Canstop's Annual Event - Anita Ratnam's 'MA3KA'

Hello Everyone, Canstop's 12th birthday is around the corner, and what better way to celebrate it than one of Anita Ratnam's own productions - her latest offering - 'MA3KA'. As Ms.Ratnam commented at the press meet, one of Canstop's first fundraisers was conducted by her, and now after 12 years she returns for MA3KA.

MA3KA is a tribute to all the women around us, grandmothers, mothers and daughters – and is a testament to the qualities and values that they bring to us in those capacities in every facet of our lives.It promises to be a refreshingly original production of a one of a kind nature.

From The Hindu:



Art buffs in the city will soon have a chance to witness ‘Ma3ka', a production featuring dancer Anita Ratnam that promises to be an off-beat and rather interesting tribute to women.

The programme, to be held on March 24, at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre, Chetpet, at 7 p.m., will mark the 12th anniversary of Can-Stop, a charitable organisation working in the area of cancer care for the underprivileged.

Addressing a press conference in this connection here on Tuesday, Ms. Ratnam said collaborating with an organisation working for such a cause meant a lot to her, for she herself had lost very close and dear relatives to cancer.

Though the artist has worked on the production keeping in mind three special women in her life — her grandmother, mother and daughter — it would be something every individual can relate to, she said.

“All of us are surrounded by women with names of goddesses like Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Devi, and so on, but we somehow never seem to stop and think how different women enrich our lives,” she said.

Noting that the production would be very urban, contemporary, glamorous, and fun, she said television personality Revathy Sankaran would be the story-teller.

“She lends a very everyday, folksy colour to the narrative that will instantly make the audience feel at ease,” Ms. Ratnam said.

Anil Srinivasan and Vedanth Bharadwaj have scored the music for the production. Ms. Ratnam said the visual aesthetics would be a real departure from the conventional designs.
Children camp

Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan, founder, Can-Stop, outlined the various activities of the organisation, including home visits, referrals and nutritional supplement schemes.

“We also organised a camp for children, called ‘He…Ho…Ha…' where ‘he' stands for health, ‘ho', for hope and ‘ha', for happiness,” she said.

‘Ma3Ka' was an event that would bring together everyone committed to the cause of cancer care and awareness, she added.

Nalini Radhakrishnan, CEO, Media Mix, said she was happy to be associated with organising the event. For details on passes, call: 26284256, 26144560 or 99410 07688, or write to canstop@smfhospital.org.

For more information on MA3KA please visit - http://www.ma3ka.com/

Funds raised from this event will go towards Canstop's Drug Bank which provides for the treatment and medical costs of needy cancer patients.

Please do spread the word ! Hope to see you all on the 24th :)

Stree Spandan Roundup

Hello everyone..so here's a small round up of the post event coverage that we recieved after our 10th anniversary fundraiser - 'Stree Spandan'.

Excerpt from article that appeared in The New Indian Express -

The three dancers will perfectly blend the three classical styles of dance, giving a performance that will linger in minds.
“This is the first time I am performing with other dance exponents,” says Gopika Varma, a master in Mohiniyattam and Abhinaya.
....Can-Stop is an outreach programme of Sundaram Medical Foundation, a voluntary organisation working for Cancer awareness. The proceeds of the event will go to the ‘Drug Bank’ to purchase and distribute free medicines to children on a daily basis. Can-Stop has completed 10 years of service to patients of lower socio-economic background. It organises free screening camps for the lower strata of society on a regular basis, since they are on a mission to detect cancer early, which is then curable in most cases.

Full text here.

Excerpts from the Dance Review that appeared in The Hindu's Friday Review

Can-Stop, an outreach programme of the Sundaram Medical Foundation-Dr.Rangarajan Memorial Hospital, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with ‘Stree Spandan,’ a fund raising programme by well-known dancers Shovana Narayan, Gopika Varm a and Sharon Lowen.

Stree Spandan’ was a tale of three strong women from the Mahabharata — Kunti, Draupadi and Gandhari — whose compelling stories never fail to provide a dramatic high on stage. The dancers representing the classical styles of Kathak, Mohiniattom and Odissi, knew this well. Their solos were based on contemporary texts that threw new light on the characters and their emotional upheavals. S. Janaki’s spirited oratory complimented the dance in this regard.

Full text here.


and in other news : Our partnership with Zara's (The Tapas Bar) to help make the use of the smoking lounge at their premises a more informative sojourn :)

In the smoking lounge, visitors get to look at photos shot by Sharad Haksar and Sunder. Can-Stop, which has completed 10 years of service, is instrumental in getting these photos, which carry anti-smoking messages.

Photos by Sunder show an athletic middle-aged dancer springing above tobacco fumes. A picture of health and happiness, this dancer symbolises the benefits of quitting tobacco.

With cigarette butts, Sharad Haskar shows statistics that prove how much more deadly smoking is than other unnatural causes of death.

While unveiling the ‘photo campaign’, former cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth admitted that he is a smoker. So, he was the right person to talk about its evils.

“It is difficult to get rid of smoking. It started as fun in college, but stayed. I was off tobacco for seven years but relapsed. I badly want to quit smoking.”

Full text.

Stree Spandan in the news

From the pages of The Hindu's Metro Plus :

Dance for a cause

Can-Stop’s fund-raiser, “Stree Spandan”, features well-known classical dancers

Can-Stop presents a classical dance recital titled “Stree Spandan” by well-known artists Gopika Varma, Sharon Lowen and Shovana Narayan at Narada Gana Sabha on March 28, 6 p.m.

The performance will be a blend of classical styles — Mohiniyattam, Odissi and Kathak The proceeds will go towards Can-Stop’s ‘Drug Bank’ for the purchase of medicines for the on-going treatment of children.

Can-Stop is currently into its 10th year of service to patients from the lower socio-economic strata and endeavours to continue to provide improved services to the public as well as cancer patients and their families.

Donor passes, priced at Rs.1,000, Rs. 700, Rs. 500, Rs.300 and Rs. 100 for balcony seating, are available. Contact Can-Stop for donor passes and further information at 26284256.

Can-Stop is a voluntary organisation involved with promoting cancer awareness, early detection through screening camps and counselling for patients and families. It is an outreach programme of Sundaram Medical Foundation.

Article from Alpha Times

The listing from Explocity.com

T-minus just a couple of hours :)

Canstop Presents - "Stree Spandan" March 28th @ 6pm Narada Gana Sabha

Greetings All :)

On the occasion of our 10th anniversary year, Can-Stop presents “Stree Spandan” a classical dance performance featuring renowned artists Smt.Shovana Narayan, Smt.Sharon Lowen and Smt. Gopika Varma.
On stage together for the first time in Chennai, the performance will be a graceful synthesis of Mohiniattam, Kathak and Odissi.


The proceeds of the show will go into the Corpus Fund for our “Drug Bank” – meant for the purchase of the drugs which for the continued treatment of children afflicted with cancer.

Date: 28th March
Time: 6 pm onwards
Venue: Narada Gana Sabha

Donor Passes are available at Rs.1000, 700,500,300 and Rs.100 for the balcony. Please contact us at 2628-4256 for donor passes or more information.

Working together for a common cause CAN make a difference. We hope you can make it for the performance and help support the Drug Bank and the kids who rely on it.