Anil Srinivasan to perform at the fifth edition of Concert in the Dark

CHENNAI: Kalaimamani awardee and pianist Anil Srinivasan is gearing up to organise the fifth edition of ‘Concert in the Dark’ on December 11 at Sathyam Cinemas.

The concert is an initiative to raise funds for Gnanadarshan Seva Home which is a home for visually impaired women and young girls.

Speaking to DT Next he says, “In 2018, my father passed away and I wanted to do something in his memory. I had always contributed to charity homes and had been doing so with Gnanadarshan Seva Home as well. But something triggered in me and I decided to visit the home.

”When I visited, it made all the difference. I could see their difficulties and what they went through. I had always helped them monetarily, but after seeing their condition I knew just giving them money is not going to help and so I wanted to highlight the cause a little more so more people can come and help.

”That’s how the first edition of ‘Concert of the Dark’ happened. “Music ultimately is a responsibility and offers a platform. I thought to myself, ‘how would it be if I cannot see?’, so I blindfolded myself and played the piano. Then I realised that the audience needs to understand empathy; there’s no point if they are going to be using their phones,” he adds.

In the later editions, Anil played the piano blindfolded while the audience sat in complete darkness listening to the pieces he played. He says as a society it is important that we empathise with visually challenged people and understand how lives are affected.

Through the years, this concert has done so well that the home now has a career resource centre that ensures employment of the residents of the home. Talking about what he will be performing at the concert he quickly replies and chuckles, “I will be performing music.”

He continues, “I’ll play popular numbers and classical pieces and there are also a few surprises for the audience.

”He says that he looks forward to creating empathy among the audience. He believes if he is able to achieve that society will change for the better. Divulging details about future editions of the concert he says, “Most of my film industry colleagues wanted me to do a special edition just for them. I spoke to Suhasini Mani Ratnam to have the event at Naam Centre in T Nagar. If everything goes as planned, we’ll have the event in the month of January.

”For more information on ‘Concert in the Dark’ visit https://anilsrinivasan.com/.