School: A building with Future within its Four walls.

In continuation of our efforts to restore life to normalcy in the Gaja cyclone hit areas of Tamil Nadu.. And to ensure continued access of education for underprivileged children, of these districts, The A R Rahman Foundation has partnered with the Bhoomika Trust for the restoration of select schools. For long term rehabilitation two schools are identified in Ezhilur Village, Thiruvarur District, TN. 

The aftermath of the cyclone; has left the Panchayat union Primary school with the roof, tiles, doors, and windows of one of the buildings completely damaged. The enrolled student count of the primary school is 124 with 5 teachers.

In the Government High School, the damage was equally severe and the doors, windows and gates were left in dire need of repairs and replacement. The roof and flooring in the classrooms and toilet complex was also left damaged. The enrolled student count of the high school is 128  and 7 teachers.

As a part of our ongoing effort, the repair work in both the schools is already in progress. The teams have undertaken to repair all the broken doors and windows, toilets - with new flooring, storage water tanks and running water connections. The buildings have also been given a fresh coat of paint.

A School is indeed a building with our future change makers within its walls. All of us at the foundation are thankful for having this opportunity to restore these school complexes as a priority and ensure that 252 children could resume their classes. We also thank Bhoomika Trust and their teams for coordinating and disbursing the funds for the restoration of these affected government schools.

To ensure that our foundation can continue supporting such noble causes that shall help transform the future of our country and the world; kindly take a moment to check out our website and explore your options to support us.

- Vidhi G Bhanushali.

Manager - Sponsorship & Grant.

If you see a need; take the lead

Leading by example, the sole purpose of the A R Rahman Foundation is to serve the community, & stand with them in solidarity when they most need it while providing solace to the community with the disaster relief projects we undertake. This ideology is the motivation behind all the causes the foundation undertakes.

The Gaja Cyclone made a landfall in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of 16th November 2018 and did a catastrophic damage to several districts in the coastal areas surrounding Nagapattinam. With a recorded wind gust reaching at its highest of 180 km/hr in the district of Aadhirampattinam.

image courtesy: NewsTrack Live

The first responder team from the A R Rahman Foundation and The Bhoomika Trust visited the districts of Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur during the months of November and December, 2018 to assess the damage and provide immediate relief.

Our first action was to provide relief and for that we put together a kit with essential supplies. These kits consisting of basic essentials were distributed in the cyclone hit areas of Tamil Nadu. A total of 762 families were provided relief through these kits. These families were spread across six villages that were most severely affected in the districts.

Image Courtesy: One India

We thank our team member Arokia Raj and the 'first-responder-team headed by Santosh Mathevan for helping the A R Rahman Foundation reach the initial life support to the devastated families. 

You can lead your society and community by example & with your constant support, our foundation can help those who are distressed. You can support our foundation and play your role to ensure the continuation of other disaster relief projects or support one of the many causes of the foundation by checking out this link.

- Vidhi G Bhanushali

Manager Sponsorship & Grant

KARUNAMIRTHASAGARAM

Over the years there have been various studies on the evolution of life, carried out by acclaimed institutions around the world; and just when life was evolving; the way of living life was evolving as well, and one important aspect of human life since ancient times has been music.

Most of us are familiar with the term Carnatic music in the present day; but very few are aware that even the carnatic music had a predecessor - 'the ancient Tamil Music'.

The roots of Tamil music can be traced back to 500 BC. Being such an ancient form of art this music started to lose its way, when many new forms of music were introduced. Our founder Dr. A R  Rahman realized the impact of  loss it would be, if this art form were to vanish someday.

To commemorate the centenary of the treatise on Tamil Music written by Abraham Pandithar"Karunamirthasagaram", another flagship program of the A R Rahman Foundation was launched in the year 2018. 

The beautiful instruments and lyrics of that era have lost its lustre in modern time and are in acute need of revival. This project, spear-headed by noted lyricist and poet Kutti Revathi.

She investigates the creative arena across history, the meaning of the raga, its classical ancestry, the innuendo of Tamil music from folk music to film songs, and new age music, 2nd October 2018, at the Sarkar movie audio launch. 

For more details, please check out the website & subscribe to our YouTube channel.

You can contribute to the research of reviving Tamil music and support one of the many projects of the A R Rahman Foundation by clicking this link. 

- Vidhi G bhanushali

Manager - Sponsorship & Grant.

A Sound Connection

Our flagship program the Sunshine Orchestra, imparts professional music education in an orchestral setting to the students adopted from a government school near the founder trustee Dr. A.R. Rahman’s residence and we have successfully trained over 150 students enrolled in the program, since its inception in the year 2008.

Every year we at the foundation in association with the KM Music Conservatory, aim to create an active global forum for these musicians by hosting numerous workshops and masterclasses from teachers and orchestras around the world. 

 

This year, we hosted the Australian World Orchestra, as a part of the masterclasses these students receive. These workshops paved the way to encourage creativity and boost the confidence of the students to play and learn from a world renowned orchestra. Indeed a sound connection !

As a part of the professional development of the sunshine Orchestra; the students were trained by Patricia Pollett and Bindi McFarlane. 

They helped students with different techniques of playing & helped them to establish a consolidated practice routine. They also got a chance to witness the rehearsal and practice sessions with Alexander Brigger. 

We are most humbled, as these workshops provided a great deal of expert knowledge to our students and we are keen to further develop the relationship between The Sunshine Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra. 

We would also like to thank the AWO for their thoughtfulness and kind generosity towards donating instruments for our students, these are the gifts that are most cherished and put to best use by the students.

To learn more about our programmes, do visit our website to extend your support.

 

- Vidhi G Bhanushali

Manager - Grants & Sponsorship

The Pleasure is all Ours

“What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.”

Spoken by the Greek philosopher Aristotle over 2300 years ago, one of the most ancient quotes about volunteering offers proof that giving back to the community is hardly a new concept. From immigrants escaping violent conflict and under-priveledged kids needing education to homeless people in need of housing, there is no shortage of ways; for us to make a difference. With so many people less fortunate than those of us who can afford to have the luxuries, giving back to society is becoming increasingly important these days.

The A R Rahman foundation has always aimed to dissolve boundaries through music and apart from our flagship programs in association with KM Music Conservatory; we have started our first outreach program at a government aided school; 'General Cariappa School, Saligramam, Chennai.

Our first batch of 38 students, in the age group of 10-12 years. 

To begin with these children shall start learning Violin and Cello and there on the program shall proceed into its next phase. We feel proud to share that the music education of these children will be imparted by none other than the batch of senior students from sunshine orchestra strings ensemble !!!

Yes, you read that right!

The seed of hope that was sewed; is now bearing fruit of transformation. 'A change that our society is in dire need of !These children; who started learning in our flagship program nearly a decade ago, are today already giving back to the community. They are the change makers our society needs today.

The pleasure is indeed ours that we are the driving force in shaping the future of these children, society and India.

To support one of our initiatives, do get in touch and explore your options for contributing. 

Vidhi G Bhanhushali

Manager - Sponsorship & Grant

'Milk means More'

This year, among the many causes our foundation supports, we most humbly added cattle donation to the ongoing and ever expanding list of causes we support.

Under this initiative, The A R Rahman Foundation decided to help the distressed select 5 families by donating cattle to help them sustain their daily lives. These families belong to Seerkazhi, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu.

A thorough ground study and verification, by our volunteers Anurag and Vasudevan into the background of these families revealed that  the women and widows who run and manage the entire family & their households have meager means to support their day to day lives. 

While bearing the loss of their loved ones; these women also struggle to establish a stable income for the family and are completely dependent on the courtesy pension they receive from the government which is as little as Rs.1000

The cattle donated to these families now ensures that they have a fresh start to life with a ray of hope to ensuring a stable income for their respective families. They generate income from the sale of milk, dairy products and cow dung.

Today, on behalf of our entire foundation, I would like to urge you all to do your bit and help us support many such families. Your small contribution can change many lives.

- Vidhi G Bhanushali

Manager - Sponsorship & Grant.