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Ravi Shankar has been named the first recipient of the George Harrison Humanitarian Award. He was presented with the honor by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF on Oct. 10 following his concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Shankar was recognized for his efforts in saving the lives of children, and his involvement with the Concert for Bangladesh, which he and George Harrison helped make happen in 1971. “George Harrison and Ravi Shankar have been stalwart advocates on behalf of the world’s children their entire careers. Every day 24,000 children die of preventable causes. We are pleased to honor Ravi Shankar with the George Harrison Humanitarian Award for his commitment to reducing that number and believing in zero,” said Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in announcing the award. Olivia Harrison, founder of The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF, said, “The Concert for Bangladesh was one of the most ambitious humanitarian efforts in rock music history. The concert focused global attention on the crisis in Bangladesh and raised the consciousness of other musicians and millions of their young fans to a new awareness of UNICEF and its mission in doing whatever it takes to save a child.” For more information: 5 Indians on Amazon’s greatest music albums Good news for Indian music aficionados. Five Indian artistes have made it to Amazon.com’s 100 Greatest World Music albums of all time. The list includes albums of Asha Bhosle, Ustaad Ali Akbar Khan, Shujaat Hussain Khan and A.R. Rahman. These artistes share space with some of the most popular and respected world musicians like Bob Marley, French-Algerian Rachid Taha and Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Amazon.com is an American multinational electronic commerce company and a major online music and video retailer across the world. The highest scoring Indian artist on the list is Pandit Ravi Shankar, whose album The Ravi Shankar Collection: Live… sits at number 20. Rahman’s Lagaan soundtrack is on number 44, while Bhosle’s Precious Platinum that was released last year is on number 37. On number 38 is revered sarod player Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, who along with his colleague Shankar is known to have popularised Indian classical music in the west. While the above-mentioned albums are all on Indian labels, 2004-Grammy nominated sitar player Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan has made it to number 52 with his fusion album on an American label. The album, Lost Songs Of The Silk Road, by Ghazal features a beautiful synthesis of Indian and Persian music. While calling it an honour Khan says it’s about time the Indian government made a note too, "It’s great to be rated amongst some of the finest musicians of the world," he said. Bhosle’s son and manager, Anand, speaking to HT from Bahrain, said, “It was for her 75th birthday last year. As usual she put her best foot forward.” Rahman, who is currently in Los Angeles, was unavailable for comment, but director-producer Ashutosh Gowariker said, "It’s great news." Read more Over 2500 Volunteers Mark Gandhi’s Birthday through Service Activities
SAALT’s Be the Change National Day of Service Inspires Civic Engagement through Community Service  Washington DC- Over 2,500 participants around the country marked the first Saturday of October by giving back to their communities through Be the Change, SAALT’s National Day of Service. On October 3, community members including students, retirees, and professionals contributed their time and energy to service activities in Atlanta, Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Washington DC, as well as over 50 other cities and campuses."SAALT’s Be the Change National Day of Service takes place annually near Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday to commemorate his message of community service and action," explained Aaditi Dubale, SAALT’s National Be the Change Coordinator. "This year, volunteers participated in a variety of activities including restoring a water-damaged food pantry in Rhode Island; constructing homes in Detroit and Alabama; assisting with the Boston Pancreatic Research Walk; and registering individuals to join the Be the Match Bone Marrow Registry nationwide."  Participants echoed Mahatma Gandhi’s messages of compassion and service when they spoke about the day’s impact. "By being involved in the community, we not only give our lives perspective but we create a better world for all members of our community to live in," noted Swathi Bonda, a volunteer in Washington DC. "I really value that we, as South Asians, come together every year in support of this mission." The theme of this year’s event, Giving in Action, also resonated with participants. Tom Abraham from Rutgers University - New Brunswick, one of the many campuses that held Be the Change events, remarked that the day was "an eye opening experience for me. I can’t believe about 20 of us in an hour did enough work to feed 1,800 families." Participating in Be the Change also helped volunteers become more aware of issues in communities that are often invisible. Shikha Prasad, a volunteer through Ohio State University, shared that "going to ASHA Ray of Hope helped me realize that domestic violence still exists in our community." Be the Change partners and sponsors affirmed the values of the event. "Coming together to help our neighbors and communities develop their potential clearly  reflects the meaning of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous ’Be the Change’ quote that we celebrated today," said Sodexo’s Vice President of Food & Nutrition Product Development and Pan Asian Network Group (PANG) Chairperson Nitu Gupta. "If we don’t take a leadership role in enhancing the lives of others...who will? As I reflect on the uplifting impact of this day of service-it just makes sense. I am so proud of PANG and Sodexo’s partnership with SAALT and look forward to continuing this team effort to make it a better tomorrow"Kick-off events featured inspiring speakers including Kalpen Modi, Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement at the White House (Washington DC); Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org (San Francisco); Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (New York); and Manisha Bhatt, Family Law Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services (Boston).  Through Be the Change, SAALT offers the opportunity for community members to take action by serving as a resource for individuals and organizations that seek to serve in their communities each October. Starting with its inception at the University of Michigan in 1997, Be the Change has grown to become a national event sponsored by SAALT that draws a diverse range of community members who fulfill Mahatma Gandhi’s widely-recognized message: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."####
For additional quotes from participants and pictures from the event,
please contact saalt@saalt.org. SAALT is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to fostering full and equal participation by South Asians in American civic and political life. 
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Ravi Shankar honored with first George Harrison Humanitarian Award
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