“RAAG AND RHYTHM”-BATHROOM SINGERS TO STAGE SINGERS"
Mangaluru: This gives you a platform to become a singer on a stage from a bathroom singer. ‘Raag and Rhythm’, the Karaoke Club was started in December, 2010. It all started after, Savitha Shenoy, a corporate trainer was forced to sing at a function after she conducted training session. She says ‘at first I hesitated because it was long time didn’t sing even though I had sung classical songs earlier. But I sang that day which was well appreciated by people.’ After coming from the function she thought of grouping the like-minded people and to form a club. It has people from all walks of life. Doctors, engineers, bankers, builders, housewives, teachers, kids to old, all are part of the club. Now it has more than 120 members. A few of them have sung with playback singers like Ajay Warrier, Rajesh Krishnan etc. The club members perform on stage without any monetary benefit. The best part of the club was, they held a charity show for a cancer patient and raised Rs 5 lakhs on the spot and donated to the beneficiary. Surekha G Pai who was suffering from IV stage cancer, after curing has become a singer in the club and also performed on stage at several palces.
At the beginning, Savitha’s family members and friends joined her. The group was not named then and it was just a singing club. Only after six months it was named as Raag and Rhythm, the family karaoke club. They would get together once in a month and sing using karaoke with music played using a laptop. The singing would go from 6 to 9 pm. In the beginning years Kripa Alva, a Congress politician and educationist gave her college auditorium for them free of cost. Savitha adds, ‘I had to shift to Bengaluru in 2012 but I made it a point to come every month for conducting meeting here as it was held during weekends once in a month. Later a core-committee of seven members was formed to look after all decisions. One had scope to sing maximum three songs when we met together. Here there are no teachers to tell how one has to sing. We believe in practice makes perfect. Due to time constraint we had to limit the number of a group at 40. I have seen quite a few shedding stage-fear after joining hereand now singing happily and confidently in public events’.
Umakanth Nayak, a core committee member says ‘with number increasing day by day, we had to split the group into three groups within the main R and R, each comprising of 40 members. Now we have also started audition to include people in the group as one has to have a pleasing voice to sing. A basic knowledge of ‘Raga-Tala’ will be added advantage. We have three groups now’.
Since there are so many good singers Raag and Rhythm has formed a group called “Sangeeth Bahar”, of which the members go outside and perform on stages. They have sung at various places across state. The club has conducted charity show on a few occasions. Apart from helping the cancer patient they have also donated a considerable amount from a mega meet and an auction to Chetana Special School in the city.
The singing is caught up with people so well that Raag and Rhythm is starting its branch at Manipal in September. Since Manipal is an educational hub with thousands of students from across the country, already enquiries are pouring in.
Surekha G Pai, cancer survivor: “It’s just one year I have been joined the club. I was born and brought up in Mumbai. Only after marriage I moved to Mangaluru. Unfortunately I suffered from cancer a few years ago. Relatives and friends started visiting me every day as doctors had given up hopes and I was not aware of it. It was in IV stage and last stage. My husband boosted my confidence and told me to engage in social media so that I am busy throughout the day. Sahana (a singer of Raag and Rhythm), whom I didn’t know till then tagged a meaningful song to me in Facebook. This is how I came in contact with the club and helped me a lot. Music has given me peace and is one of the reasons for speedy recovery (from cancer)”.
Youngest in the club: Nine year old Diya Sanghvi.
Oldest in the club: 69 year old B H Ananth Pai.
(published in TOI-11-08-2018)
