Over a thousand attendees were entertained and inspired at Arohan, hosted by Sanskriti Academy of Fine Arts at the Kashinath Ghanekar Auditorium, Thane.
Started two decades ago, Sanskriti Academy of Fine Arts spearheaded by Asha Sunilkumar has groomed young, dedicated artistes, who are carrying forward the dance and music heritage.
Art, a tool of change
According to Asha, art has always been one of the most powerful tools of change. “An opportunity not just to showcase talent or celebrate our culture but to use the platform to bring about tangible (positive) change ... to people’s lives, both in a personal and global level,” she says.
In the past, senior students of academy organised a concert for Tsunami relief (and collected enough to build a school for affected children in Nagapattinam), staged a dance production to help the homeless and held a donation drive for the flood-affected in Chennai. “I felt we could do more,” says Asha.
They decided to use the Arohan platform as an opportunity to do community service.
Through partnership with the Mohan Foundation, an organisation promoting and enabling organ donation, they endeavoured to educate parents and other guests about organ donation and encourage them to take the pledge.
Jaya Jairam, project manager, Mohan Foundation, and Professor Darius Mirza, senior consultant at Apollo Hospital and Queen Elizabeth and Children’s Hospital, Birmingham, were the guests of honour who sensitised the audience on organ donation.
The audience was delighted by the song and dance performances of the academy’s 500 students. A special talk by Professor Darius Mirza, the specially composed song and suitably choreographed dances about organ donation had an immediate effect as it inspired several attendees to register as organ donors straight away.
Asha had created a finale piece presented by senior students. “It is our hope and prayer that others may also join hands and pledge to be donors...,” she says
Every member of the academy’s faculty pledged to be organ donors.
