Annual Fundraising Dinner (the Hindu Temple Of Greater Chicago)

THE HINDU TEMPLE OF GREATER CHICAGO
10915 Lemont Road, Lemont, IL 60439
welcomes you to its 
ANNUAL FUNDRAISING DINNER
with
An Enchanting Dance & Musical Program
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Time: 4:30 PM 9:30 PM
At Sama Rathi Auditorium 
(10915 Lemont Road, Lemont, IL 60439)

Funds raised at this event will be used for 
Ratnangi Kavachams for 
Sri Sita Devi, Sri Ramachandra, 
Lakshmana Swami & Anjaneya, 
Replacement of 20-year old HVAC units for 
Balaji, Krishna & Rama Mandirs and 
will also be treated as general donations

ANNUAL FUNDRAISING DINNER
PROGRAM

4:30 pm - 9:30 pm

² 4:30 pm Social Hour
² 5:15 pm Seating
² 5:30 pm Invocation Temple Priest
² 5:35 pm Welcome Address Rohini Udupa 
² 5:40 pm Presidents Address Tilak Marwaha
² 5:45 pm Projects Information
Updates and New Projects Bhima Reddy
² 6:00 pm Dance Program 
Presented by Students of Bollywood Rhythms 
Choreographed by Bhagya Nagesh
² 6:15 pm Music Program 
Presented by Sunita Kapur and Omkar Deshpande 
Music by Hitesh Master and Orchestra SAREGAMA

² 7:30 pm Dinner
² 8:00 pm Music Program Continues 
² 9:30pm Vote of Thanks Prasanna Reddy



Tickets: $35 per person (Dinner included)


ABOUT THE ARTISTS
----------------- 
Sunita Kapur has a Sangeet Visharad from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai. She has trained in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music under the guidance of Gurus Pundit Govind Prasad Jaipurwale, Smt. Shashikala Kaikini and Pandit Sudhindra Bhaumik. She sings and teaches a variety of styles. She has been a lead singer in Bollywood, performing worldwide with many film celebrities like Sonu Nigam, Anu Malik, Sudesh Bhosle, Laxmikant Pyarelal, and others. She has sung for advertisements, theater, TV shows, radio and leading music companies.

Omkar Deshpande: Television played a pivotal role in Omkar's singing career. His television ventures include various TV music competitions . He was a finalist in on Zee network’s “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" show and one of the finalists in the Indian Idol contest ; he was a favorite amongst the judges. He became a known face in the households because of Indian Idol. He has performed over 350 shows till date in the US and all over India.

Hitesh Master is a man with a successful dream. Started Orchestra “SAREGAMA” and gained popularity in the US within a very short period of time. His gifted talent for music has been passed on from generations. Hitesh has four Gurus: Ustad Rajankhan and Ustad Bashirkhan of Dewas from Mewati Gharana whom he learned Hindustani classical music; he learned harmonium-playing from Pandit Rambaba Petiwale and Pandit Mohan Junior. He has obtained a Masters degree in music from Gandharva Mahavidyalay of Ahmedabad in singing. He was also associated in Bollywood for 12 years, working with Shankar-Jaikishan duo. Hitesh Master is now based in Chicago, Illinois teaching and performing music.

Bollywood Rhythms is a Naperville, Illinois based Dance Studio, It was established in 2008 and since then, it has trained few hundred students. It has also conducted many dance workshops and private performances at various locations in and around Chicago. Bollywood Rhythms has students from all ages (from 3 to 60+) and all ethnic backgrounds. Bollywood Rhythms aims to be at the forefront of professional dance training by providing a unique blend of international entertainment. The studio is dedicated, committed and passionate about all facets of entertainment and it aims to preserve, develop, and teach the traditions of the Indian performance arts by showcasing the unique styles from various states of India.


CAPITAL PROJECTS - UPDATES AND NEW PROJECTS
-------------------------------------------
Prasadam Kitchen: Thanks to the generosity of many of you, the kitchen expansion work has been completed very successfully and is in full operation for over a month now. We have received the occupancy permit from the village of Lemont without any conditions. We have installed high quality Stainless Steel walls in the entire kitchen and furnished 95% new Stainless steel equipment. The construction contract was let out at $112,500 with a 10% contingency and you will be pleased to know that the final cost is $121,600 resulting in just 8% extras. 
Ramalaya Elevator: Engineering and design drawings have been mostly completed and are being issued for competitive bidding. We have a slight delay in resolving the shortage incoming power capacity. Construction is now scheduled to start in December 2013 and completed by March 2014. The elevator Exit / Entrance on the Ramalaya Mahamantap level will be between the Krishna Mandir entrance door and the Ramakoti. The all inclusive estimated cost is about $110,000.
Ratnangi Kavachams for Sri Rama Parivar: The current Silver Kavachams for Sri Rama Parivar are mismatched and we are in the process of making new Ratnangi Kavachams. These new Kavachams will be made of heavy gauge copper and plated with 2 mils of 24 carets Gold. The order has been placed with Sri Balaji Sirpanilayam of Chennai, India and the work is about 25% complete. Sri Rama Kavacham will include 29,500 Semi precious stones, 500 grams of silver and 65 grams of gold plating. Sri Sita Devi Kavacham will include 19,000 Semi precious stones, 350 grams of silver and 50 grams of gold plating. Sri Lakshmana Swamy’s will include 28,500 semi precious stones, 500 grams of silver and 60 grams of gold plating while that of Sri Anjaneya Swamy will include 16,000 Semi precious stones, 300 grams of silver and 40 grams of gold plating. We expect that all the four Ratnangi Kavachams will be delivered in time for Sri Ramanavami festival of 2014. The total cost is 39 Lakh Rupees (about $64,000) plus shipping. 
HVAC Units Replacement for Sri Ramalaya: The 20 year old HVAC unit for the Krishna Mandir is non functional and beyond repair and must be replaced. Also two more Ramalaya HVAC units, each of 10 ton cooling capacity and 450,000 BTU heating capacity are failing and must be replaced soon for reliability. The estimated cost of removing all these three old HVAC units and replacing them with new units is about $34,000 and generous donations from you devotees are solicited to accomplish this urgently needed work. Please donate generously.