SAN JOSE: Shankar Ehsaan Loy, the musical trio along with Siddharth Mahadevan, Raman, Rasika Shekhar, and singing twins Sukriti Kakkar and Prakriti Kakkar, evoked endless memories of the past during their live concert on April 29 organized by Sankara Eye foundation at the Event center at San José State University (SJSU).
Sankara Eye Foundation is a non profit organization which initiates and drives community eye care activities in India. SEF currently has 11 hospitals and is working on three new hospitals in Hyderabad, Indore and Jaipur. Through their fundraising efforts, SEF USA has played a significant role in increasing the number of free surgeries, since inception, to over 1.25 million in 2014. SEF’s mission is to realize the goal of 20/20 vision for the people of India by the year 2020.
There was a VIP reception organized by SEF sponsored by Bank of the West. “We have a special relation with Sankara, have been members for over 10 years and have introduced lot of my friends. We support this incredible organization because of their transparency and accountability”, said Madhura Walia and party to India Post correspondent.
“We started supporting SEF since 2005. Instead of investing in expensive Christmas gifts, our family decided to support SEF and our small help will open eyes to a needy person. The very feeling of supporting a family gives so much pleasure which cannot be replaced by any gift,” said Singhal and party at the reception.
The concert began on time with up-beat performances by Siddharth Mahadevan and singing twins Sukriti Kakkar and Prakriti Kakkar. He wowed the audience with his songs “Malang”, “Zinda”, “Hulla Re” although it was his first International tour. He made his debut in 2013 with Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He got further acclaim for the song Malang by music director Pritam in the movie Dhoom 3. He has also composed music for the Marathi film Swapna Tujhe ni Majhe with his cousin Soumil. He also sings in Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam.
Shankar began with the scintillating ‘Ek Dantaya’, an invocation to Lord Ganesha, from the album Vishwa Vinayaka, before moving on to the rousing track from Dil Chahta Hai, dedicated to his friends. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s compositions have flavored many coming-of-age movies, including My name is Khan and Rock On! When they rendered the title tracks of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and ‘Locha-E-Ulfat’ from 2 States, it brought about a warm rush of nostalgia.
The women in the audience had a field day, with many songs being dedicated to them from ‘Pretty Woman’ from Kal Ho Naa Ho to ‘Maa’ from Taare Zameen Par.
If Shankar’s singing carried with it the weight of experience, the younger singers showcased the exuberant face of music. Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy paid their tribute to the father-son duo, RD Burman and SD Burman, where they sang snatches of some of their evergreen hits.
Rasika wowed all with her evocative notes on the flute. When three musicians with 20 years of collaborative camaraderie perform, part of the joy lies in witnessing the unspoken communication on stage. Shankar did enthrall the audience with songs in Tamil, Marathi and Telugu.
The last 15 minutes of the show were electrifying, with numbers such as ‘Mitwa’ (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) and Shankar’s signature ‘Breathless’ that saw him zoom up the popularity charts and concluding the concert with Senorita’ from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
Speaking on the occasion, K. Sridharan, Board of Trustees, SEF thanked the volunteers, sponsors, audience and artists who have been supporting Sankara all through their journey. “Our vision is to eradicate curable blindness in India by the year 2020 and we need all your support for the same.
The charity navigator has repeatedly given the organization top rating of four stars. Funds raised through these events are utilized towards construction of state of the art hospitals across various states in India, to conduct free eye camps in rural areas, free eye surgeries for the less fortunate, and to maintain these hospitals,” he said.
A day before the show, the composers interacted with the media at a press conference April 28 at the Hilton, San Jose downtown, where the team briefed the media about the upcoming show and also talked about the music scene in India and their composing experience.
India Post News Service
