The brothers of Delta Sigma Iota, Inc. held the second Sangeet Saagar, a South Asian a cappella competition in which performers from across the country gather to raise money for Sight Saving Academy of India in Stewart Theatre Saturday night.
Sight Saving Academy of India is a nonprofit that helps perform eyesight-saving surgeries on impoverished people in Agra, India. Sunil Parikh, the father of Snehal Parikh, a member of UNC-Chapel Hill’s DSI chapter, started the nonprofit in 1977, according to Anand Chokshi, a sophomore studying biological sciences and the event’s ticket coordinator.
Even donations as small as $20 can help pay for certain procedures that aid with eyesight to a blind or visually impaired patient through the all-volunteer staff. The charity has no administrative expenses; because the staff is made up of volunteers, every dollar donated goes directly to the cause of restoring sight to underprivileged patients, according to the SSAI website.
Service is one of DSI’s three pillars, along with education and unity.
Jugad Bedi, a junior studying mechanical engineering and president of the NC State chapter, said, “I lived in India for six years, and I’ve seen a lot of the community and how poverty is, how sad it is. I’ve done a lot of service in India with the community, we made food and distributed food to people, the less fortunate, and it was a very enriching experience, just to see the smiles on their faces. This fraternity actually encompasses that, we try to do a lot of service. It’s just something that I feel good doing. When we give back to the community, it’s just a whole other feeling.”
Besides supporting the SSAI, DSI also participates in other local and national philanthropies such as Habitat for Humanity, the Museum of Natural Sciences and the South Asian Marrow Association Recruiters. It also participated in NC State’s homegrown Dance Marathon and Service Raleigh.
The organization fosters a communal ethic of service.
“We tend to want to give back to the community every month, and we do that by keeping up with each other,” said Saahj Gosrani, sophomore studying biochemistry and program co-lead. “It doesn’t have to be an organized event between brothers, if I say I want to go to Habitat, like ‘Hey [fraternity brother], you want to come?’ He comes.”
From 20 applicants, six a cappella teams from across the country were chosen to participate in this event. Dhamakapella from Case Western won the competition with Raag from Rutgers as the runner up. Dhunki from University of Texas at Dallas, Spartan Sur from Michigan State University, Dhadkan from Ohio State University and Nuttin’ but V.O.C.A.L.S from Rutgers also made a showing. In addition to the participating teams, the Achordants from UNC-CH and Grains of Time from NC State performed as Exhibition teams.
All proceeds from the event will go to SSAI. Sponsors contributed about $5,000 while ticket sales are estimated to have contributed another $5,000. Packing about half the house, about 430 guests attended Sangeet Saagar this year, a number comparable to last year’s turnout.
Several student organizations supported Sangeet Saagar, including Student Government, the Scholars Program and the UNC Association of Student Governments. Several South Asian restaurants and the Prospect United Methodist Church also chipped in.
The final tally of the proceeds will be announced in the near future, but its organizers estimated the amount to be between $2,000 to $4,000.
Delta Sigma Iota plans on continuing the event.
“We’ll be here next year, if not here, UNC. It’s a new year, new charity, and we hope everyone comes out,” Gosrani said.
Nuttin' But V.O.C.A.L.S, a team from Rutger's University-New Brunswick, performs at Stewart Theatre on Feb 13, 2016. Sangeet Saagar is a south asian a capella competition presented by Delta Sigma Iota. This event was raising money for Sight Saving Academy India, that provides free health care to a rural area near Agra, India.
