Dear Friends,

As we recoup and reflect on last weeks “Rock for Hope” concert, Genevieve and I continue to thank all of you who helped…from our head-quarters in Missessauga (Judy & Flavian), to last-minute housing (and so much more) from our amazing Indian Student Society at the University of Toronto students, to the marketing push from our family and friends (Melissa, Muriel, Moe, etc), to our wonderful alliance with TEA (Toronto Environmental Alliance – Franz & Manisha), to our charity AIDIndia (Archana, Dushyant, etc), to MyBindi.com and Daytime Toronto, to MacMillan Theater and its crew, to our print and video designers Shane and Kurt, and of course, a huge thanks to the band, Indian Ocean. 

Did we sell out, no.  Did we know that lovely Toronto is just too small of a town for too many events…well, now we do.  On that day, we think every single event that could have happened, happened.  From Jesus, to Cancer, from TIFF to demonstrations and to constructions.  But in the end, Indian Ocean completely rocked and the crowd clapped and danced along!

We know we did it and it is/was a success of its own.  We touched over 80,000 people with our message, drive and passion.  We will thrive to push forward, with innovation, thought and aspiration to make the world a better place, just like the Yeh Hai Life motto says…”Life, is what you make of it.”  We will continue on our journey to inspire, create and influence as that’s the ability we have in us all, or ‘the genius’.  In the words of Elizabeth Gilbert (author of “Eat, Pray, Love”) in her 2009 TEDtalk, “Ole” to you, and “Ole” to us all.

With heartfelt thanks. -Nadja

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity TED.com from Rafael Sampaio Rocha on Vimeo.

The Toronto Environmental Alliance is supporting Yeh Hai Life’s benefit concert for AidIndia. We are humbled and honored by their support. We couldn’t have found a more fitting partner for what we are trying to do.

‘We’re all in it together’ as they say. The Toronto Environmental Alliance campaigns passionately for a “green, healthy and equitable city with economic activity that sustains our environment.” Their success in Toronto crosses over the human made boundaries into where we live in the US.

And what we do here in the US helps a farmer all the way out in India.

Small steps, small gesture, by hundreds and thousands of us around the world add up to ONE BIG DIFFERENCE!

See you at the concert September 11th! Gaze on over to your right and buy your tickets to one amazing show.

Dear YHL readers,
Please help spread the word of this amazing event to benefit AidIndia’s Projects working with families and farms of farmers who have committed suicide.

Together we can make a difference, and we need your help.

Peepli [LIVE] to Toronto Live!, INDIAN OCEAN rocks for hope on Sept 11, 2010 from Yeh Hai Life on Vimeo.

Aamir blogs that he’s got butterflies in his stomach for the release of PEEPLI LIVE on August 13th. And he’s in our neck of the woods in New Jersey too!

So we’re pitching in for PEEPLI LIVE. (a) Because Aamir Khan is one of only a handful of filmmakers in Bollywood who makes issues based heartfelt films (b) he backs emerging filmmakers with all the gusto and support they need for success, and (c) PEEPLI LIVE features music by ‘Indian Ocean’ who will perform in our own ‘Rock For Hope’ concert on September 11 in Toronto. The concert benefits AidIndia‘s efforts in sustainable farming among India’s distressed farmers.

Synopsis of the film: Natha a poor farmer from Peepli village in the heart of rural India is about to lose his plot of land due to an unpaid government loan. A quick fix to the problem is the very same government’s program that aids the families of indebted farmers who have committed suicide. As a means of survival Farmer Natha can choose to die!!! His brother is happy to push him towards this unique ‘honor’ but Natha is reluctant. Local elections are around the corner and what might’ve been another unnoticed event turns into a ’cause celebré’ with everyone wanting a piece of the action. Political bigwigs, high-ranking bureaucrats, local henchmen and the ever-zealous media descend upon sleepy Peepli to stake their claim. The question on everyone’s lips – “Will he or Won’t he?” As the mania escalates what will be the fate of Farmer Natha; nobody seems to care how he really feels?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REN_fV9q0yk]