Treat yourselves to an evening of classical Ghazals and Sufi poetry by the renowned singer who enthralls audiences with her rendition of Ghalib, Kabir, Faiz, Meer, Nasir Kazmi, Amir Khusro and others… The purpose of the event is to refresh relationships between desi communities
Details- https://centerforpluralism.com/RekhaSurya/
Classical Hindustani Ghazals by Rekha Surya Award-winning singer-composer
MUST WATCH VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/TheWireUrdu/videos/2056853334567925/?t=328
TREAT YOURSELVES TO AN EVENING OF GHAZALS IN DALLAS, TX
More details at https://centerforpluralism.com/rekhasurya/
After the successful houseful event in Washington DC (Report below) we are looking forward to a successful event in Dallas.
DALLAS, TX
Saturday, August 17, 2019, | 7-10 PM
Venue: CSL Dallas, 4801 Spring Valley Rd # 115, Dallas, TX 75244
By Center for Pluralism, 501 (c) (3) Non-profit Organization
Suggested donations $25/person and $40/couple – VIP $50 and $100
RSVP – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rekha-suryas-classical-ghazal-program-dallas-texas-tickets-66097376031
Or at www.CenterforPluralism.com/donate
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/874550726230555/
DALLAS, TEXAS – AUG 17, 2019 at 7 PM
Date: Saturday, August 17, 2019 @ 7PM
Grand Center, 300 Chisholm Pl, Plano, TX. 75075
Organizer: Center for Pluralism
Donation: $25/person $40/Couple,
VIP $50 and $100
Purchase tickets at www.CenterforPluralism.com/donate
Details at: www.CenterforPluralism.com/RekhaSurya
SPONSORS:
Your Name
Shawkat Mohammad (817) 320-9439 New York Life
CONTACT:
Dr. Yusuf Kundawala (954) 802-7336
Nishi Bhatia (469) 826-2562
Dr. Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916
Shazia Khan (972) 948-1965
Javed Gill (214) 315-5253
Raja Khanzada (682) 551-6500
Sanjeev Sharma (214) 477-8261
MEDIA PARTNERS:
Soch News.Com
Radio Caravan.Com
Jago Times.com
THE SUCCESS STORY OF WASHINGTON, DC
Thank you for joining us at Ghazal ki ek Surmayee sham with Rekha Surya. I hope you enjoyed the refreshing genre of light classical music, as I heard from a few of you, it was a soothing, relaxing and a meditational experience. It was a delight to see every one of you enjoying the music thoroughly.
One of the purposes of organizing this event was to bring our communities together. We are pleased with the presence of such a diverse audience, I was thrilled to see Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil speakers as well besides the Punjabi, Hindi, Hindi, Urdu and other speakers. I did not get a chance to meet all of you but thank you for being there.
The welcome by Keerthi Swamy, Sardar Singh, Dr. Suresh Gupta, and Dr. Rahat and Dr. Masood Khan was what the program was all about, together we can find peace and cultivate harmony amongst us. Thanks to everyone for enthusiastically participating in the pluralistic religious greetings from different faiths.
Dr. Abdullah’s introduction of Rekha was classic! I want to hear it again, some of the similes used were very imaginative and thoughtful. if anyone has videotaped that portion, I would like to see it.
The house was full, and it was good to see a few people chose to sit on the floor, and a few stood on the sides, we had 164 RSVP’s at Eventbrite, but many of you came without RSVPing as well. Welcome, all!
We appreciate the NCAIA (National council of Asian Indian Americans) and the AAA (Aligarh Alumni Association) for lending their full support and sponsorships. We hope to continue to work with these two organizations. I hope we will “joth say jot jalate chalo, prem ki ganga bahate chalo”.
Thanks to our sponsors Shahid & Shaheen Hashmi, and Dr. Rahat and Dr. Masood Khan, and Aligarh Alumni Association. Without their sponsorships, the program would not have been possible to make it ticket free. More than that, they helped the Center for Pluralism to focus on the program and inviting friends, rather than worrying about meeting the costs. Once again, thank you.
We are a non-profit organization, and your kind donations paid most of our bills. We hope you would take a look at what we have accomplished at the center for pluralism, and if that is your vision as well, you can sponsor any one of our programs.
Janmashtami is coming up, and if you can sponsor a gathering of interfaith leaders, I would like to organize the event. A few speakers from different faiths, including Hindus and Muslims, will share the wisdom of Lord Krishna in making the world a better place for all humanity. Of course, a few bhajans on Nand Lal Gopal as well. We do this for all religious figures. As we learn the wisdom of each religious master, we will start appreciating each other’s faiths and find comfort in knowing that everyone has made an effort to build secure societies.
Our programs are designed to bring people together to open their hearts and minds towards each other. We are committed to shaping our future in building a cohesive America, where each one of the 323 Million of us feels secure about our ethnicity, culture, race, and religion.
Here is one of the many articles written on Janamashtami. https://centerforpluralism.com/janamashtami-lord-krishnas-birth-celebrations/
What have we accomplished? https://centerforpluralism.com/mission-accomplished-at-the-center-for-pluralism/
Your donation will bring good things to America. https://centerforpluralism.com/donate/
Thank you
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
ABOUT REKHA SURYA & TESTIMONIALS
A practitioner of the Lucknow Gharana of north Indian music, Rekha Surya has sung at prestigious venues in India and abroad including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, Yale, Harvard, Cornell, MIT, and Columbia Universities.
She perpetuates the legacy of her legendary guru Begum Akhtar. She also honed her skills under the tutelage of another legend, Girija Devi of the Benaras Gharana, integrating both styles of singing into an individualistic style.
The event will be posted on Facebook, Linked-in, Eventbrite, Desi tickets and other media.
Organized by: The Center for Pluralism, a non-profit organization committed to building a cohesive America. Details at www.CenterforPluralism.com
Website: www.rekhasurya.com
Interview with Rajya Sabha TV’s show Shaksiyat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sK2xvlPJMU
Excerpts from reviews:
“Rekha Surya sang to a packed hall. Rekha belongs to the Begum Akhtar tradition, having studied under the Begum and followed that hypnotic inheritance with a great gift. Her voice is deep and resonant and her pronunciation has the same savor as the Begum’s – a sense of hopelessness and despair.”
-The Indian Express
“Begum Akhtar left the stamp of her genius on Rekha Surya.”
– Khushwant Singh
(Singer and her Song – The Tribune)
“Rekha Surya enthralled. Her audience was spellbound by her Hori, Kajri, Jhoola, and Dadra, interspersed with Ghazal. She was sometimes sprightly, sometimes melancholy, always poignant.”
-The Bombay Times
“In today’s world of mediocre and diluted ghazal-singing, what a pleasure it was to hear Begum Akhtar’s youngest student Rekha Surya sing Ghazal in its authentic form.”
-Deccan Chronicle
“Rekha Surya’s rich voice and passionate music evoke an exotic image of a bygone era.”
-The Statesman
“Rekha Surya’s special mark is that she treats Ghazal as an allied form of Thumri and presents it alongside Thumri and Dadra, keeping Begum Akhtar’s legacy alive.”
-The Hindustan Times
“Rekha Surya is a talent to behold. Rarely does one find such confluence of restraint and abandon, discipline and playfulness, nerve-tingling sensuality and a near-sacred dedication to the Indian art of vocal exposition. Her voice has a presence. Raw and earthy, it announces itself. Her handling of rhythm is superb. ”
-Baltimore Sun
“The sensuous and the sublime become one when Rekha Surya sings Sufi poetry. Her enunciation of lyrics has astonishing clarity.”
-The Asian Age
“Rekha Surya sings Ghazal in the traditional style of Lucknow Gharana. She resembles her guru Begum Akhtar yet is unique.”
-The Hindu
I will be adding some of her popular ghazals
Mike Ghouse, President
Center for Pluralism
Washington DC
(214) 325-1916
What have we accomplished at the Center for Pluralism?
https://centerforpluralism.com/mission-accomplished-at-the-center-for-pluralism/
PICTURES FROM DC
Washington – Sunday, August 11, 2019, | 6-9 PM
Tickets – Free Eid Special | donations are appreciated
Arlington Central Library Auditorium
1015 N. Quincy St. Arlington, VA 22201
RSVP – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rekha-suryas-ghazal-eid-special-tickets-64920339483
Entrance is free but must rsvp but donations are suggested to be $25/$50/$100/$200
Donate: https://centerforpluralism.com/donate/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/416248652436881/
Dallas – Saturday, August 17, 2019, | 6-9 PM
Venue: CSL Dallas, 4801 Spring Valley Rd # 115, Dallas, TX 75244
By Center for Pluralism, 501 (c) (3) Non-profit Organization
Suggested donations $25/person and $40/couple – VIP $50 and $100
RSVP – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rekha-suryas-classical-ghazal-program-dallas-texas-tickets-66097376031
- Facebook for Dallas https://www.facebook.com/events/874550726230555/
YOUR DONATION IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE
It is organized by a non-profit organization
https://centerforpluralism.com/donate/
More about her after the two fliers for Dallas and Washington DC Events
The purpose of the event is to refresh relationships between desi communities
WASHINGTON DC CONTACTS
- Dr. Renu Misra (240) 702-5268
- Pavan Bezwada (301) 455-0073
- Surinder Singh Gill (443) 454-9702
- Rabin Goswami (301) 467-9253
- Nuzaira Zafar (202)368-3019
- Raj Saini (703) 376- 4623
- Dr. Suresh Gupta (301) 332-9596
- Arundhotee Goswami (240) 413-0400
- Keerthi Swamy (240) 498-1023
- Dr. Zafar Iqbal (240) 328-0162
- Dr. Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916
SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS:
- National Council of Asian Indian Associations
- Aligarh Alumni Association – to be confirmed
- Federation of Indian Christians
- Sikhs of America – to be confirmed
- Hindu org – to be confirmed
- Muslim org – to be confirmed