Zindagi Presents is a benefit concert series I created last year, and the premise is simple. At Duke, I found many benefit events ended up featuring the same assortment of artistic groups. I wanted to create a program that had a diverse set of performances rather than the usual collection of a capella groups and dance teams.

So in 2008 I organized a benefit concert at Duke. My roommate's mother had recently passed away from lung cancer, so I selected two of the nation's leading lung cancer foundations - the Thomas Labrecque Foundation as well as the Canary Foundation - to sponsor the event.

This semester, I'm organizing another benefit for a cause closer to my heart. It's called "Zindagi Presents ... The Children's Hearing Institute." We're donating all funds to the Children's Hearing Institute, a clinic in Manhattan that helps the profoundly deaf hear again through cochlear implant technology.

The institute's motto is "so that all may hear the universal language of music," an ambition that I feel makes this concert very fitting. I myself am hearing-impaired, and Dr. Simon Parisier, the president of the institute, was able to almost completely restore hearing in my right ear, allowing me to pursue my dream of becoming a musician. I am hoping to give back what little I can to the institution and surgeon who helped me hear again.

The event is Thursday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. in White Lecture Hall 107 on East Campus. Our current lineup includes the popular folk-blues band Delta Rae, singer-songwriter Chris Bryant, and my personal favorite, "Signsations," a group of children from around the Triangle area who express song lyrics through sign language. During intermission, there will be a presentation about the Children's Hearing Institute and hearing impairment in general.

Amar Parikh

Duke University Class of 2009