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Som Chivukula
Ali Akbar Khan was seated in the front row -- just like any other music lover ready to appreciate the melodious voice of Pandit Jasraj.
But he also had another agenda.
Khan, who adeptly filled in for Jasraj at last year's 5H Program fundraiser in San Francisco, was there to light the ceremonial lamp that would inaugurate the program featuring Jasraj, violinist Kala Ramnath and tabla player Vijay Ghate.
Jasraj, now 72, missed last year's event due to an emergency bypass surgery. Khan, who is nearly 80, performed with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain instead.
Last weekend's event was held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, drawing a near-capacity crowd of 1,000.
"It was so spontaneous that it brought back memories from last year's concert," 5H volunteer and concert co-organizer Kalpana Singh said. "There was a feeling of gratitude from Pandit Jasraj because Khansahib filled in."
The 5H Program, founded in 1997 by the humanitarian Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, is sponsored mainly by the International Association for Human Values. The latest event, organized to raise funds for Gujarat, grossed $50,000.
The 5H Program 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.
The predominant theme of the San Francisco event was the mesmerizing voice of Jasraj, who performed several compositions, including ones written by Adi Sankaracharya and Mishra Kafi.
Jasraj was as energetic and vibrant as a teenager, Singh said.
"It was as if he came back with a musical vengeance since he couldn't sing last year," Singh noted. "He couldn't slow down..."
The trio will also perform in Los Angeles on May 12 for Gujarat.
For more information, visit www.5h.org
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