Aditi  Bhagwat & her ensemble of musicians mesmerizes audience at Ekal Fundraiser in Calabasas

Los Angeles, April 25, 2014
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The North LA & Tri-valley Chapter of Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is expected to draw in an impressive haul enough to support over 120 Ekal schools, thanks to an outstanding evening of dance fusion entitled ‘Avartan’ performed by one of the most talented and versatile artist, Aditi Bhagwat and her ensemble at the Performing Arts Center, Calabasas  on April 25, 2014. Over 350 guests were in attendance and Aditi’s enchanting dance items coupled with instrumental solo on tabla, Sarangi and drums tugged at not only the heartstrings of the listeners but also purse strings as they donated generously to Ekal’s noble cause of eradicating illiteracy from the rural and tribal villages in India through their unique “dollar a day” scheme through which $365 provides 40 children free education for a whole year at an Ekal school.

The evening began with a social hour and a dinner following which the audience moved into the auditorium decorated impeccably with Indian floral designs, rangoli with hallway display depicted success stories of many Ekal Schools. The program started with a brief welcome address by the Chapter President Mr. Suresh Iyer. Illustrating the stellar growth of the NGO, Iyer announced that as of March ’14, Ekal had over 57,000 schools in operation educating over 1.6 million children, which brought on thunderous applause from the audience. Following this, emcee for the evening and the President of the Youth group, Vasant Iyer provided a brief overview of Ekal Vidyalaya through descriptive slides and a short video. Following this, the Chief guest for the evening, Dr. Kant Thakkar, a local philanthropist and large donor for a local hospital, gave a passionate speech explaining the need to drive illiteracy away globally and highlighted the work carried out by Ekal in addressing this dire need. The second emcee for the evening, Maya Halthore introduced the artists.

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The rest of the evening belonged entirely to Aditi Bhagwat and her group who captivated the audience with a superb display of their individual and collective talents. While Aditi enamored the crowd with her dance sequences, Vaibhav Mankad with his mellifluous voice enthralled them with Bollywood melodies. Pandit Kalinath Mishra was at his best on the tabla and often entered into light and humorous conversations with the audience, always making sure Ekal’s cause was in the forefront. Gautam Sharma on the drums serenaded the audience with his dexterity and ably supported every dance move of Aditi. The solo by Sangeeth Mishra on the Sarangi was divine. Aditi presented ‘Avartan’ as a journey of Hindustani Music and Kathak over the years - from classical, Bollywood, folk, fusion to sufi forms. Her dance item depicting ‘Navaras’ (nine emotions) was quite riveting and the audience expressed their appreciation with thunderous applause. The event concluded with a grand finale with a rendering of a sufi dance item depicting Radhe shyam, tranquility and inner peace as the audience stood up in tribute.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Mr. Iyer who expressed his deep appreciation to the artists, the sponsors, the donors and the army of volunteers who had helped to put up the excellent event.