Aurora, IL: The Sri Venkateswara Temple of Aurora hosted on November 7, a fundraiser to benefit Balaji Learning Center, a cultural and spiritual lear- ning avenue for the young in the community. The musical extravaganza Shaam-E-Sangeet, was conceived and flawlessly executed by the ensemble Tansens of Naperville and Sa Re Gana of Greater Chicago.
Held at the Balaji Temple, the evening was set to motion by Dr. Sudarshan Rao, chairman of Temple Authority. Following a prayer invocation by Shree Mohanty, Tansens singer Suresh Israni started the musical event with a Kishore Kumar classic. Shree Mohanty infused the audience with energy by delivering sizzling Asha Bhosle numbers. While Vijaya Israni brought Lata Mangeshkar’s melodic rhapsodies to life, Sunil Pillai entertained the viewers with his fresh take on classics. Ashok Menon provided Mohammed Rafi fans much to remember and Mohan Palakkal’s take on Talat Mehmood perfectly rounded off the event. Singers rendered their numbers with boundless panache and verve. 
Sa Re Gana Band formed the perfect accompaniment to this team of talented vocalists. The band with Amit Kumar on the Keyboard, Ken D’Souza on the Bass guitar, S. Sriram on the Rhythm guitar and Sudhir Krishnan on the drums roused the audience from its seat to the dance floor with recognizable and modern beats. The band delighted the audience with its skillful delivery of medley of popular numbers such as Jai Ho and Dan-Tan-an (Kaminey).
The master of ceremonies, Rachana Nair, enlivened the mood further, regaling the audience with jokes on famous Bollywood movie dialogs and drawing several members of the audience into amusing interactions. The audience could not resist being on its feet, and swinging to favorite numbers while the singers and musicians didn’t let up the vibe through the evening.
Concert to benefit Balaji Learning Center
