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It seems like the 72-year-old Pandit Jasraj has found the fountain of youth: The classical singer, who underwent bypass surgery last year missing the benefit concert for the 5H Programme, performed two electrifying events this year to help the organization.
They were held in San Francisco and Los Angeles, raising $80,000 for earthquake relief in Gujarat. The 5H Programme, founded in 1997 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, emphasizes humanitarian work and devotional life.
On May 5 in San Francisco, sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan lit a ceremonial lamp to inaugurate the programme featuring Jasraj, violinist Kala Ramnath and tabla player Vijay Ghate.
Khan adeptly filled in for Jasraj at last year's fundraiser in San Francisco, performing with Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Though the Los Angeles event held a week later didn't have any of the drama of the San Francisco event, it was also very successful, organizers said.
"The singing by Pandit Jasraj was so divine," 5H volunteer and concert co-organizer Kalpana Singh said. "He really sang so well at both events. His fans have never heard him sing so well."
Jasraj sang for over three hours, mesmerizing the audience of 800 at the La Mirada Theatre for Performing Arts in La Mirada, near Los Angeles. The event was dedicated to remembering 5H volunteers Nandita Judge and Nityanand Trehan, who were killed in a helicopter crash recently on their way to help set up a school in northeast India.
Both the San Francisco and Los Angeles programmes featured Jasraj at his very best as he sang compositions of Adi Sankaracharya and many others.
"Panditji felt so good he could help out [this year]," Singh said. "This was for a good cause and he was glad to help the organization."
The 5H Programme has adopted 26 villages for long-term reconstruction projects, costing almost $15 million. Two months ago, it raised $150,000 for Gujarat from a walkathon held in over 30 cities worldwide. Later this year, flautist Hari Prasad Chaurasia and tabla player Swapan Chaudhuri will perform in Toronto and Jersey City, New Jersey, to help Gujarat.
For more information, visit www.5h.org
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