Maitri Annual Gala Saturday Oct 23, 2010 Presenting Shabana Azmi

Maitri Annual Gala
Saturday Oct 23, 2010
Presenting Shabana Azmi in an entertaining and
exciting thriller
1888 8MAITRI . www.maitri.org
Maitri
(FRIENDSHIP)
Maitri was started in February 1991 in response to the growing need
in the South Asian community to have a place where women
experiencing problems from domestic violence could call. Although
mainstream organizations provide similar kinds of help, women from
our communities were unable to approach them due to cultural
barriers. We hoped to provide a liaison between women in need and
the various organizations that could provide them with legal, medical,
financial, psychological or employment related services. Accordingly,
we started a free non-profit phone line where women could either
speak to a volunteer or leave a message so that someone could call
them back. We trained a group of 15 volunteers and enlisted
organizations such as Asian Law Alliance to provide free services for
women in need.
Maitri believes in providing a holistic solution that helps women
resolve the multiple challenges they face in addition to and often
because of their abusive familial situations. In addition to our
transition home program, Maitri programs include :
• A toll free helpline 1-888-8- MAITRI
• Support groups and one on one counseling
• Life skills programs such as driving, education, ESL.
• Legal assistance, cultural and language translation, and court
accompaniment
• Economic Empowerment Program
Program Schedule
6 : 00
Broken Images Play
7 : 15
Q & A led by Reshma Dordi
8 : 20
Dinner begins in the Ballroom
8 : 50
Dance Performance by Shaira Bhan and Dance Identity
9 : 05
Maitri update: Dr. Mukta Sharangpani, President.
From the Heart: A father speaks.
9 : 15
A Tribute to Shubha Mudgal
9 : 30
Fund a Need: Komal Shah, Gala Co-Chair
10 : 00
Honoring Shabana Azmi
10 : 10
A Vote of thanks: Gala Co-Chairs
Vinita Gupta, Poonam Goel, Komal Shah.
10 : 30
Closing by MC Pavan Kochar
Our Host Tonight
PAVAN KOCHAR
Pavan is currently Co-Founder and Executive
Producer of Andaaz, the first ever international
lifestyle talk show for the South Asian community.
Andaaz is currently airing on Sony Entertainment
Television worldwide. Pavan was a founding
member of The Indus Entreprenuer (TiE) Dallas
Chapter, an active member of TiE Silicon Valley,
founder of the networking organization Grapevine
for entrepreneurs and investors and an advisor to
Indus Women Leaders, a South Asian women’s
leadership organization. Pavan holds a B.S in
Computer Science/Engineering from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
About the Play
This is a psychological thriller that rips the mask off a
celebrity. The twenty-first century is the age of the
electronic image. From every corner of our world,
electronic images fling themselves at us, entertaining,
educating, enticing & offering us a virtual world.
Manjula Sharma is not a very successful Hindi short-story
writer. She suddenly becomes wealthy and internationally
famous by writing a best-seller in English.The question
haunting Manjula is, whether in opting for the global
audience, has she betrayed her own language and identity?
Now, without warning, it’s her own “image” that decides to
play confessor, psychologist and inquisitor.
Set Design: Bhola Sharma,
Lighting Design: Alyque Padamsee, Yael Crishna,
Music Composition: Merlyn D’Souza,
Publicity Design: Siddharth Kumar,
Still Photography: Ryan Martis,
Executive Producer: Craig Dequadros,
Production Managers: Prarthana Gupta,
Light Execution: Dhanendra Kawade,
Video Execution: Nimesh Shah
GIRISH KARNAD - Playwright
Born on May 19, 1938, in Matheran, Maharastra, Girish Karnad has become one of
India's brightest shining stars, earning international praise. For four decades, Karnad
has been composing marvelous plays, often using history and mythology to tackle
contemporary issues. He is also active in the world of Indian cinema working as an
actor, director and Screenwriter earning numerous awards along the way.
As a young man studying at Karnataka University, Dharwar, where he earned a
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics and Statistics in 1958, Karnad dreamed of
earning international literary fame, but he thought that he would do so by writing in
English. Upon graduation, he went to England and studied at Oxford where he earned
a Rhodes Scholarship and went on to receive a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy,
Politics and Economics. He would eventually achieve the international fame he had
dreamed of, but not for his English poetry. Instead, Karnad would earn his reputation
through decades of consistent literary output on his native soil.
For four decades, Karnad has continued to compose top-notch plays, often using
history and mythology to tackle contemporary themes. He has also forayed into the
jungle of cinema, working alternately as an actor, director, and screenwriter, and
earning numerous awards along the way.
Contd. Girish Karnad
Among Karnad's numerous awards are included the Presidents Gold
Medal for the Best Indian film for Samskara (1970), the Sangeet Natak
Academy (National Academy of the Performing Arts) Award for
playwriting (1972), the Kamaladevi Award of the Bharatiya Natya Sangh
for the Best Indian play of the year for Hayavadana (1972), the Padma
Shri Award (1974), the National Award for the Best Kannada film for
Ondanondu Kaaladalli (1978), the National Award for the Best Script for
Bhumika (shared with Shyam Benegal and Satyadev Dubey - 1978), the
National Award for the Best Non-Feature Film on Social Issues for The
Lamp in the Niche (1990), the Padma Bhushan Award (1992), the
Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award for Best Play for Taledanda (1992),
Indian Co-Chairman for the Joint Media Committee of the Indo-U.S. subCommission on Education and Culture (1984-93), Visiting Professor and
Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the University of Chicago (1987-88),
and Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy of Performing Arts (198893).
RAELL PADAMSEE - Producer
Raell Padamsee is a vibrant, versatile, dynamic well- known theatre
personality. She is well-reputed in the field of theatre production, design
and execution of mega events and her company Ace Productions Private
Ltd. has been involved in all these activities for over 15 years. Some of
her work includes plays such as Measures Taken, Duet for One, Tara,
Acts of Faith, Two To Tango, Miss Julie August, Macbeth, and Murder
on the Menu. She is actively engaged with directing and producing
children's plays such as ‘Aladdin’, ‘Aladdin Extravaganza’, ‘Alibaba &
Bablu the Bear’, ‘The Magic of Christmas’, ‘Oliver!’ She continues to
conduct workshops for children all over Mumbai.
.
ALYQUEE PADAMSEE – Director
Mr.Padamsee is the guru of English Theatre in India and
is famous for his Theatre productions like Evita ,Jesus
Christ Superstar, Tuglaq ,Othello and his Tantric version
of Macbeth. He was conferred the Lifetime Achievement
Award for Theatre by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Currently he is directing “Unspoken Dialogues”.
Internationally, Mr.Padamsee is well -known for his
portrayal of Mr .Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Sir Richard
Attenborough’s “Gandhi”. He is also the only Indian to
be voted into the International Clio Hall of Fame, the
Oscars of World Advertising. Known as the Brand
Father of Indian Advertising, Mr Padamsee has built
over 100 Brands. An ideas genius, he is the creator of
Lalitaji for Surf, Cherry Charlie for Cherry Blossom
Shoe Polish, the MRF Muscle, the Liril girl in the
waterfall, the Kamasutra couple, Hamara Bajaj, the TV
Detective Karamchand, the Fair & Handsome brand etc
etc etc. He also helped spring board the careers of Kabir
Bedi, Shyam Benegal, Shiamak Davar, Sharon
Prabhakar, Dalip Tahil, Alisha Chinoy etc. Recently he
created the Idea of a Fatwa against Terrorism which was
announced by the Grand Mufti of the Deoband Uloom.
Furthermore for the Golden Jubilee of The Indian
Institute Technology Bombay his Idea of starting an
initiative to create 10 Great Ideas That Will Change The
World In The Next 50 Years caused a great deal of
excitement. He is also working on AIDS Prevention Idea
with the Dept. of Bio- Technology.
Our Honored Guests
SHABANA AZMI
An actress par excellence, Shabana Azmi has starred
in some of the greatest Indian films like Ankur,
Mandi, Arth, Khandar, Paar, Sparsh, Godmother and
Tehzeeb to name a few. Satyajit Ray, the noted film
maker, says in his book, “Our Films Their Films”,
“Shabana Azmi in her very first film, ‘ANKUR’,
firmly establishes herself as the finest dramatic
actress of the country.” Born to noted Urdu
progressive poet and IPTA President Kaifi Azmi and
theatre actress Shaukat Kaifi, Shabana has acted in
films by virtually all of India's most famous arthouse
directors, including Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray,
Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen and others, as well as in
commercial and middle-of-the-road Hindi films, and
some international films where she has essayed
several strong female characters.
SHUBHA MUDGAL
Born into a musically dedicated family, trained by
Pandit Ram Ashreya Jha in Allahabad, from whom
she still receives instruction, In Delhishe received the
guidance of Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya and
Pandit Vasant Thakar. She went on to learn stylistic
techniques from well-known maestros Pandit Jitendra
Abhisheki and Pandit Kumar Gandharva. She also
received training in thumri from Smt. Naina Devi and
is thus one of the most versatile and popular
performers of Hindustani music. She has sung
numerous chart busters and given. In addition to
being a performer, Shubha has also won recognition
as a composer. Her repertoire of medieval mystic and
Sufi poetry includes rarely heard texts from the
Vaishnava Pushti-marg poets, as well as the Nirguna
poetry of Kabir, Namdev, Amir Khusrau, Nath-panthi
poets and other Sufiana poetry. She is the recipient of
numerous awards, including the Padma Shri (2000).
Photo Courtesy : Nitin Joshi
Featuring
SHAIRA BHAN
!
Our Donors
$50,000 Donation
Anonymous Donor
$10,000 Donation
Gary & Pooja Gauba, Prabhu & Poonam Goel,
Naren & Vinita Gupta, Asha Jadeja, Vinod & Neeru Khosla,
Shamik & Parul Mehta, Gaurav & Komal Shah
Romesh & Kathy Wadhwani
$5,000 - $6,000 Donation
Anil & Jyoti Godhwani, Ajit & Seema Gupta
Shashnak & Namrata Patnaik, Ram & Indira Reddy
$3,000 Donation
Anonymous Donor, Vijay & Anita Bist,
Vinod & Sadhana Dham, Kamil & Talat Hasan,
Vinati Mishra, Noreen Raza,
Ashok & Gita Vaish, Abraham Sofaer
$2,000 Donation
Narpat & Chandra Bhandari, Kamal & Anita Gunsagar
Tom Kailath, Vijay & Pammi Kapoor, Rajvir & Swadesh Singh.
Maitri would like to thank
Sean Pathiratne, Lifestyle Solutions
for donating furniture for the Transition Home.
Vijay Bist, Amber Restaurants (Mountain View,
Santana Row, San Francisco)
for hosting a dinner Party for City Officials.
Gary Gauba, Jag Kapoor and Ram Reddy
for hosting a wine tasting fundraising event raising over
$60,000.
Vish Mishra Clearstone Ventures,
for providing a meeting space and hospitality.
Madhuleika Kejriwal
for donating real estate expertise and services towards
the Transition Home acquisition.
Consul General SF,Ambassador Susmita Thomas
for donating auction items.
Kapil Sibal, Hon'ble Minister for Human Resource
Development, India
for donating the proceeds of his book.
Arun Kumar
for donating the proceeds of his recently published
collection of poems "Plain Truths".
Anjoo Khosla, Ashima Yadav, Chetan Patil, Reshma Dordi
for video production and editing.
Words from our Amazing Supporters
Both Vijaya and I admire and support the heroic efforts by Maitri to
help the victims in attending to their calls as and when the abuse
happens, providing counseling, offering temporary shelter, etc. We
want to provide both moral and financial support to Maitri in order
for them to continue and augment their services to help these women
in distress. We urge and request everyone to join us to give Maitri a
helping hand and donation to pursue this noble and charitable cause.
— Kumar & Vijaya Malavalli
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Maitri’s mission is very compelling. With very little resources, they
have successfully transformed lives of many women in unfortunate
situations. The unbelievable Maitri volunteers selflessly put enormous
time, energy, personal finances and at times have taken personal risks
to save these women. We are happy to be part of Maitri’s success
story and to help our community.
— Vinita & Naren Gupta
Domestic abuse and violence against women is an abhorrent fact in
even the most “civilized” societies. But when women living in a
foreign country, with no family or support system, have to endure
humiliation, violence and pain in silence, it is heartbreaking. For
those of us who are fortunate enough to live with security, dignity and
respect, it is our moral responsibility to care for these less fortunate
women (and often their children). Maitri has been doing this difficult
and emotionally draining work for 10 years, with a band
of incredibly dedicated volunteers who deserve our gratitude and
support. Please join us in making sure that this very important work
continues uninterrupted.
— Kamil & Talat Hasan
Shalini Saxena has been successfully operating her Dance Academy
for the last 20 years, passing on the tradition of classical and
semi-classical Kathak to students of all ages. She has been recognized
by the Federation of Indo-American Associations as the cultural
ambassador for Kathak dance as well by the Indo-American Chamber
of Commerce for Outstanding Contribution to Arts and Humanities.
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Shalini has been invited to serve as a judge in well known dance
competitions sponsored by CCF and Sony Television. Her students
have performed to rave reviews at several local community shows and
competitions. Shalini Saxena Dance Academy has a history of
producing elegant and well organized shows, like Sur Shringaar,
Bahar-e-Shaam, and Sham-e-Raqs. Her most recent concert was also a
resounding success, when she presented phenomenal singer Radhika
Chopra on September 19, 2010.
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We sincerely appreciate all the amazing people
who helped put this event together.
We are grateful for all the incredible volunteers
who make Maitri a reality.
With Compliments from
Lifestyle Solutions Inc.
5555 Auto Mall Parkway
Fremont, CA 94538
Programs Printed By
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Betrothal
Standing by my son, doe-eyed, delicate,
She confidently accepted his ring
As her professor, officiating, explained
The tradition of the betrothal.
Soon, she will be my son’s wife,
A new daughter in our family.
How lucky we are but how unfair -What have we done to deserve her?
How dare we think she will be our daughter?
Who are we to lay any claim on her affection?
I must tell her mother and father
Their work is mostly done, ours has just begun.
_____________________________________
By Arun Kumar
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Our heartfelt gratitude to Arun Kumar for donating the proceeds of his recently
published collection of poems, 'Plain Truths' to Maitri