Press release for Hansi Ke Favvare 2008 @ Atlanta - A Tradition of service towards the national Language and Identity of India
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Sunday evening (29th June 2008) at Global mall promised to be an overdose of laughter, parody, satire, and patriotism.
After immensely successful runs in the past three years, SewaUSA International (www.sewausa.org), a global non-profit service organization, presented "Hansi Ke Favvare" – A Hindi Standup Comedy - for the fourth time in a row. Through this event, which is more of a tradition, SewaUSA International serves the national language, Hindi and also the national identity of Indians in Metro Atlanta.
Above: Hall Full: The huge turnout of Hindi Lovers in Atlanta
This year’s Hasya Kavi Sammelan was dedicated to a model preventive healthcare initiative called Gram Arogya Rakshak, which is a unique social development project focusing on training a local volunteer from a village as a medical representative or consultant for an entire village at a nominal cost of 1 dollar a day for a year.
He/she visits each village that is assigned to him on a regular basis. The district team is made of able doctors and social workers.
The network of Aarogyarakshaks works as an interactive medium of health: they take health-service to the people, and bring feedback of people to the service-providers. Because of its simple model, it is not only scalable, but the outreach is also good.
The Aarogyarakshak is trusted by the people. He/she is a local person and is a volunteer. He/she is not paid and does not have any commercial interest in this work.
Above: Shri Om Prakash Adiya is being welcomed by Dr. Prakash Gupta (one of the Chief Guests). Rakesh, the event co-ordinator gives the bouquet to the chief Guests
The event was free for everyone to attend. An audience of 200 Hindi lovers descended at the venue ready for an evening of laughs and nostalgia. The program featured two prominent Kavis from India -- Shri Om Prakash Aditya, who is one of the best-known Hindi Hasya-Ras poets and an excellent satirist, and Shri Rajesh Chetan, who is well known for his nationalistic poems, and specializes in ‘vyang’ and political satire.
Above: Shri Rajesh Chetan enthralls the audience
The show gathered momentum as Rajesh Chetan took the stage. He opened his score with a poem paying tribute to NRIs and their contribution to America and to the world. Thus instantly establishing a connection with the audience, he continued to invoke laughter with his saga of unwanted house guests and satire on cricket and cell phones.
Above: Shri Om Prakash Aditya entertains the audience next
Kavi Om Prakash Aditya was up next, ready to power the laughter train forward. He crafted resonant poetry out of mundane things in life in an endearing style, be it a hapless school student’s struggle with subjects taught in class, a spiel for politicians’ suitability as residents of hell, or birds celebrating Valentine’s day. Cleverly interspersed amidst these sub-plots was an ode dedicated to people who seldom laugh at his jokes and his attempts to make them laugh!
Above: the volunteers enjoying the show (Nataraj, Mitesh, Gaurav, Nitin, Poornima (front desk) and Sandhya at back (children’s color painting)
While the audience was busy laughing and enjoying the poetry, children were kept entertained with coloring activity. Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and others were waiting on paper as the kids eagerly sat down to color the sketches.
Above: Opening scene from nukkad natak: The villagers -- Amol, Nitin & Bhoomika – bring their health concerns to the village chief, Sandeep
To take the message to the people, a unique 3-4 mins “Nukkad Naatak” was played by some SewaUSA volunteers (three villagers, one mukhiya and one SewaUSA volunteer) that showcased the process and benefits of Gram Arogya Rakshak initiative. Through the Nukkad natak, it was demonstrated why preventive healthcare initiatives are needed, how the Arogya Rakshak can take the health-service to the people, and bring feedback of people to the service-providers. Through simple question and answers, it was shown how this simple and robust scheme can reach out to villages and be very effective.
Above: Another scene from nukkad natak: SewaUSA volunteer (Gaurav) explains how Gram Arogya Rakshak can help improve the health scene of our villages in India and prevent many disease outbreaks proactively
The skit reinforced the point that providing basic medical care for a village cost only a dollar a day - a very manageable amount for Indians here in the United States to share.
Amitabh Sharma, a pillar of the Indian society in atlanta, followed up with an enthuastic appeal for donations. Unlike most other charitable organizations that incur heavy overhead expenses, SewaUSA stands out because of its low administrative expenses (about 2 % of total donations). The audience responded generously. Within a few minutes, 15 villages saw their Gram Arogya Rakshak Program become a reality.
Soon it was time for a break as the audience were served with wholesome home made Bhelpuri and mango lassi. With their appetites for laughter still asking for more, the audience returned to their seats for another round of uproarious performances.
Above: After a regaling snack session, the audience is ready for more entertainment
Rajesh Chetan was back this time around with poems that carried poignant social messages wrapped in comedy. He brought attention to the neglect of sports at the expense of cricket and called for saving hockey and other sports. In the same vein was his take on our media’s obsession with frivolous news like the Aishwarya-Abhishek wedding at the expense of focusing on real issues. The program took on a more patriotic mood as he rendered a piece showcasing the significance of colors of the Indian flag and the flag pole. He appealed to the audience to preserve the Hindi language by speaking Hindi at home to their children.
The poetic journey reached a musical destination as the audience clapped along while Om Prakash Aditya sang two hilarious kavitas. One was a desperate plea by Sonia Gandhi’s followers imploring her to save them and their party. The other poem parodied a prayer dedicated to green currency notes, a hysterical conclusion to a hilarious evening. SewaUSA volunteer Gaurav Verma thanked the poets, sponsors and audience members for their patronage. SewaUSA volunteers expressed their gratitude to donors by honoring them with a special appreciation dinner at Palace restaurant after the event.
Above: After the break, Shri Om Prakash Aditya keeps the audience glued to his voice through his creative and hilarious poems on contemporary subjects
SewaUSA Atlanta's Kavi Sammelan was more than an evening of laughter or a nostalgia filled trip to the motherland. The proceeds and donations from the event are donated to agencies in India to fund educational and literacy projects in India. SEWA International (http://www.Sewausa.org) is the sister organization to SewaUSA Bharati, the biggest NGO in India and committed to the upliftment and development of under privileged sections of the world at grass root levels through various development projects.
The ideology of SewaUSA International is “Nar Sewa, Narayan Sewa” – to serve humanity is to serve God and it draws its selfless motivation from the Hindu scriptures. For further information about SewaUSA International’s activities, contact the Atlanta team at atlanta@sewausa.org. Please join us and make a difference.
