Auction Benefits Earthquake Victims

Harvard’s Hindu Students Association, Dharma, auctioned and displayed pieces up to $1,700 at an art show yesterday to raise money for the earthquake that devastated the South Asian region in October.

The art show and auction, taking place at the Harvard Center for Government and International Studies, provided a forum for almost 50 students, faculty, and community members to witness images of the South Asian region damaged by the earthquake.

“Our main purpose in doing an art show is really a dual purpose—both to raise awareness and to raise funds,” said Dharma Co-President Vijay Yanamadala ’07. “[We] wanted to visually impact the people who come by seeing how this disaster has effected the area.”

The opening bids for the works total almost $5,000, and the University President’s office has agreed to match the money raised from the event.

Photographs of the landscape and people of South Asia combined with paintings, craftings, and sculptings by South Asian artists to give the event an eclectic array of art forms. The art focused on a culture that is still in recovery, as the disaster caused over 88,000 deaths and left 3.3 million homeless in the Kashmir region of South Asia.

“Most of the images are from South Asia and the region,” said Dharma Co-President Shyam K. Tanguturi ’07. “They are showing various aspects of life in South Asia to allow people to connect with people from Asia and build a bridge between the two cultures.”

Dharma concentrated on the future of the region, not its disastrous past. The title of the show, A Vision of Hope, elucidates the organization’s focus on restoring the strength of the South Asian culture.

“We had shawls and silvers and paintings from the area to show people what is lost and what’s to gain by helping this rich culture grow back,” Tanguturi said.

Photographs by Mustafa Hadi and Ann McGhee’s painting “Old Cherry Tree by the Charles”—the most expensive piece in the auction at $1,700—highlighted the event’s collection. The images of the photographs revealed the reality of life in South Asia while the expensive paintings aided in the fund-raising. Procuring the pieces required an organized effort, according to outreach coordinator Samir V. Rao ’08.

“First thing was to contact artists to get all different kinds of art here—from painting to photography,” said Rao. “To make this art show successful, we wanted to draw an audience by getting work that is popular...[and have] art coming from all over.”

Prior to the auction, S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural Relations, and Iqbal Ahmed from Operation Heartbeat for Kashmir spoke at the Sackler Museum. Following Counter’s speech on a need for aid, Ahmed presented a slide-show presentation, which depicted his first-hand experience helping earthquake victims following the tragedy.

The art show and auction is one of numerous events sponsored by Harvard student groups to aid the victims of earthquake. Proceeds from a comedy show taking place this Saturday in Sanders Theatre will also go to outreach efforts in Kashmir.