Brihat-Saman - Chinmaya Mission Dallas/Fort worth

Graceful Givers
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About three months ago, two vivacious
young sisters, Mouna and Dhanya Yalamanchi
(Balavihar students) came together with
a common goal. Both girls had been witnessing
the horrific television accounts of the
deadly hurricane Katrina that struck Central
Gulf Coast. They wanted to do something
to help all the victims, yet, soon realized
there was not much two teenage girls
could do on their own. So, they brought together
an entire community. The final “plan
of action” was a powerful combination of
their talents and their compassion. The
girls organized a dance performance, the
proceeds of which - would aid the Katrina
victims.
For one month the girls performed their
sadhana and trained vigorously in order to
do justice to their art form. Under the tutelage
of their guru Sri Latha Suri of the
Natyanjali School of Dance the girls
learned and perfected 5 items for their
audience. Through this form of devotion,
the girls were able to focus all of their energy
on a single goal.
While training itself was a colossal task,
the girls also had to make sure there would
be an audience to help them raise funds!
The advertising began in early October
2005 as - Mouna and Dhanya spread the
word to all of their friends and family. Impressed
by their passion and compassion,
many tickets were sold and the Katrina vic-
The program took place at the Garland
Plaza Theatre on October 30 th , 2005.
With an audience of over 100 supporters
the girls began their journey and took the
audience on a spiritual experience. Typically
dance programs begin with an item
devoted to Lord Ganesha, the remover of
obstacles. Mouna and Dhanya chose to
perform a Ganesh Kautuvam. Lord Ganesa’s
grace blessed both the girls and their
worthy cause. The dancers had set a goal
to raise $5,000. They not only met their
goal that evening, but exceeded that by
$1,700. This $6,700 was graciously accepted
by the TANTEX (Telugu Association
of North Texas) organization, which
in turn donated it to a Louisiana State
congressman for helping the victims of
hurricane Katrina. .
Reported by Soumya Tayi, Grade 10