CHARINDAA CROSSES THE $200,000 MARK AS THE CURTAIN COMES DOWN ON YET ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL TOUR!

CHARINDAA celebrates the success of its Sonu Nigaam Tour of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide

As the curtains came down at the Norwood Hall in Adelaide on Sunday April 27 2008, the sensational music produced by Sonu Nigaam, his band, Ms Gunjan, Mr Agam Nigaam and Prashant Tamang – Indian Idol 2007 – was still reverberating in the three cities where they performed as part of CHARINDAA’s 2008 fundraiser effort.

Sonu Nigaam in "CHARINDAA's WorldOnDemand-NAB Sensational Sonu Nigaam Tour of Australia, 2008". [Photo: John Kumar]

At the end of the tour, CHARINDAA, a volunteer-run charity organisation in Australia which has a 10-year goal of raising $1m for charities through Indian Arts promotions, had raised a total of $220,000 in the three years since its inception. Apart from enabling CHARINDAA to raise funds for The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre Appeal, the tour also enabled CHARINDAA to continue to present top-quality Indian Arts events in Australia.

Over 4,000 people in Sydney (Friday 25 April), some 2,000 people in Melbourne (Saturday 26 April) and about 650 people in Adelaide (Sunday 27 April) will remember the performances not only for the scintillating music and showmanship that is now associated with the Indian legend Sonu Nigaam, but also for the part they all played in raising funds for a very worthy cause – the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre Appeal.

CHARINDAA donated profits from this tour of AUD $60,000 to the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre Appeal; a contribution that will support the efforts of the Austin Medical Hospital in Melbourne to build a state-of-the art cancer facility. During the three days of the CHARINDAA Tour, many Bollywood music enthusiasts in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were taken on a musical journey by Sonu Nigaam, undoubtedly, one of the most compelling entertainers of our time.

Sonu Nigaam enthralls. [Photo: John Kumar]

The star-performer was accompanied by Ms Gunjan, Agam Nigaam a band of excellent musicians from India and also by the young Prashant Tamang, the Indian Idol 2007.

This has been a significant tour for CHARINDAA in many respects: Firstly, the organisation is AUD $60,000 closer to its financial goal of raising $1 million in ten years for worthy charities in Australia and India through the medium of Indian arts. With this, CHARINDAA inches a step closer to its 10-year target of raising $1m for charities through its activities. So far, CHARINDAA has raised $220,000 in the three years since its inception. Secondly, CHARINDAA also ventured into a hitherto unchartered territory for the organisation: Online Ticketing. CHARINDAA’s volunteers developed an online ticketing and seat allocation system to sell tickets for all three concerts, although Ticketek also sold tickets for the Sydney concert. We are very pleased with the success of this effort. Thirdly, CHARINDAA also presented a concert in Adelaide, a city that has often been forgotten on the touring map when it comes to Indian Arts events.

CHARINDAA has so far raised $220,000

CHARINDAA could not have achieved this tremendously successful tour without the tireless efforts of its volunteer team, the CTEAM, in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. From conceptualising the tour to its execution on the day of the concerts and winding up afterwards, CHARINDAA's CTEAM has worked very hard behind the scenes.

The Sonu Nigaam Tour -- a splash of colour and music. [Photo: John Kumar]

No task is difficult for this passionate and committed group of people that we call the CTEAM. This team defines CHARINDAA and what it is today, and CHARINDAA is deeply indebted to each and every one of them.

As in the past, CHARINDAA’s effort this year was generously supported by many sponsors (for a full list of sponsors of this tour, please click here).

Our sponsors included World On Demand, Nash Patel The Good Guys, NAB, Intellisys Technology, Wipro, India Tourism, Qantas, Infosys, Best and Less Travel, Indian Mart, Gujarat NRE Resources, The Spice Club Restaurant, and O'Donnell & Co. We thank all of our sponsors for their support and their faith in CHARINDAA’s work. Their support and the support of all of our Partners have played a critical role in the success of “CHARINDAA’s WorldOnDemand-NAB Sensational Sonu Nigaam Tour of Australia, 2008”.

The Sensational Sonu Nigaam Tour -- sensational stuff... [Photo: John Kumar]

Prashant Tamang, Indian Idol 2007, sings in the Sensational Sonu Nigaam Tour... [Photo: John Kumar]

We were overwhelmed by the support of CHARINDAA's Partners on this tour. These included CINESTAR Channel, the organisation that arranged the tour. Apart from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, the three cities that CHARINDAA presented in, CINESTAR Channel also sold the tour to promoters in Auckland, Brisbane and Perth. CHARINDAA also thanks its Media Partners (print media, radio and TV), Ticketing Partners, etc. We had several Indian stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide that sold tickets to the concerts.

We take this opportunity to make a special mention of Billu (from Billus' Eatery, Sydney) Bob Singam (from Bala's Cafe, Melbourne) and Rupinder Singh (from Maya Masala, Adelaide) who helped CHARINDAA with our catering needs during the tour.

We have been overwhelmed by the positive and constructive feedback from our patrons. We thank our patrons for their continuing strong support and for their trust in CHARIDAA as an organisation; an organisation that is committed to promoting quality Indian arts events and raising funds for worthy causes. With their continued support, CHARINDAA is confident of achieving its goal. A full collection of all the tour feedback from our patrons is available here.

The Sensational Sonu Nigaam Tour -- excellent feedback... [Photo: John Kumar]

The tour received excellent media coverage. Please check the CHARINDAA Media Page for all the pre-tour previews and interviews as well as the post-tour reviews.

You can obtain more information on CHARINDAA's Sensational Nigaam Tour, including seating plans at the various venues, the online radio advert, descriptions of all the artistes, and much more by following this link.

And so the curtains close on yet another year of achievement. The C-Team will now take a break to recoup its energies – not for long, but enough to start planning its next promotion! As we do that, let us take a moment to reflect on CHARINDAA’s journey so far:

The CHARINDAA journey so far:

March 2004	CHARINDAA is formed as a charitable organisation with the aim of mobilising one million dollars over the next ten years for needy charities through the vehicle of Indian arts promotions in Australia.
September 2005	The Inaugural CHARINDAA Event is staged in Sydney and Melbourne: A mega music extravaganza featuring A. R. Rahman, the legendary Bollywood music composer, and over 10 top names in the Bollywood music scene. CHARINDAA donated AUD $120,000 to Udayan, a charity based in Calcutta India that supports over 300 children afflicted by leprosy. Steve Waugh, the Patron of Udayan received the cheque from CHARINDAA at the conclusion of the A. R. Rahman tour.
July 2006	Udayan decides to construct a home for juvenile sufferers of leprosy in Kolkata. This home will be called the “CHARINDAA Sishu Kalyan Mandir”.
August 2006	The second CHARINDAA event, the Festival of Indian Music in Australia (FIMA 2006) is staged in Sydney and Melbourne. The Festival presents eight concerts over two weekends, and brings music of different genres under one banner. It provides an opportunity to Indian expatriate audiences to celebrate Indian music. It also provides a vehicle to expose mainstream Australian audiences to the richness and diversity of Indian culture.
September 2006	CHARINDAA donates AUD $15,000 each to The Fred Hollows Foundation and The East West Overseas Aid Foundation (total of $30,000).
April 2008	CHARINDAA’s third event, “The WorldOnDemand-NAB Sensational Sonu Nigaam Tour of Australia, 2008” was presented in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide with Bollywood sensation Sonu Nigaam, Gunjan, Agam Nigaam and Indian Idol 2007, Prashanth Tamang. The event raised AUD$60,000 for The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre (ONJCC) Appeal. The CEO of the Austin Hospital, Dr Brendon Murphy, accepted the cheque from CHARINDAA on behalf of The ONJCC Appeal at the Melbourne Town Hall.
May 2008	CHARINDAA donates AUD $60,000 to The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre Appeal.

And with this, the total amount raised by CHARINDAA stands at $220,000 in the three years since its existence. As CHARINDAA marches purposefully towards its target of raising $1m in 10 years, the organisation thanks its volunteers (the CTEAM), its artistes, its patrons, its sponsors, its supporters and its partners.