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Photo: H. Vibhu

RHYTHM DIVINE Members of Raaga Priya performing at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kochi

There was an air of excitement and anticipation all around Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium where 4,000 people had gathered to enjoy the music of the famous Comaganin Raaga Priya, a group made up of visually challenged musicians.

They were performing in Kochi for the first time, under the aegis of Amway Opportunity Founadation (AOF), specially concerned with championing the cause of the visually challenged .

A group of traditional Kerala drummers created a spellbinding rhythm as members of ‘Comaganin Raaga Priya’ came on stage and went up to their seats.

Clad in kurtas , these surefooted band members began with a sweet ‘Happy Birthday’ tune in honour of Amway’s 10th anniversary celebrations. In fact, ‘Comaganin Raaga Priya’, the celebrated troupe members from Chennai, proved to be an inspiration to all.

No mean musicians, they hold the world Guinness record for 50 hours of continuous music, besides several other breathtaking feats. Last year, they wanted to do something extraordinary. On April 27, 28 and 29, they performed 682 film songs without looking at the notes.They made it to the Guinness book with 50 hours of non-stop music. It took two days, two nights and two hours to accomplish the feat. They got the official certificate from Guinness just two months back.

Perfect harmony of ‘sur’ with ‘taal’ combined with powerful voices, impressive voice modulation and impeccable diction marked their highly energetic performance.

The audience had difficulty believing they were different in any way, so sweet was their show. Syed Ibrahim’s opening song on Vinayagar was followed by ‘Sahana’ from ‘Shivaji’ by M.C.Comagan and Gina. ‘Pramadavanam...’ from ‘His Highness Abdulla’ met with a good round of applause. ‘Kajra Re..’ from ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ had the audience dancing. ‘Ennadi Rakkamma’ and ‘O mama mama Chandamama...’ from ‘Rock N Roll’ were lively numbers. The mood turned romantic as M.C.Comagan sang ‘Mere Sapnon ki Rani’ from ‘Aradhana’. When M.C.Comagan came down assisted by his wife Anitha, and mingled with members of the audience, a standing ovation was given.

“My wife Anitha is a strong support. She is a trained teacher in handling visually challenged people.

Four members of the musical troupe hold government jobs. I work in the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. Today, we do 10 to 15 programmes a month ; marriage receptions, sabhas, public shows etc. Raaga Priya has performed 1,984 shows till date,” says Comagan.

In 1999, they made it to the Limca Book of Records for 16 hours of continuous music. In 2003, director Cheran gave them the opportunity to perform the song in ‘Autograph’ which won two national awards in 2004. “Cheran was very happy with the end result. The team was very cooperative. In ‘Pasupathi’, we performed one song. I have acted in four scenes in the movie,” says Comagan.

“Muthal Mazhai’ from ‘Bheema’ and ‘June Ponaal July’ from the movie ‘Unnale Unnale’ met with good response from the crowd which was by then engrossed in dancing.

By the time Susheela sang ‘Made in India’, a sizeable crowd including little ones, had gathered near the stage swinging to the beat.

Comaganin Raaga Priya comprised of Ramesh (Flute), Ramu (keyboard), Kannan (keyboard), Murugan (lead guitar), Varadarajan (bass guitar), Selvaraj (triple bongo), Manivannan (rhythm pad), Karthik (drum), Karuna (tabala). Singers include Susheela, Gina, Jalal Ali, Palanisamy, Syed Ibahim and M.C.Comagan(director).

AOF donated a cheque of Rs.1,01,010 to Mayor Mercy Williams towards helping children below the poverty line and for providing underprivileged children with supplementary nutrition.

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