BENGALURU: On Sunday evening, people came together to pay tribute to late veteran actor MH Ambareesh, commonly known as Man Of Mandaya. More than 25,000 people attended Ambi Namana – a charity musical event – that was organised by Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, a non-profit organisation that works towards empowering and educating people with disabilities.
The event was inaugurated by mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun, the late actor’s wife Sumalatha, president of KFCC Chinne Gowda, and founder managing trustee MGK Mahantesh.
“Those who live in the hearts of others never die and Ambareesh will always be in our heart,” said Sumalatha. An opening speech was given by Kannada actor, producer and director S Shivaram. The orchestra was led by drummer Arun and dance choreography by Mohan. Eminent artistes of the Kannada film fraternity, who have worked with Ambareesh during his versatile journey with the sandalwood industry namely Rockline Venkatesh, V Ravichandran, Shivarajkumar were among other artistes who participated in the event.
The highlight of the event, however, was the performance by artistes with visual impairments. Besides S P Balasubrahmanyam’s performance along with Manjula Gururaj and Archana Udupa, a dance performance by Sunadha dance group of people with disabilities also took place. “Ambareesh was close to everyone. I love him and know he is always there with me,” said Balasubrahmanyam.
Towards the end of the event, Sumalatha thanked everyone for their presence. Ambi Namana was organised in aid of Samarthanam’s Barrier-Free Residential Building for the elderly and girl students with disabilities. The funds raised during the event will be channelled to support the construction of the same. “Established in 1997, Samarthanam’s mission is to empower visually impaired, disabled and underprivileged people through development initiatives,” said Prafulla Devakumar, IT Manager, Samarthanam.
All working members and students of Samarthanam attended the event. “The trust has helped us in many ways. My husband’s aunt is blind and works for the trust. We wanted to encourage her and contribute something to them,” said a member from the audience.