Vasantharatna Foundation For Arts (VRFA) commemorates its 10th anniversary this year with an event called Salute to Heroes. It will feature a tribute Bharatanatya dance recital by Subhashini Vasanth, who started the foundation in memory of her late husband Col Vasnath, who laid down his life fighting terrorists in Uri on July 31, 2007.
Salute to Heroes, will be held on October 21 at 6 pm at Chowdiah Memorial Hall. It will also feature the launch of the book Forever Forty , a biography of Col. Vasanth — co-authored by Subhashini and Veena Prasad.
Subhashini says, “Around 21 wives of martyred soldiers will be present at the event, after which they will be a part of our empowerment programme in Bengaluru. It includes counselling too.” She then talks about what led her to start the foundation. “It was an instantaneous decision for me to start it. Within 10 days of losing Vasanth, the foundation started functioning. In India, I would say the attitude is different to women who have lost their husbands. We go through a slight differentiation in the way we get treated. It is more in the rural and northern areas,” explains the dancer, who travelled extensively meeting jawans’ wives. “There is a need for women to understand that their life is not just being a wife or having that label but that they are individuals themselves.”
She adds that she saw most wives of martyred soldiers barely in their twenties, with small children, “wearing white and giving up on life. That bothered me. I wanted to do something to empower them. After Vasanth passed away, I had many people who were were reaching out to me asking me what they could do for me. Of course, nothing can bring him back. But at that time a young jawan’s wife with small children came into my mind and I tried to become a bridge to take people’s help and reach out to the women. That is how the foundation took off. Our society is biased. If a man loses his wife, he can lead a normal life. But not a woman. That is the conditioning women go through. It has changed a lot but it is still there.”
VRFA started reaching out to younger wives by supporting them with education scholarships and giving them birthday gifts. Now VRFA has also introduced a memorial award, which is given to a deserving child in the school the martyred soldier studied in. The award is given away by his wife. The foundation has also trained many women in various skills so that they can pursue a career and be financially independent. “I can’t say we have coloured their lives, but somewhere deep inside they are changing. That is a positive note,” states Subhashini, who was awarded the Neerja Bhanot Award in 2016 for her work through VRFA.
Subhashini, also a trained Bharatanatya dancer, is currently learning from none other than the legendary actor-dancer Vyjayantimala Bali. At the event, she will perform as Vyjayanti’s student for the first time. “I always wanted to learn from akka (Vyjayanthimala), because her dance is pure, untouched and absolutely traditional. I respect people who explore their vocabulary, but I personally like to hold on to the old world charm and believe it will never get outdated as dance is universal and eternal.”
Vyjayantimala will be on the nattuvanga. The event, co sponsored by the Academy of Music, is open to all.
For details visit www.vasanthratna.com
