I feel very blessed to be associated even in a small way with CIF whose only aim is to serve the underprivileged.

Aparna Balaji

Cancer has taken away some of my very good friends. We all lead an uncertain life. We need to be thankful for what we have and try our best to help others.

Shuchita Rao

I believe in your cause because I lost my father to cancer. Artists and musicians must come together to work for the betterment of humanity and to spread peace and love in the community and in the world.

Sujatha Meyyappan

I am really glad to be part of this noble effort by CIF. I am excited to be involved in something that makes a difference in so many people lives.

Deepa Rajamani

I really appreciate the efforts taken by CIF for this great cause of bringing treatment for cancer to the under-privileged. I am greatly honored to be even a small part in this endeavor as I have been associated with cancer research for the past several years working for Harvard medical school and know how expensive it gets when dealing with cancer.

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