ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Community members are invited to enjoy an evening of uplifting Indian music while supporting local students in need at an upcoming fundraiser hosted by the local nonprofit VI-SH Koranne Foundation.

The nonprofit will present its fifth annual Mehfil-E-Ghazal concert, “An Evening of Ghazals where Ragas meet Bollywood,” at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 26 at Chinmaya Mission, 3231 Ramos Circle in Sacramento.

The event aims to raise funds for the foundation’s Laptop Scholarship Project, which supports high school seniors experiencing homelessness as they prepare to enter college by providing funds to purchase a laptop.

 

Project implementors with the Elk Grove Unified School District SAFE Center Aeishley Singh, left, and Lennie Holmes, right, pose with student laptop scholarship recipient Ciana, center, with her new laptop in 2024. 

The fundraiser also intends to bring awareness to the challenges faced by homeless students in the Elk Grove Unified School District.

According to VI-SH Koranne Foundation founder and director Heera Koranne Kulkarni, the district’s Students and Families Empowerment Office, known as the SAFE Center, is currently serving more than 1,800 homeless students this school year alone. With about 20 of those students expected to begin college this fall, Kulkarni said the foundation hopes to raise enough funds from the event to provide each teen with a new laptop.

Drawing on her time as an Elk Grove Unified educator, Kulkarni launched the foundation’s Youth Engagement for Success (Y.E.S) program to address gaps in support for students dealing with issues such as homelessness.

“We believe that having the right tools such as a laptop will be a good start for a new college student,” Kulkarni said. “Imagine being stuck in the school library for hours on end to finish your assignments if you did not have your own laptop.”

 

Pictured are Florin High School 2025 laptop scholarship recipients with VI-SH Koranne Foundation founder and director Heera Koranne Kulkarni, left. Photos courtesy of VI-SH Koranne Foundation

“Furthermore, at the Koranne Foundation, we firmly believe in the famous saying from ancient India, ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam,’ which means the whole world is my family. For this reason, we aim to be of service to the community by undertaking various projects,” she added.

The Mehfil-E-Ghazal concert series began in 2018 as a way to raise funds for charitable causes through music. In 2025, with support from the Annapoorna Foundation and the community, the effort raised $10,000 to award 30 scholarships. After a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the event returned in 2024 and continues to grow.

Kulkarni said her inspiration for the project is also personal. She shared that her father was able to complete his college education in India thanks to the support of generous families that helped him along the way: an experience that also shaped her commitment to helping students succeed.

 

Valley High School student, Semiah, poses with VI-SH Koranne Foundation founder and director Heera Koranne Kulkarni, right, after unboxing her laptop in 2025.

Kulkarni also highlighted support from local organizations, including the Rotary Club of Elk Grove, which contributed an $8,000 sponsorship toward the effort.

The VI-SH Koranne Foundation thanked president Elliot Mulberg and the Elk Grove Rotary Club Foundation team for their generosity, which helps expand the nonprofit’s ability to provide laptops to students.

In addition to fundraising, the event offers an opportunity to showcase local artists while fostering unity between the Indian community and the broader community through music and cultural connection.

Purchase tickets or follow up on sponsorship opportunities at zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-ghazal-concert-laptop-scholarship-fundraiser. For more information about VI-SH Koranne Foundation, contact [email protected] or call 916-686-5785.