MUMBAI: Instrumentalist Niladri Kumar, who has worked with several Bollywood composers like AR Rahman, Pritam and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, has put his 100 year old sitar up for auction, and the money that it brings will support musical education for orphan girls. However, before the auction, Kumar will play his sitar one last time at the Stay UPRooted concert at Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai. Other musicians supporting the cause at the concert will be Padmashri Vijay Ghate, Rashid Ali, Sheldon D'Silva, Taufiq Qureshi and Prince Mulla.

The surprise package on the show will be a choir of orphan girls from Handmaidens Orphanage, Vasai, which has been put together by Kumar along with Voctronica vocalist Arjun Nair, and music teacher- Jennifer Bansode. Prince Mulla’s NGO- Explore You, has been instrumental in providing support to these children, and has also provided music training to underprivileged kids across the country.

Kumar will, for the first time ever, be seen playing the surbahar, sitar and a zitar together at the Stay UPRooted concert. Apart from this, he will also be performing with the children’s choir. The group includes 12 girls, who have been selected from 115 children staying at the Vasai orphanage. They were trained for close to a month for the upcoming performance. “This is the first time that I have taught a fresh bunch of kids. We have managed to create a heartfelt rendition together. I do not expect them to excel on stage, but want people to feel their soul; a story of what they have been through at such a young age,” said Nair.

Nair was approached by Kumar to train the kids. The two earlier worked together on Kumar’s musical single ‘Head to Heart’. Nair will also be seen conducting the concert for this debutant music group.

Talking about the idea of auctioning the sitar Kumar said, “This sitar kick started my music journey when I was seven. I hope through this auction, it now will be able to carve the way for many future budding talents of our country.”

Nair applauded Kumar’s effort of auctioning his 100 year old sitar stating, “Someone like Niladri Kumar, who represents Indian music on a global platform, auctioning his first sitar ever, makes it a legacy item. And for him to auction it selflessly is a gigantic thing.”

The event will take place on 30 October 2015 at 7:30 pm, at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai.