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| Over 550 People Attend Ekal Vidyalaya Charity Concert |
Nikita Minocha
06/05/2014
Vidya Dadati Vinayam, Vinayad Yati Patratam पातà¥à¤°à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤¾à¤¦à¥à¤§à¤¨à¤®à¤¾à¤ªà¥à¤¨à¥‹à¤¤à¤¿ धनादà¥à¤§à¤°à¥à¤®à¤‚ ततः सà¥à¤–मॠ॥
Patratva Dhanam Apnoti Dhanat Dharmam Tatha Sukham
विदà¥à¤¯à¤¾ ददाति विनयं विनयादà¥à¤¯à¤¾à¤¤à¤¿ पातà¥à¤°à¤¤à¤¾à¤®à¥ ।
Education gives Humility; Humility gives Character; from character one gets wealth and enrichment; enrichment leads to righteousness (dharmam); righteousness brings ultimate happiness/contentment.
We are well aware of the power of education! Be it a change in the life of an individual or a matter of transforming the world, education is the single most powerful instrument to achieve it. And Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is doing just that.
Ekal is a tax exempt, registered non-profit service organization dedicated to education and village development in rural India. On May 31st, the New England Chapter of Ekal hosted its Annual event – a musical program by Vibhavri Yadav and group, at the Demetri Function Hall in Foxboro, MA, to raise awareness and funds for this social cause. It was a magical evening, leaving the audience mesmerized in several ways, the music, the ‘masti’, and the noble cause.
The guests were given a warm welcome to the beautiful venue by enthusiastic Ekal volunteers. The stage was artistically decorated by Shoba Shastry. As the guests settled down with appetizers, Vibhavri and her team took no time to carry them to a world of finest Bollywood music. Vibhavri is known as the Nightingale of Gujarat and she didn’t have to prove that! Along with Sunil Menon, an accomplished singer and 2005 Zee TV Sa Re Ga Maa Finalist, they sang some of the old melodies, ghazals, kawwali, garba, bhangra, and many hit numbers keeping the crowd swinging and swaying. The audience thoroughly enjoyed every song; many a times couldn’t stop getting on their feet. Piyush Bhatt on the synthesizer, Daxesh on tabla, and Jay Nattu on drums provided excellent music and support to the lead singers. Jawed Wahid ensured the sound quality and Anil Chawla provided digital screens to watch the show, especially important with a full house of 500+ guests.
Ranjani Saigal, Executive Director of Ekal Vidyalaya USA, spoke about the Ekal mission. She shared her first hand experience of visiting the ‘single teacher’ model schools in rural India during her recent India trip. She talked about what it means to send a girl child to school, the role of women teachers, and empowering villages with education. She highlighted Ekal's philosophy of taking a holistic approach to social and economic development. The video on how Ekal is bringing this change provided critical insight and left no doubt on its credentials.
The team also honored Ekal stalwarts, Ram and Nishi Nehra and Puran and Kamlesh Dang. Girish Navani, Founder and CEO of eClinicalWorks, a strong supporter of Ekal urged people to give generously to Ekal . “Ekal is the best educational model that I have seen†said Bala Warrier, CEO of Manipal Foundation in India, a charitable trust that is associated with the group that runs some of the leading educational institutions in India. Young Ekal volunteers, Sahana Srinivasan and Somil Sanghvi were felicitated for their fundraising efforts.
As the pledges started flowing in, the guests enjoyed a wonderful dinner catered by Masala Arts. The dinner table decoration was delightful as well. Filled with emotions to help young kids with education, the audience was ready for more music after the break. The second half comprised of further excitement and many people drifted to the dance floor.
But all good things have to end eventually! Secretary for New England Ekal, Parveen Minocha, called out the vote of thanks. She also read a nostalgic poem written by her, touching the hearts of the audience. Sharing a few lines below:
“Desh aazaad huey ek arsaa hua
Ab bhi bahut kaam baaki hai
Ek aandolan shuru kiya hai ‘EKAL’ ne
Hamein usko aage badhana hai
Ek muthi aatta, ek bhukhe ke liye jeevan hai
Ek diya andhakaar mitane ke liye kaafi hai
Kuch us tarah, ek Shikshak, ek Vidyalaya
Ek gaanv ke liye roshni hai, jeevan hai
Har insaan ka ye haq hai ki who sapne dekhe
Ek achhe kal ki kalpana kare
Hum aur aap who umeed, woh dastak ban sakte hain
Ek jeevan, ek gaanv, ek desh ujagar kar sakte hain….â€
Certainly, Ekal is on a mission and the people of New England felt honored to be part of it. “With the phenomenal response, the team raised funds for over 750 Ekal schools in India†said Chetna Sanghvi, treasurer of Ekal Vidyalaya. One of the guests, Vish Chidambaram, said that his family was very impressed by the good work that Ekal is doing. And here is why they decided to come, in his words:
“Ek waqt ki roti, insaan ko kuch arsey key liye jeevit rakhta hai
Rozgari se sambadhit shikshan, insaan ko jeeney ka saamaan pradaan karta hai
Acche naagrik bankey rahneka shikshan, purey samaj ko sudhar deta haiâ€
Lead by President Amrit Soni, the New England Ekal team did an amazing job putting together a magnificent show. All Ekal volunteers deserve a huge applause for their effort. The power of education is undeniable and contributing for such a cause is noble indeed!
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