The KZN community was left in awe after a breathtaking benefit concert by one of India’s leading singers, Pratibha Singh Baghel backed by the incredibly talented KZN Philharmonic Orchestra on Heritage Day.
The concert, titled ‘Symphony of Love’ was held at the Durban ICC Auditorium to help raise funds for a 20-room unit for terminally ill in-patients at Khanya Hospice in Umkomaas.
Pratibha, who is also an actress, has lent her voice to many movies, as well the hit web series Bandish Bandits. She was supported by the 35-piece KZN Philharmonic Orchestra as well as an eight-member international band featuring some of India’s leading musicians.
The songstress is known for having the ability to effortlessly sing a broad range of genres, including hits of other well-known international stars such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Jagjit Singh, Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali.
She has also featured in the highly acclaimed stage production Mughal-e-Azam, and played the lead role and sang in the theatrical musical play Umrao Jaan Ada that was adapted for stage by the music duo Salim Sulaiman.
Pratibha’s talent and vast range appealed to all ages at last Sunday’s concert.
Symphony of Love showcased the rich musical traditions of India with western classical music.
“This event was the best in my years of social cohesion and heritage celebration. It was well attended and this is a great start to our plans for the proposed in-patient unit in Umkomaas,” said Neil McDonald, CEO of Khanya Hospice.
He added that this unit is not something that will simply be nice to have, but is a necessity as they have many sick people to attend to in the area.
McDonald praised the artist and orchestra for playing their part in hospice’s fundraising.
“Khanya Hospice is a registered NGO that offers free palliative nursing care, and we have to do our own fundraising,” he explained.
“We are always open to donations and fundraising ideas such as this recent one, so a big thank you to all our supporters for making this a night to remember.”
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