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Team TALENT
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This group of teens and young adults is raring to go all musical. K. PRADEEP asks them what it is that makes them tick.
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HITCHING THEIR DREAMS TO REALITY: The Dhwani Orchestra team members pose happily. Photo by H. Vibhu
FOR THE 30-odd youngsters the music group Dhwani Orchestra means a lot of things. It is an extension of their lovely schooldays, meeting friends, getting together for rehearsals and occasional jam sessions. Money was never the driving force when they thought of `going public'. It was more as a sort of pastime, relaxation from the more serious and rigours of life. They began with hardly eight members and now, with more and more young boys and girls lining up to join, Dhwani is becoming a trend.
No professionals
"No professionals please. We are happy with the amateur tag. It is so much fun rehearsing and performing in the company of your friends, with people who think alike. Apart from Prince, our regular sound engineer and Star Electricals that provide the sound system, the whole group comprise students from the city schools and colleges," says Girish S. Varma, who plays the drums and also doubles up as the group's coordinator.
This Edappally-based group got on stage for the first time on April 14, Vishu Day, 2004. The venue was the nearby Changampuzha Park and that first programme was a virtual eye-opener.
First show
"That first show was something all of us would never forget. We had 15-members on stage but frankly all of us felt alone on that big, wide stage with a goodly crowd before us. It lasted around two hours and by the end of it we must say that we were delighted and much more confidant than we were before the curtain went up," recalls Rakesh, a Plus Two student at Bhavan's Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara.
In fact, this group owes a lot to this school. Most of the members are students of this institution or former students, who cut their teeth in music at the school programmes.
"Not all of us certainly. There are many like me who got into music and then on to the stage through Dhwani. I play the guitar, but was never trained nor ever tried it out on stage before. The many rehearsal sessions, those informal shows that we put up, instilled in us the confidence to do it," says Nandini Raja, a Plus Two student at Sacred Heart College, Thevara.
The group now has around 14 singers, whosing songs in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. "Selecting songs for a particular programme and rehearsing them is, what we feel, the most important. We have still not been able to sing on stage all the requests that often come from the public. Maybe this will come only after we gain a lot of experience," says Lavanya, an engineering student at the Adi Sankara Institute of Engineering and Technology and a lead singer of the group.
Modest orchestra
"At present we have only a very modest orchestra team. It is confined to two keyboards, drums, guitar, tabla, violin and the ghatom. Fortunately we have sufficient members capable of handling each instrument except the violin for which we have only two very precious members. Somehow, there are hardly any young violinists around or, maybe we have not been able to find them," states Girish, who is doing his fifth semester at the Federal Institute of Science and Technology.
Dhwani Orchestra, has by now performed on five stages and the response to their music has been "very positive and encouraging."
Young talents
Also encouraging has been the response from young talents. "In this one year or so we have seen some exceptional talents. Jishnu is one. This eighth standard student is a brilliant tablist. Ours is basically a platform for such young talents to blossom and grow. We therefore have to keep the show going," reveals Girish.
And for those interested in joining the group contact 0484-2334026 or visit their site at www.dhwani4u.tk.
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