Home > Projects > Student Sponsorship
Goal :
To sponsor underprivileged children who display an interest in and aptitude for the traditional arts so that they may pursue formal education and cultural opportunities in the performing arts.
History and Past Projects: While this project has taken several forms, the largest and most expansive initiative to date was through the World Children’s Festival in the Netherlands.
K.Prabhakaran Tappatam dancer chosen
to attend World Children's Festival in 2002.
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A Personal Side:K. Prabhakaran, one of the boys from the trip, has maintained contact with Aseema and blossomed into a self-sufficient, talented young performer. Prabhakaran first met Devika through a series of outreach workshops at the Dakshina Chitra arts and learning colony on Chennai’s city limits. From a very poor family, Prabhakaran had limited exposure to the arts that came naturally to him. Despite his rowdy disposition, Devika saw the potential for a fine musician, and invited him to the World Festival in Holland. Prabhakaran reveled in his six weeks of exposure to a country very different than his own. His horizons expanded exponentially and he gained great respect from his friends at home upon return, especially after his invitation to meet with the President of India at the palace in New Delhi. Now 19 years old, he has honed the art of traditional drumming and earns his own income through teaching other children drumming and dancing. He uses these funds to pay for his own college education where he is learning mechanical training and tool-making.