PECOSA sings for Nepal
Nepalese Consul General and guests lighting the lamp
By Manju Mittal
PECOSA (Punjab Engineering College Of Old Students Association ) ”“ a Sydney organisation founded in 1991 to provide scholarships to engineering students organised a musical evening ”˜Surmai Shaam’ on June 7, 2015 at Castle Grand Hall, Castle Hill. The aim was to fundraise for Nepal Earthquake victims while enjoying a generous atmosphere and goodwill spirit filled with music and songs ”“ a mix of Bollywood new and old, a bit of classical, Aboriginal dance and Nepalese with Vinod Rajput and his team of musicians.
Recently Nepal earthquake caused a great destruction of life and buildings, as close to 8,000 people died in its wake. The tragedy awakened a huge empathetic response from all over Australia. PECOSA rose to the occasion as not only the Indian Community but Jewish, Australian, Lebanese and Nepalese community geared up to collect funds for the worthwhile cause. People of Nepal will need support for a long time to come and it was heart whelming to see so many supporters of Nepal and hear many wonderful tales of their visits to the country who went to volunteer help.
Castle Grand hall was packed with audience and it was a night full of soulful numbers. Guest of honours of the evening were Julia Finn, Labor Member of Parliament for Granville; Hon. Deepak Khadka, Counsel General of Nepal; Mahendra Oli, President of Non Resident Nepalese Association Australia, Bishnu Hamal, NRNA ICC Regional Co-ordiantor Oceania Region; Lara Taouk represented the Lebanese Community and Melissa McCurdie, NSW executive member Jewish Board of Deputies. They all acknowledged PECOSA’s contribution and its role in raising the much needed funds. The function started with Australian, Indian and Nepalese Anthems.
Vinod Rajput and Reena Mehta
Local talented singer Shobha Ingleshwar started the evening with softer and spiritual bhajans in her soothing voice. Well known singer Vinod Kumar Rajput sang solo hit memorable numbers as he interacted with the audience in an informal atmosphere and involved the audience as evening turned out to be quite entertaining.
Vinod has this unique art of conjuring up magic with his songs and enthralled everyone when he made PECOSA team come up on stage and sing along with him. Manjiri Kulkarni’s ”˜Ajeeb Dastaan hai yeh’ was nostalgic while Suresh Singh sang in his versatile voice. The evening ended with duet song ”˜Tera rang balle balle’ by Dr. Reena Mehta and Vinod Rajput.
Arunesh Seth, PECOSA President
President of PECOSA Arunesh Seth thanked all when he said, “The aim is to acknowledge our services, encourage future good work, network and provide help with rehabilitation, to help Nepal rebuild itself.”
PECOSA had many silent workers and volunteers who worked hard, a member and a volunteer Babita Shrestha is impressed by PECOSA’s ethos when she said, “I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to everyone for their overwhelming support, their help and contribution, as our collective effort will definitely make a change in the lives of thousands of people in my motherland”. Babita shared her experience, “After hearing the devastating news from Nepal, a team of volunteers and myself left for Nepal Sindhupalchowk district for relief operation, we saw terrible scenes of destruction. We administered basic first aid and treated people who suffered trauma and injury and tried to provide necessary medicines, food, water, blankets and tents. I am proud of what we all did back home in Nepal.”
After Surmai Shaam delicious dinner was served by Ajay Raj of Maya Da Dhaba. PECOSA volunteers helped make the evening a memorable event only because it carried a good cause. We are sure the work is not yet over and many more such events will follow PECOSA’s Nepal fundraiser.
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