Sankara Nethralaya, one of the Chennai’s landmark Ophthalmic Institutions, hosted a 3 – day Carnatic Music Concert Series – “Music for Charity Margazhi Concerts”. The event was held in Sri V. D. Auditorium, Main campus of Sankara Nethralaya on College Road, Nungambakkam. Aiming to raise awareness about vision, the three days event of the musical concert had the privilege of the stellar performance by Carnatic music stalwarts like Vocalist Sri. Sikkil C. Gurucharan, Sri N. Guruprasad (Ghatam), the Sarvepalli Sisters, and the world renowned violinist, Padmashri Sangitha Kalanidhi Smt. A. Kanyakumari.

This unique fundraising musical concert series focused on raising awareness on preventable blindness and the community service activities of Sankara Nethralaya. An informative photo essay on Sankara Nethralaya’s 44- year- long journey gave the visiting public more insight into the purpose of holding music concerts in SN for charity. This charity concert continued with the Sankara Nethralaya’s long tradition of holding “The Music for Marghazi Concerts” with the patronage extended by the legendary Vocalist Padmashri M. S. Subbalakshmi Amma, who had performed several times to raise funds for SN’s Community Eye Care Services.

Dr. K. Angayarkanni, Director – Laboratory Services & Biochemistry, welcomed the keen audience. Dr. Girish S. Rao, President, Mr. Ramachandran G., Honorary Secretary, Mr. Kannan Narayanan, Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Ronnie George, President & Director of Dept. of Research and Dept. of Glaucoma Services, along with Mr. Sowmiya Narayanan, Committee Member, Sankara Nethralaya USA, lighted the traditional lamp seeking Sri Mahaperiyava’s blessings. The three days proved to be a total bliss for the music aficionados and they also encouraged budding talents who had performed for a noble cause. Padmashri A. Kanyakumari expressed her happiness for organising these ingenuous concerts to spread awareness of preventable blindness and the various community initiatives of Sankara Nethralaya. She promised that she would be very happy to attend such a uniquely themed concert yearly.

This wonderful event was sponsored by Sri Krishna Sweets, Nalli, Sai Rocks and 315 Work Avenue. Further, Sankara Nethralaya family thanks Sri. Sowmiya Narayanan, SN USA, for his tireless efforts in conceptualising and organising this musical fest in a successful manner.

The festive spirit continued and on January 1st 2023 a Mottamaadi concert was organised at the R. R. Sabha, Mylapore. Here, Dr. T. S. Surendran, Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya spoke about SN’s community services to a captive audience. Many kind hearted rasikas donated to our cause on the spot and thus joined hands with us to fight against preventable blindness. We thank Eyetex Dazzler for their sponsorship of this concert.

We wish to note that SN USA also known as the Sankara Nethralaya Ophthalmic Mission Trust is the only authorized fundraising arm of Sankara Nethralaya in the USA.