Pianist Anil Srinivasan, Carnatic singer Sikkil Gurucharan and actor Dhritiman Chatterji came together a few years ago to present a unique programme featuring the works of Rabindranath Tagore.
The trio is now reviving this programme, entitled The Exercise Book, for the cause of the girl child. “I have been associated with Nalandaway (an organisation that works with underserved children) and the cause of girl child for a few years now,” explains Anil Srinivasan, “And for the Tagore Commemoration this year a grant was offered by the department of culture and we decided to apply for it and put our talents to a larger use, besides just applause,” he adds.
The Exercise Book will combine the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore and Subramania Bharati.
Apart from staged performances, the first of which was held in Delhi earlier, the programme will also feature workshops in schools to increase awareness about the plight of the girl child. They will next travel to Bengaluru in May and Mumbai in June with this programme.
The project is hosted by OrangeStreet.in, which acts as "a fundraising platform for socially engaged arts projects. This platform would help you raise funding for creative socially engaged projects in Art, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Architecture, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Drama. People who have art project ideas that are related to a social cause can submit their proposal to OrangeStreet.in and shortlisted projects will be published on the site, which can be shared with potential donors (including those in the artist's network as well as the OrangeStreet network), seeking their support towards the execution of the project. OrangeStreet is an initiative of NalandaWay Foundation, an NGO that uses arts to rehabilitate marginalised children," the website informs.