Search the Internet          Tips

Chaurasia to play for 5H in New Jersey, Toronto

Som Chivukula in New York

Two months ago, 72-year-old classical music legend Pandit Jasraj enthralled audiences in California to raise funds for the 5H Programme. Nearly $80,000 were collected from events held in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Now, the 5H summer concert series is back. Flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and tabla maestro Swapan Chaudhuri will be the featured artists, performing in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Toronto on August 10 and 11.

"This is the first time a 5H concert will be held in New Jersey," said volunteer Madhav Muvvala. "California has held more concerts because 5H has a stronger base there."

The 5H Programme, founded in California in 1997 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, emphasises humanitarian work and a devotional life.

"For the last year or so, there have been a lot of people who have moved to New Jersey," Muvvala said. "We decided it was time to have a strong presence of the 5H Programme here."

The 5H Programme has been one of the most active organisations in raising funds for rebuilding Gujarat. It has adopted 26 villages for long-term reconstruction projects costing almost $15 million. Last March, it raised $150,000 for Gujarat from a walkathon held in over 30 cities worldwide.

Organisers expect the new events to be roaring successes. Chaurasia, who recently performed a series of concerts for Child Relief and You, is a highly acclaimed bansuri artiste. With santoor artiste Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, he has composed the soundtracks for several Bollywood films, such as the popular Silsila and Darr.

Chaudhuri is one of the most versatile tabla players in India. He has performed with prominent artistes such as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Among Chaudhuri's passions is teaching young artistes. He is the director of percussion at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California, and in Basil, Switzerland. Chaudhuri is also on the faculty at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

"We want people to have fun and raise funds at the same time, not just asking the NRIs for donations," Muvvala said.

About $100,000 is expected to be raised at the New Brunswick event from a capacity crowd of 1,800. The 7pm event will be held at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Avenue. Tickets are priced at $15, $35, $50 and $150.

The Toronto event will be held at 7:30pm at the Convocation Hall, University of Toronto. Tickets are Can $30, $35, $50.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.5h.org

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report