India 30 November 2016: East meets west – A musical tribute for the Differently Abled.The Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel (RCMC) presents this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi Designate Padma Shri Smt. A Kanyakumari and eminent Pianist Vidwan Shri Anil Srinivasan in an unique program - “East meet West”. The program is at 10 am on Sunday, 4th December 2016 at the mini hall of The Music Academy, Mylapore. The event is sponsored by Vodafone and Chola MS General Insurance. The program is a part of RCMC’s 12th edition of “The Parallel Music Fest”. This will be followed a Ghatam ensemble of “Mrittika Vaibhavam” band, lead by renowned Ghatam Vidwan – Sangita Vidwat Shironmani Suresh Vaidyanathan. Entry free, all are welcome!
Parallel Music Fest is an endeavor by RCMC to encourage differently abled artists and have them perform in parallel to the regular music festival during this season. The Club holds this festival every year around 3rd of December – which is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. During this program, the Club confers two prestigious awards to differently abled artists. The Sangeetha Kalanidhi designate for that year is the guest of honor and for this year it is Padmashri Smt. Kanyakumari. This year the Distinguished Differently abled Artist awardee is Sangita Vidwat Shironmani Shri Suresh Vaidyanathan, the Ghatam Maestro. The Promising Differently Abled Artiste awardee is Yuva Kalanidhi Karaikal Shri R. Jaishankar - Vocalist.
The Club has been working for the cause of the visually challenged through The Karna Vidya Foundation. The program is run by the visually impaired for the visually impaired. With reading centers, a digital library and a technology center at one of the prominent IT Parks in Chennai, Karna Vidya Foundation has been working for 17 years empowering visually impaired through education and employment. During this period, RCMC has reached out to thousands of visually challenged bring about a positive change to their lives and career.