GANGTOK,: With the aim to raise awareness on the impact of natural disasters in the community, the students of Gangtok-based Reeyaaz Sangeetalaya, aged 4-15 years, organized a colourful kids concert at the 11th annual concert ‘Aapada’ in collaboration with Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) at Manan Kendra here on Saturday.
With the tagline “The Melody of Hope”, the event was organized under the patronage of Chief Minister P.S. Golay, who attended the concert as the chief guest. He was accompanied by his spouse Krishna Rai, SSDMA secretary Anil Raj Gurung, special secretary Prabhakar Rai, SSDMA officials, invited guests, students from different government schools and parents.
“Reeyaaz Sangeetalaya has been organising annual concerts based on different themes, since its establishment in 2013. This year, we chose ‘Aapada’, which translates to disaster in English, because we feel there is a need to raise awareness on natural disasters in the community at large. We are thankful to the Chief Minister for supporting us to organize the annual concert in a successful manner. He is the backbone and I would like to appreciate his efforts on behalf of the music community of Sikkim. We would also like to thank Krishna Rai for her kindness and support throughout,” expressed Reeyaaz Sangeetalaya founding director Manoj Rai in his welcome address.
The annual concert was designed in a way where kids from the age group 4-15 years perform classical music performances as Reeyaaz Sangeetalaya focuses on classical music. The performances were backed by the Reeyaaz musical band.
A presentation on natural disaster management was delivered by the SSDMA.
The second half of the concert had performances by Reeyaaz Sangeetalaya achievers Monika Rai (reached top-five of The Voice Nepal), Sumi Emsha Subba and Divya Thapa (The Voice Nepal contestants) and Pranita Tamang (Reeyaaz Sangeetalaya topper).
The event also had a guest dance performance by the students of Dynamic Flickers Dance Academy, Ranipool.