BANGALORE: The event had all the components of an evening well spent. Elegant people, wonderful music and a cause that touched the hearts of all those present- the 11th edition of the CEOs Sing for GF Kids, an event spearheaded by Prema Sagar, founding trustee of Genesis Foundation, and her team. A tri-city effort in Delhi, Mumbai and now Bangalore, the evening saw an impressive line-up of 15 CEOs come together on a common platform and loosen their vocal chords and their wallets to save the lives of eight critically ill, underprivileged children. Some of them are orphans who suffer from life threatening diseases like cancer, cardiac disorder, post-organ transplant condition, thalassemia and extreme deformities. All the funds raised through a variety of corporate initiatives like The Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival, Jadhavgadh Music Festival, CEOs Sing for GF Kids, CEOs Cook for GF Kids, musical evenings, art and theatre shows go towards the treatment of the children. “Each year, the response gets bigger and we are able to save more lives. In the age of cutting edge medical breakthroughs, it is unfair that a child should die only because of lack of funds,’ says Sagar.
The well attended fund raiser at the ITC Gardenia began with Bangalore's popular rock band Thermal and a Quarter taking to the stage along with well known singer Aarti Rao.
After a lively start, they were followed by a succession of corporate honchos like P Balagi, (Nokia) with his mellow rendition of Dil Kya Kare and Roop Tera Mastana, Sulaiman Jamal (Bevel Gears) on the harmonica, Sajay Purohit (Levi Strauss) with the lilting Musafir Hoon, Biren Ghose and his foot-tapping Jailhouse Rock. And many other talented singers.
Ajit Saldhanha chipped in with a bit of stand up comedy before enthralling the crowd with Hallejuh.
The line up of music was a well-balanced mix of golden old songs and more recent hits, and all the singers got together for an impromptu jam session at the end.