Joy of Giving Week 2013 celebrations at IIM Ahmedabad conclude as 'Vikaas' steals the show!
Ahmedabad, October 14: Sunday was a night to remember for about 65-odd Samaritans at IIM Ahmedabad. Having taken out time to be a part of 'Vikaas' - IIM Ahmedabad's charity concert as part of the Joy of Giving week celebrations 2013 - they were treated to a bouquet of exciting performances by the IIMA students, who set the stage alive with a series of musical, dance and theatre performances!
Vikaas - a fund-raising event planned and executed by the students of IIM Ahmedabad - was organized with an aim to raise support for Prayaas - IIMA's social initiative which was responsible for spearheading the various activities organized as part of the Joy of Giving celebrations on campus. Prayaas, which took birth as a student project about a decade back as part of a course by Prof. Anil Gupta, has grown from strength to strength over the years, working among the underprivileged children in the localities nearby IIM Ahmedabad to provide them with educational opportunities as well as a chance at a holistic childhood.
Prayaas organized a number of events during the past week such as the Wish Tree initiative, the Dinner of Joy, Let's Paint etc. for the underprivileged children in and around IIM Ahmedabad. Yesterday's event - passes for which were available to the members of the public at Rs. 200 each - included a guided tour of the IIMA campus by students, a visit to the institute's hallowed classrooms and the two hour long cultural extravaganza which included nationally award winning music, dance and theatre performances by IIMA students themselves.
The night began with some soul enchanting music as students opened their performance with an instrumental fusion version of 'Vaishnav Jan To', followed by tributes to such accomplished greats as Kishore Kumar and A R Rehman (for a full list of performances, please refer Appendix A)
Footloose - the IIMA dance club followed with its own set of dazzling performances, which also included items by Prayaas kids themselves. For most of these kids, this was the first time performing in front of such a large crowd and while most of them appeared overwhelmed, they were also overjoyed at being given such a huge opportunity. The night culminated with select performances by IIMACTS - the theatrical society from their nationally award winning play Kharaashein - adopted from the play by Gulzar.
While Vikaas may have drawn to an end a very eventful and happy week, it was a reminder of the difference that an individual can make to the society and the joy of giving back.
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