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Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, Bangalore2005 US Tour, June 28 thru Sept 6 |
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Samarthanam’s Cultural Troupe:
Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, in collaboration with ICCR, is happy to present cultural performances by its visually challenged students. Our repertoire includes classical dances, film, folk, light music and mimicry. Our artistes are highly talented and some of the best in their fields. They are:
The Orchestra
The orchestra consists of 2 singers, 1 percussionist, 1 keyboard player and 1 guitarist. Amit who is visually challenged, plays the keyboards along with his brother Vishal who is the percussionist. Talent and accomplishment are no strangers to Vishal. This commerce student is an upcoming rhythm pad player and has thus far excelled academically as well.Jaisingh, our guitarist and stage manager, is one of the most renowned guitar players in Bangalore and has performed in several concerts in India and Abroad. The orchestra he has founded has widespread popularity in India.
Asha and Thyagaraj promise to mesmerize the listeners with various genres of music. Asha, who is also visually challenged, has given several performances in India with Samarthanam. She specializes in film hits and light music. She is currently in her final year of B.A. and is a promising student. Mandya Chowdiah Thyagaraj is a professional singer who has sung in multiple languages both in India and outside.
Vasundhara Raturi (Baby Sonal) is the new addition to the troupe. 7 year old Sonal (visually impaired) lives in New York with her parents and joined the troupe for the program in Fayetteville, NC. This child sensation sings bhajans, filmhits and patriotic songs.
Depending on the audience, Orchestra team will perform in several languages, like Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Further to these, they will also be expressing their vocal talents through vachanas.
THE DANCERS
Savitri and Nagaveni, both trained by renowned teachers Anupama Jaisimha and Sathyanarayan, are accomplished Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancers. They learnt the art by means of the touch and feel method as they are both visually impaired. They are both are the proud students of Samarthanam pursuing their first year of undergraduate study. As part of our touring troupe last year as well, they have stolen the hearts of many.Their recital will include: “Pushpanjali”- no classical dance begins without praying to moshika vahana. Pushpanjali is an invocation dance to Lord Ganesha and Nataraja. They will then perform to the rendering of the dance to the song “srigandha nanagi”. This song mirrors the absolute devotion and surrendering to the Almighty by the devotees.This is followed by the “Deepanjali”, in which Nagaveni and Savitri reverently pay homage to Goddess Lakshmi. This dance is performed with lamps. These two dancers have never failed to bring a sense of awe with their skill and dexterity in the performance of this dance. Then, they move on to perform a dance to the tune of devaranama “Yadava Raya” and then to the song “Yare Rangana” in Raga Hindola. They will go on to perform to the kriti “Vishwa Ganesha”. Part of their line up also features “Meera Bhajan” in which Savitri personifies Saint Meera, one of the greatest devotees of Giridhara Gopala. Savitri and Nagaveni will present “Lingashtakam” and will come together with the orchestra to dance to some vachanas. They will bring their performance to a close with “Vande Mataram”- a salutation to our motherland.
Master of Ceremony
Nagesh, who has completed his post graduate studies in Economics, is not only the Master of Ceremony, but also a professional singer and mimic. He can imitate the voices of over 75 celebrities in the fields of film, cricket and politics. He is also currently working in Samarthanam as our Cultural Co-ordinator.Amit, Jaisingh, Savitri, Nagaveni and Nagesh were part of the troupe that toured USA last year. Vishal, Asha and Thyagaraj are new additions to the troupe.