Music for a cause

Noted ghazal singers, Pankaj Udhas, Bhupinder Singh and Mitali Singh will be performing a live ‘Sangam’ concert, to help raise funds for setting up vocational centres and education for the underprivileged children by Each One Teach One (EOTO). The concert will be held at Nehru Centre on November 25 at 6.30pm.

Jyoti Tanna is the founder of EOTO. After 30 years of hard work, the organisation has educated more than 10,000 underprivileged children. With years of selfless service, the organisation has been successful in assisting underprivileged children by empowering them with the ability to take responsibility and face the challenges of life.

The main reason behind the fund-raiser is to raise money for setting up vocational centres in the rural districts of Maharashtra. Tanna explains “The vocational centres will be set up in rural areas, because what we have noticed is that a number of children from the municipal schools drop out after class eight. Every municipal school has given us a room where we conduct extra co-curricular activities such as painting, dancing and karate. We want children to have holistic development. Another reason for setting up the vocational centres is that a lot of village children are not coming up in life, the main reason being that they shift to cities where they have an immense language problem and a lot of them drop out due to this.

The plan is to open up these centres where the children can learn life skills such as repairing of watches and mobiles and the girls can learn to become beauticians. The skills will help them grow and prosper. We want to teach these skills to make the children live a sustainable life. This will allow them to stay in their villages instead of migrating to the cities. We will also help them find jobs in nearby industries. We have achieved a lot since our inception in 1983. Two years ago, two girls whom we had helped, secured more than 93 per cent in their 10th boards and they topped it.

It was a great sense of achievement for us. Things like these keep motivating us to move forward.” In an effort to help raise funds for such projects, EOTO has organised this unique program where Pankaj Udhas, Bhupinder Singh and Mithali Singh will be reciting ghazals to the music connoisseurs of the city.

Pankaj Udhas in the western world is known as the ‘true cultural ambassador of India’. His song “Chitthi Aayi Hai” has moved people to tears and especially the nonresident Indians (NRIs) since the song is about the land and the country they left behind. Ever since the popularity of this song, the NRIs have started to adore and respect their motherland. Udhas has brought people together and has instilled the spirit of togetherness and unity amongst all communities.

Bhupinder Singh was born in Amrtisar, Punjab where he learnt music from his father Professor Natha Singh. He had started his career as a musician at All India Radio (AIR). He was later selected by director Madan Mohan to sing a song for the film Haqeeqat; it was called “Hoke majboor usne mujhe bulaya hoga”. Singh received recognition for this song and sang many other famous Hindi film songs after this.

Bhupinder Singh said, ”It is important for people to shoulder up some responsibility and  help the under privileged people to make their lives better. Since this particular concert was for raising funds for a vocational centre for under privileged children, we decided to support it. It is some thing different and noble. I request the people to come and make the concert successful.”

Bhupinder Singh’s wife, Mitali Singh, who hails from Bangladesh, had won the national music award of Bangladesh. She did her masters in Music and later became a well-known ghazal singer. Mitali says, “It is important for each and every one of us to help the underprivileged. It is always good to stand up for a cause and give it your 100 per cent. Since it is for children, we decided to do it. I salute those who started all this and have changed so many young lives.”