News

Rug & Home owner sets fundraiser for vision charity

By Bill Moss, Published: September 15, 2013

Rakesh Agarwal, the CEO of Rug & Home, has led two trips to India to provide cataract surgery and other health care services to the poor in rural India. Agarwal has set a benefit show on Sunday at the Flat Rock Playhouse to help pay for another trip.

Agarwal's non-profit organization, Vision Express, traveled in December 2011 and in March 2013 for three-day health camps in the Mirzapur area outside of Varanasi, India. The U.S. team consisted of physicians, nurses, students and local volunteers who joined with local Indian doctors and resident doctors from Benares Hindu University to provide health care to nearly 3,000 patients during each trip. For the vast majority of patients, it was their first ever visit to a doctor.
"The takeaway from these camps was that it is impossible to fix even a small fraction of the problems that many of these individuals face, but we can make a difference in at least some lives, and the best way to do this is to restore sight through corrective cataract operations for women who cannot afford these surgeries," Agarwal says. "The goal for 2014 is to perform 2,000 cataract surgeries and to help many, many more women in need."
Agarwal has announced a benefit for the Vision Express effort. On Sunday, Sept. 22, the Nrithyanjali School of Dance in Greenville, S.C., will present Krishna, the epic tale of the Hindu God Lord Vishnu, at the Flat Rock Playhouse Main Stage. The dance drama leads the audience on a journey through Krishna's life, filled with mischief and adventure and interspersed with teaching of duty, consequences and virtue — the doctrines of karma and dharma.
Music is by a six-member ensemble that includes male and female singers, flute, violin and percussion. The show is directed by Sunitha Raj, a renowned Bharatanatym dancer and performer and a popular movie star in India. She founded the Nrithyanjali School of Dance in Greenville 15 years ago.
Tickets for the 3 p.m. performance on Sunday, Sept. 22, are $35. For details go to visionexpress.net or flatrockplayhouse.com. Tickets are available at the Flat Rock Playhouse box offices in Flat Rock and downtown.