Biennale Music: ‘Vechoor Voice’ on the Stage

KOCHI:
Donning the police uniform years ago was not a deterrent for Anand Raj, Assistant Sub-inspector of Thevara police station, from pursuing his musical ambitions as his music troupe ‘Vechoor Voice’ dished out a melodious performance at the 222nd episode of ‘Arts and Medicine’ programme at the Government General Hospital here today.
“I feel very blessed and happy to stand here today performing for this audience. I am thankful to the conveners of this programme for giving us this opportunity,” he said.
Anand, a part of Kochi City Police since 1998, and his friend Pradeep K, a fellow music enthusiast and clerk at Kerala Irrigation Department, had co-founded the four-member music troupe, ‘Vechoor Voice’, three years ago, and it was their first performance at the General Hospital. The two other members of the troupe are Sangeetha Sudarsan, a nursing tutor at Indira Gandhi Co-Operative Hospital, Kadavanthra and Shailendran (Shailajee), a businessman.
In all, the quartet performed 14 songs, including evergreen hits like ‘Manushyan Mathangale Srishtichu’ from the 1972 release ‘Achanum Bappayum’, ‘Poonthenaruvi’ from the 1971 movie ‘Oru Penninte Katha’ and a duet ‘Tharapadham’ from the 1991 hit Anaswaram. The programme concluded with an all-time favourite KPAC drama song ‘Chillimulam Kaadukalil’.
The ‘Vechoor Voice’ troupe is named after Anand’s village Vechoor in Kottayam district, and it is famous for its unique breed of cows. All the four members of the troupe belong to different backgrounds but are united by their passion for music.
“I want to make my village famous in other areas and that’s the reason why we chose this name for the troupe”, said an enthused Anand.
‘Arts and Medicine’ is an all-Wednesday musical concert aiming to provide solace to the patients through therapeutic music. Jointly organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) and Mehboob Memorial Orchestra, it is sponsored by CAFS (Casino Air Caterers and Flight Services).