A tribute to the king of ghazals - late Jagjit Singh

To pay a tribute to the legend, the king of ghazals and its former President late Jagjit Singh, PRAYAS - a national level organization committed to the cause of marginalized children – joined hands with the eminent ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas and brought a great ghazal evening to mark his fond remembrance amidst standing ovation of the packed audience in Ashok Hotel yesterday night. Pankaj Udhas rendered a series of heartwarming ghazals in the memory of late Jagjit Singh at Ashok Hotel, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

On the occasion, PRAYAS, in association with ITDC, also launched “Ashok-Prayas Project” – a CSR project with two components ‘Hunar Se Rozgar’ and ‘Community-based ITDC-Prayas Project’.  Another project being launched is ‘Dwarka-Prayas Educational Project’ for the unreached and marginalized in partnership with the leading milk manufacturers of Maharashtra, ‘DwarkaMilk’. 
This evening was organized at the initiative of noted ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, who is also deeply associated with PRAYAS and the common cause to support the marginalized children and communities across the country. The occasion was graced by the honourable Minister of Tourism, Government of India, Mr. Subodh Kant Sahai as the Chief Guest, honourable Member of Parliament, former Union Minister and nationally acclaimed actor, Mr. Shatrughan Sinha, who is also the President of Prayas, the Chairman & Managing Director of ITDC, Dr. Lalit K. Panwar, the Vice-Chairman of Dwarka Group, Mr. Kapil Devprakash Rajput and the General Secretary of PRAYAS, Mr. Amod K. Kanth. The idea was to create a memorable event combining the immortal songs of Jagjit Singh in the voice of noted ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas with the cause of marginalized children and youth.

The launching of Ashok-Prayas Project - Hunar Se Rozgar and Community-based ITDC Prayas Project - in five ITDC Ashok hotels in Delhi (2), Guwahati (Assam), Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Patna (Bihar), marks the beginning of a highly innovative skill development and livelihood program. Under ‘Hunar Se Rozgar’ component, ITDC will provide training and jobs to marginalized children of PRAYAS in five Ashok hotels, while, under Community based component, ITDC will cover PRAYAS center near its hotel to provide education, food and other services which are necessary for inclusion of marginalized children in the society. 
The leading milk manufacturer of Maharashtra, ‘Dwarka Milk’ also joined hands with PRAYAS to launch an education program for unreached population under the banner of Dwarka-Prayas Project. Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity, Dwarka Group strongly advocates the necessity to help the marginalized and will reach out to the poorest among the poor through the network of PRAYAS across the country. 
The Legendary singer, king of ghazals, Jagjit Singh is no more with us, but, his immortal voice will always remain resounding our homes and hearts for all times to come. The best ever versatile renditions of Jagjit Singh shall keep moving the deepest corners of our emotions and  thoughts everywhere, particularly the millions of homes and programmes in the evenings. Jagjit Singh was a remarkable human being, a man of parts and multifaceted personality with friends and admirers across the globe. He associated himself with thousands of individuals and organizations serving noble causes to help the poor and downtrodden.