Mother’s Day cultural fundraising extravaganza

Ozindcare uses music, food, dance and drama to help raise money for those in need and celebrate motherhood

BY NIMA MENoN

This month, Ozindcare held their annual Mother’s Day celebration at Granville Townhall to raise money for charity. The cause and the occasion were in sync with each other. It was a cultural extravaganza of music, dance and drama that enthralled the audience, with the evening culminating in a sumptuous meal. It was a celebration of motherhood in all its glory.

Ozindcare, a charity organisation, was initiated by a few like-minded people with a desire to serve the community and ‘help the helpless’. From its very humble beginnings, the organisation has grown substantially over the past few years. Requests for assistance have come even from remote parts of India. This year, assistance was given to 15 families, and among them was a lady who had lost her husband in a car accident and had no one to turn to. Ozindcare bought her a sewing machine and helped set up a small shop to help empower her.

In her address on the night Ozindcare president Anita Kurien spoke of psychologist Marie-Louise Von Franz’s comparisons between western civilisation and Indian civilisation. “Indians are far ahead spiritually and philosophically,” she said quoting Von Franz. “However, she concludes that Indians tend to ignore the plight of their fellowmen... Ozindcare has initiated a pattern in opposition to this where it taps into the social consciousness of people, rising up to the basic tenets of every religion, which is to show compassion and serve the poor and needy”.

The evening began with two Bharatnatyam recitals by Aruna Gandhimathinathan, who is a performing artiste, choreographer and teacher. The Founder-Director of Silambam-Sydney School of Indian Traditional Dance, she received the Distinguished Talent Visa from the Australian Government, and is also a resident- artist at the Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE HUB), Parramatta.

The two recitals were a celebration of Australia. The Story of Dharawa, depicted the life, culture and art of the indigenous people of the Dharawal region in Sydney, in a cross-cultural collaboration of dance, voice-over and music. The presentation was conceptualised and implemented by the School of Vedic Sciences (Australia) Inc., and was sponsored by the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW. It was based on Dharawal - The story of the Dharawal speaking people of Southern Sydney, a collaborative work by Les Bursill et.al. Ode to Australia was a celebration of the Australian land and its people through music and dance.

Through deft mudras, bhavas, raga, tala and natya, Aruna told the audience the story of Australia. Australia, the lyrics said, is also known as the Hira Nmaya Khanda, as it is believed its tectonic plates are made of gold and coral reefs. The lyrics also spoke of Australia as the manidweep bhoomi, the Land of Gems, with varieties of pearls, zirconia, opals and other precious stones found in abundance, along with a plethora of flora rich in medicinal value. The tale cited the 60 rivers with waters rich in metals and alloys that flow through this country. Aruna, through dance and music, spoke to the audience about the kangaroos, the koalas and the wallabies, the boomerang and the Didgeridoo, which is said to reverberate Omkara. Special mention was made of the vibrant colours rendered by nature, including the red Uluru, the white peaks of the Snowy Mountains and the pulsating reef. She took the audience on a cultural tour of the nation, leaving them spell bound and mesmerised. The lyrics and music were composed by Dr. Meenakshi Srinivasan.

A group of talented artists from Canberra added spice to the evening through a short play about friendship, trust and the ultimate betrayal. The story showed the mother hen with her little chicks advising them about the ways of the world, asking them to be vigilant and to be aware of the danger that lurks in every corner. A very befitting Mother’s Day show.

This was followed by a jugalbandi The harmonious blend of the flute, the tabla, the Congo drums and the keyboard, to the tune of a beautiful song from a Tamil movie left the audience wanting more. There were some outstanding solo vocal performances too, one of them from the movie Son of Sardar The evening ended with a raffle draw and all prizes (sponsored by generous community members) were aimed to pamper the mums. It was a very fruitful and funfilled evening and a reasonable amount of money was raised for Ozindcare to help those in dire circumstances.