San Francisco: Sankara Nethralaya Bay Area Chapter Mobilizes Community to Fight Preventable Blindness

Bay Area, San Francisco: The Sankara Nethralaya Bay Area Chapter successfully hosted its live dance and music fundraiser, “Swaraa Archanaa and Natya Arpanam for Vision,” raising awareness and funds to eradicate preventable blindness. The event attracted over 350 guests from across the Bay Area.

The program opened with an invocation to Goddess Saraswathi and Jyothi Prajwalana in the presence of Chief Guest Sri Sankar Krishnan, Trustee Sri Ramkumar Yadavalli, Cultural Committee Lead Smt. Samidha Satyam, EVP Sri Shyam Appali, Silicon Andhra and APTA leadership, and Kuchipudi Guru Smt. Sindhu Surendra. A welcome address was delivered by Sri Ramkumar Yadavalli.

The Natya Arpanam for Vision segment featured 69 students presenting 12 themed dance performances, choreographed by leading Bay Area schools—Sanskaar School of Kuchipudi, Shivanoopuram School of Kuchipudi, and Sri Thillai Natya Palli—with synchronized multimedia support by Sri Naveen Nathan and Sri Kant Deshpande.

Chief Guest Sri Sankar Krishnan, a multi-year MESU sponsor and Board Advisor, was honored for his exceptional commitment. Gurus Smt. Samidha Satyam, Smt. Sindhu Surendra, Smt. Sridevi Jayaraman, and all participating students were felicitated for their dedication and cultural contributions.

The Swaraa Arpana for Vision segment showcased captivating musical performances by Sri Pardhu Nemani, Sri Mallikharjuna Rao, Smt. Anjana Sowmya, and Smt. Sumangaly, enjoyed by a housefull audience. Special appreciation was extended to Aurora Vista Foundation, whose support enabled more than 125 eye surgeries.

The Chapter expressed sincere gratitude to Sri Shyam Appali, EVP of Sankara Nethralaya, Smt. Swathi Garu for her voluntary stage décor, and Sri Bala Reddy Indurti, President of Sankara Nethralaya USA, along with Sri Moorthy Rekapalli, Dr. Reddy Urimindi, Sri Vamsi Eruvaram, Sri Ratnakumar Kavuturu, and Sri Govardhan Rao Nidiganti for their leadership and logistical support in making the event a success.

SNUSA thanks Sri. Lalitha Kollipara Family from Bay Area for extending MESU sponsorship in 2026. As you all know, SNUSA Brand Ambassador Sri Prasad Reddy garu generously donated USD 525,000 to establish the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) and to support the organization of a minimum of five MESU eye camps every year.

As part of this initiative, Sri Kumaraswamy Reddy garu served as the local sponsor for the Annamedu–Tirupati eye camp. In recognition of his valuable support and commitment, he was felicitated on stage for his contribution to the successful organization of the Annamedu eye camp..

SNUSA thanks Sri. Pramod and Aparna Sambaraju family, Sita Bharathala family, multiple new Bay Area family and anonymous family for their generous monetary support in 2025 towards the cause of eradication of preventable blindness. The most important part of an event is the self-less voluntary service by the Bay Area Sankara Nethralaya team that made this event a possibility. 

SNUSA thanks all members of the team for bringing the meticulously designed event for the evening on Dec 14th as a grand success by Sri. Kishore Boddu, Sri. Bharath Durga, Sri. Raju Pusapati, Sri. Naveen Nathan, Sri. Kant Deshpande, Smt. Lavanya Duvvi, Smt. Aishwarya Venkat, Smt. Nithyasree KS, Sri. Srikanth Mamidanna, Sri. Sai Theja, and Sri. Adithya Shankar. For more details and to support the organization in its mission to eradicate preventable blindness, please visit www.SankaraNethralayaUSA.org