CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 44 H industani music waed out over the crowd at the Avartan event where a traveling troupe dressed in traditional colorful garb told a sto- ry through dances and music known as the Shiva Lingam Pratistha. Fayetteville's local SENCAIA (South Asian North Carolina Asian Indian Association) Interact Youth Group and Ekal Vidyalay Foundation sponsored the music and dance collaboration consisting of five artists from India as they performed at Hindu Bhavan for the 32nd event in the United States. Five different artis- tic disciplines were present to include classical dance, a Bollywood dancer, a vocalist, a percussion instrumentalist and a stringed Sarangi instrument. e language barrier was no problem, as the stories were conveyed through dance. Patrons journeyed through songs during the Kathak Tabla recital, its origin in the ancient Indian temples and its journey through the Mughal era, its reflection on Indian cinema, to today's time of contemporary Bollywood music. During the anniversary celebration of their interfaith event, the Rotary's high school Indian community youth group got to share a bit of their culture and heritage with the Fayetteville community, while rais- ing money for a great cause. "e event raised upwards of $10,000 to provide education for rural villages in India," said Tejas Dalvi, Jr., the club's treasurer. Each village pro- A journey through multicultural music and dance benefitting and giving back to schools and children across the Indian subcontinent By Kelly Twedell ject costs $365 and we surpassed our initial goal to fund 15 to 20 schools raising enough funding for 30 schools." e group's international service project benefitted the Ekal Foundation, a global non-profit dedicated to build- ing schools across India. Organizations that financially sponsor a project gain access to photos of the progress. e resources will provide materi- als up to fourth grade education. Many of the rural villages with complete illiteracy will be staffed with local volunteers as single teacher schools, ensuring the villages become self-reliant, along with learning farming skills, helping with global education type skills, to include healthcare basics. Ekal's phi- losophy is to take a holistic approach to social and economic development and is the largest, grassroots, non- government education movement in India, operating in remote and tribal villages with foundation chapters all over the U.S. and the world. "We are so blessed with education and success, it's our turn to give back," said the group's advisor Dr. Sumedha Dalvi. "India is where we grew up. We want to show our kids how to give to those who aren't as fortu- nate as we are." e Interact group first became chartered just last year in August 2013 with around 25 students. e SENCAIA Inter- act group of teens meets every other Sunday and completes community service projects and volunteer work within the community. Bollyville giving

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