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AKSHAYA PATRA VIRTUAL GALA SEPT. 19 TO HIGHLIGHT FLORIDA CHAPTERS (FORT LAUDERDALE, JACKSONVILLE, MIAMI, TAMPA)
The Akshaya Patra Foundation will hold its Virtual Gala, Families for Change, on Saturday,
Sept. 19, to raise funds for feeding migrant families and school children in India. The organization has served over 77 million meals to migrant workers since India's lockdown began and feeds 1.8 million Indian children daily during the school year. More than 1,000 professionals, non-profits, government officials and philanthropic leaders are expected to attend the event and support the organization’s dual mission of addressing childhood hunger and promoting education for underserved children in India.
Jamshydji Godrej
The gala, beginning at 11:30 a.m., will celebrate beneficiaries, volunteers and chapter teams from Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa, as well as North Carolina, who continue to work toward alleviating hunger in the classroom.
The event will be moderated by Srivatsan Rajan, partner at Bain & Company, and Akshaya
Raveena Tandon
Established in 2000, Akshaya Patra is the largest NGO-run school meal program in the world, according to Time Magazine, and serves 1.8 million children daily in over 19,257 schools through 55 kitchens in 12 states and two Union Territories in India. It costs only $20 to feed a child for a school year. For information, email Ankita Narula at
LATE PANDIT JASRAJ SET UP TAMPA MUSIC SCHOOL IN 1998
Pandit Jasraj
The late Pandit Jasraj made several trips to Tampa before and after setting up his namesake School of Music in 1998. He taught Indian music and gave lecture demonstrations at the University of South Florida. In fact, he was scheduled to perform another concert in May of this year to raise funds for the school. But alas, because of the pandemic, the trip was canceled. And unfortunately for the Bay area and the world, the legendary Padma Vibhushan winner died at age 90 on Aug. 17.
Back in 2006, we still recall our meeting with the doyen of Indian classical vocal music in Tampa. Dressed in his usual kurta/jacket and dhoti, the man with the noticeably flowing gray hair had greeted us with a smile on his face and a customary namaste. We had then asked if he believe that classical music is a dying breed. “Classical music is immortal,” was the reply. “Yes, there are channels that promote music, which is contradictory to our heritage. We all musicians would like to start a 24-hour classical music channel. We can provide our services free for a year or two.”
The Sangeet Martand needs no introduction. He was one of the most internationally acclaimed classical vocalists who came from a family in Haryana producing four generations of musicians. In addition to Tampa, the music legend established schools throughout North America, in New York/New Jersey, Pittsburg, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and even Vancouver and Toronto in Canada. The Pandit Jasraj School of Music in Tampa has continued to grow under its teacher Radharaman Kirtane.
Radharaman Kirtane
We asked Kirtane, a disciple of Pandit Jasraj to recollect some of his memories. He still recalls the day the call came in from Rattan Mohan Sharma (a fellow disciple of our beloved Pandit Jasraj-ji) to become a resident Acharya and Guru of the Tampa School of Music. Here is what Kirtane had to say:
“I joined Guruji as his disciple in April 1977. I will never forget the exhilaration I felt when he accepted me as his student. In addition to enthralling the world with his incandescent musical genius, he was an outstanding human being and a flawless Guru. He always encouraged all of his disciples to dedicate their lives to music and make it their ‘bread and butter,’ and supported them with love throughout their journeys in incredible ways.
On Sept. 22, 2004, I arrived in Tampa, leaving India for the first time in my life. For a historical perspective, readers should know that this Tampa music school opened its doors in 1998 through the blessings and guidance of my Guruji himself, along with his disciple, violin maestro Kala Ramnath, with initiative and support offered graciously by Anil Nirgudkar, a music lover and former Tampa resident.
Guruji Pandit Jasraj-ji had graced the stages of Tampa many times to deliver his inimitable and mesmerizing performances. Additionally, he had also conducted a music workshop in 2006 for students from the USF over the course of two unforgettable months. A few other fellow senior disciples of Guruji, including Lalita Sharma, Suman Ghosh and my aforementioned Gurubhai Rattan Mohan Sharma also contributed to help the Tampa school grow and flourish over the years.”
The world of music is poorer with the tragic loss of the Sangeet Samrat. But the genius of Pandit Jasraj and his music spanning eight decades will live with us forever.
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