Tsunami relief effort blends truth with fiction.Byline: Jim Feehan The Register-Guard It was no accident that the story shared by Eugene storyteller Robert Rubinstein on Sunday was from the country of India. Rubinstein was one of eight Eugene area storytellers who wove wove v. Past tense of weave. wove Verb a past tense of weave wove, woven weave fanciful tales in a fund-raising activity to aid the victims of December's earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The natural disaster has claimed as many as 170,000 lives in India and other South Asia This article is about the geopolitical region in Asia. For geophysical treatments, see Indian subcontinent. South Asia, also known as Southern Asia countries. Rubinstein presented "Sevetree Sachavan," a Hindu folktale folktale, general term for any of numerous varieties of traditional narrative. The telling of stories appears to be a cultural universal, common to primitive and complex societies alike. . The story is about a young woman's love for her husband and her willingness to face the Hindu god of death, Yama, to regain her husband's life. The tale is applicable to the tsunami relief efforts as they both deal with how loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl risk their lives for each other, Rubinstein said. Sunday's event, held at Tsunami Books in south Eugene, featured stories from various Asian countries as told by Rubinstein, Jo Fanning, Mark Lewis, Celeste Celeste is a woman's first name. Celeste may also refer to: in Music
Young, who organized the event, said she got the idea after hearing about a tsunami benefit begun by a storyteller and folklorist in Ithaca, N.Y. Within days, a committee assembled around the idea: Storytellers responded by organizing about 50 benefit storytelling concerts across the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and abroad. "I read about this and thought we could hold one here and that Tsunami Books would be a natural," Young said. The goal is to raise $50,000 in funds worldwide, Young said. Eugene's event attracted about 30 people and netted about $350, she said. "That's not as much as I would have liked to have raised, but it was a consciousness-raising experience," she said. The funds raised will go to Oxfam, Mercy Corps Mercy Corps is a non-profit organization engaged in humanitarian aid and development activities. Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than $1.3 billion in assistance to people in 100 nations. and Save the Children. The organizations were selected based on their accomplishments as cost-effective relief agencies with a long-term commitment to recovery, Young said. Among those in attendance Sunday was Carolina Maloney of Eugene, who said she wanted to donate to tsunami relief efforts and provide a little entertainment for her daughters - Lorian, 6, and Aliana, 3. "I wanted them to hear the storytellers instead of watching television," Maloney said. CAPTION(S): Storyteller Robert Rubinstein shares a Hindu folk tale at Tsunami Books to raise funds for tsunami victims. Chris Pietsch / The Register-Guard |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion