India Abroad - December 30, 2011

Right, the Sankara Eye Hospital in
Bangalore; below, a new Sankara
hospital under construction
in Ludhiana
ARTHUR J PAIS
When Janani Krishnamurthy
speaks she is all American. And that
is natural, for the college student
has been raised in America and is
indeed an American. But get her
into a saree and make her sing, you
may find it difficult to believe she
has not grown up in India.
Recently, at a Kanmaniye event
organized in the Bay Area, she sang
along with her father the Telugu
classic Murali Haayi Haayiga
Aamni Sage, a song from the 1950s
that also has a Hindi version, Kuhoo
Kuhoo,by Lata Mangeshkar.
The Kanmaniye event was yet
another occasion to raise money for Sankara
Eye Foundation, one of the finest examples of
non-resident Indians supporting a cause that
became an apparent success since it was
launched in 1998. From 8,000 free eye sur-
geries per year at one Sankara Eye Hospital
(SEH) in 1998, the foundation facilitated
more than 120,000 free eye surgeries in 2011
at eight SEHs across the country – in Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Dadra and Nager Haveli and Uttaranchal. A
ninth hospital coming up in Ludhiana at a
cost about $4.5 million – much of that money
raised here – is scheduled to open April 1,
A team with a vision
The Sankara Eye Foundation aims to eradicate curable blindness by 2020
2012. It has 100 beds and will serve Punjab’s
rural poor. A fundraiser for it was held recent-
ly in Los Angeles, says Krishnamurthy, a soft-
ware engineer, who is the chairman of the
SEF executive committee.

Though economic times are difficult, he
said, people still come forward to help the
cause, attending the musical events and other
fund raising activities, he said, because they
can see the results. Transparency has played
an important role in making the project a suc-
cess, he adds. In recent years, SEF has been
collecting around $3 million a year. “We
should be able to collect 10 times that amount
if there is more awareness of the work we are
doing,” Krishnamurthy adds.
He also says SEF is planning to buy land in
Kanpur for its tenth hospital. SEF aims to
build at least 20 hospitals in India by 2020
and play a major role in eradicating curable
blindness by 2020, he continues.
The Gift of Vision program is based on an
‘80/20’ model, he says, four free eye surgeries
are performed for each paid surgery.
Funds collected under specific programs
are sent in its entirety to India, he adds. In
addition, SEF provides extensive feedback to
its donors on how the money is used. SEF has
been rated 4-star by Charity Navigator.

;Page A58
An entrepreneur who won’t shirk his civic responsibilities
Ranjodh Singh, well known for turning a failing company
into a big success, has become the chairman and manag-
ing director of GS Radiators in Ludhiana. But the globe-
trotting Singh spends many hours a week on a cause close
to his heart.
“I am a humble servant of Sankara,” he says, referring to
the Sankara eye hospital he supports in Ludhiana.
Though the hospital project has raised about $4 million of
the $4.5 million needed to go operational, Singh’s backing
helps to cut the red tape and facilitate construction.
Singh is a man of many talents. He has a diploma in
mechanical engineering but his interests embrace music
and education.
“We were glad to have him at our recent fundraising in
LA,” says Murali Krishnamurthy, who runs the Sankara
Eye Foundation in America and who has, with
the help of over 100 volunteers and a number
of Indian-American organizations, raised
money for nine hospitals and one in the mak-
ing in Kanpur. “In the past decade people like
Singh in other centers have helped our projects
considerably, with their donations, and mate-
rial support.”
Ranjodh Singh is president of Ramgarhia
Educational Council, which runs six educa-
tional institutions in Ludhiana, including the
Ramgarhia Girls College and the Ramgarhia
Elementary School. The society says he is the
youngest president of REC and perhaps of any
college affiliated with Punjab University. REC

is six decades old. His other passions include
music and photography.
Singh is also the president of the Punjab
Lalit Kala Academy and finance secretary of
Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar,
Ludhiana. He is also the president of SPIC
MACAY-Ludhiana Chapter- the Society for
Promotion of Indian Classical Music Art and
Culture amongst Youth.
“Ranjodhji is our core group member in
Ludhiana and has been involved in this hospi-
tal work, right from the ... Bhoomi Pooja,”
Krishnamurthy says.
Ranjodh Singh
– Arthur J Pais

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