When Houston Rocked for Charity – A Fantastic Evening of Classic Rock for a Great Cause

By Partha Chatterjee

HOUSTON: Prometheus Foundation, in partnership with IIT Alumni of Greater Houston (IITAGH), organized the second Rock for Charity event on April 23 at Cullen Theater of Wortham Center in Houston, Texas. It was a memorable evening of super classic rock for a great cause – children, autism and education. It supported two great charities – The Arc of Fort Bend and Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation.

The event was graced by Dr. Anupam Ray, Consulate General of India in Houston, and James Patterson, Fort Bend County Commissioner. They handed checks to the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation and the Arc of Fort Bend office-bearers – Laura Lavigne, Margo Pasko, Prakash Shah and Pankaj Desai.

It was a phenomenal evening of classic rock and east-west fusion by the Horizon Fusion Band. The crowd was awestruck and the energy throughout the show was captivating. The audience loved the show, bursting into applause after every set.

From Dire Straits to Beck to Santana to the seventy-minute long rendition of Pink Floyd, it was a super treat for any classic rock lover.

The audience also included a healthy representation from Houston’s acclaimed Medical Center, who supported the event enthusiastically.

Dr. Subrata Ghosh, the founder and CEO of Prometheus Foundation, said: “I believe in the concept of enjoying quality classic rock, providing platform for budding artists and contributing to charity.” Prometheus Foundation partnered with IITAGH for hosting the event.

The show featured the rare musical prodigy Ritwik Bhattacharya, who enthralled the audience with his God-gifted talent on the guitar and piano. The audience was treated to super percussion, guitar and energy by Rajesh Bose, super drums and vocals by Dr. Subrata Ghosh himself, fantastic vocals and modulation by Shyama Mishra, awesome creativity on the keyboard and vocals by Mukul Singhee, amazing work on the guitar by the good ole Texan bassist Jeff Stocki, guitar and percussion by Powell Simbulan, and finally, great vocals by the young high-school singers Srisha Chakraborty and Abbie Parker.

Partha Chatterjee, the Program Coordinator of the Rock for Charity event, Shamanth Shankar, President of IITAGH, Dhruba Ghose and Melvin Thambi helped execute the event. The show also featured a silent auction of an Oil and Pastel painting ”Tide in Knots” by Shalini Das, a junior at Clements High School from her trip to the great tiger and nature reserve “The Sunderbans” in India.

This concert demonstrated that as a community we always do not have to rely on celebrities to raise money for charity, and when we give back in small ways, we are aware that we have so much more to learn, and we start to live life. The musical magic by Dr. Ghosh’s Horizon Fusion Band and the Rock for Charity event transported us to the realization that classic rock and east-west fusion is an excellent platform to bring people together across nations and cultures. It also reflected the goal of successful Indian Americans of giving back to the community while having fun at enjoyable events.