Biennale Music: ‘Ragatharangini’ Orchestra Offers Synergic Renditions at General hospital

KOCHI:
The premises of Government General Hospital reverberated with soulful music as members of ‘Ragatharagini’ orchestra gave an enthralling performance at the weekly ‘Arts and Medicine’ programme here today.
The four-member ‘Ragatharangini’ orchestra, Thrippunithura (founded by Girija Varma, radio vocal artist) — Eroor Subramanian, a veteran music lover; Yatheendra Das, Deputy General Manager, BPCL, Kochi Refinery; Sujatha Menon, retired music teacher; and Geetha Mahesh — dished out a number of melodies for the patients, bystanders and medical staffers at the all-Wednesday music show.
The quartet dished out 15 lilting melodies, out of which were two duets sung by the pairs Subramanian and Geetha and Subramanian and Sujatha, at the programme, which entered its 223rd episode this week.
Sujatha set the tone and tenor for the programme with a song of yesteryears, ‘Ujjayinile Gayika’ , which was sung originally by P Leela for the film, Kadalpalam (1969). The duet, ‘Chandrikayil Aliyunnu Chandrakantham’ , sung by the duo K J Yesudas and P Leela for the film Bharyamar Sookshikuka (1968), was recreated by Subramanian and Sujatha as the concluding song that evoked a thunderous applause from the crowd.
Subramanian, the pivotal force behind ‘S P Orchestra’, is also a singer at the Sangam music troupe and has been singing for Ganamelas as well.
“Music at its best can do wonders; it can lift us up in a distressed situation. To be able to perform for patients at a hospital is remarkable and we thank the organisers for providing us a platform where we get instant feedback from the audience in the form of applause,” said the veteran music enthusiast.
Yatheendran, who is an active presence in various music troupes in and around Thrippunithura, is the son of late former minister T K Ramakrishnan.
Sujatha, who has Ganabhushanam from RLV College, Thrippunithura, spent 36 years as a music teacher and continues to be an active participant in music programmes. Geetha, driven by her passion for music, quit her job at an insurance company. For the past ten years she has been learning music from Girija Varma in Thrippunithura.
‘Arts and Medicine’, the all-Wednesday musical concert aiming to provide solace to the patients through therapeutic music, is a joint initiative of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) and Mehboob Memorial Orchestra. It is sponsored by CAFS (Casino Air Caterers and Flight Services).