When there is an urgent need for more financial assistance to mitigate a widely prevalent health issue in a developing country, fundraising efforts in all corners of the globe can play a vital role.
This is what a group of multi-talented Indian dancers in the United States proved this week when they held a dance programme at the Siva Vishnu Temple in Lanham, Maryland, to benefit the cause of the Tamil Nadu Kidney Research (TANKER) Foundation in India.
Organised by Yamini Saripalli, a Kuchipudi dancer and disciple of gurus Vempati Chinna Satyam and Vempati Ravi Shankar, the event featured a rainbow of artistes across dance styles, including Kuchipudi, Bharata Natyam, and Odissi.
Speaking to The Hindu Dr. Saripalli, also a dermatologist working in the Washington area, said that the TANKER Foundation, headed by Dr. Georgi Abraham in Chennai, had helped subsidise dialysis, medication and kidney transplant costs for underprivileged individuals with kidney failure.
The Foundation, one of whose goodwill ambassadors is the actor Surya, has supported over 71,000 dialysis procedures and helped treat 613 patients. Further, the Foundation has distributed close to Rs.59.59 lakhs among 1013 patients as one time contributions ranging from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 50,000, towards dialysis, transplantation and medication costs.
From a small beginning in the early 1990s, the institution has come a long way towards improving the welfare of poorer individuals affected by kidney-related ailments and today there are 140 patients having regular dialysis at TANKER. Additionally 161 awareness camps about kidney disease have also been conducted.
At fundraising cultural event in the pristine surroundings of the popular Siva Vishnu Temple, the dancers enthralled the audience with the sheer technical mastery of their respective styles.
Dr. Saripalli along with Subha Maruvada and Chitra Kalyandurg performed in the Kuchipudi style; Bharata Natyam artistes included Anita Sivaraman, Sivakami Bhavanandan, Anuradha Murali, Aparna Seetharaman, Subathra Sudarshan and Krishna Kumar Venkataraman; and the Odissi dancers were Mishka Shreya Mukherji, Uttara Nag, Neeraja Balachander, Aditi Kolhekar and Kosha Perkh.
