Biennale Music Streamed to More Patients via Speakers at General Hospital

KOCHI:
The weekly therapeutic music show organized by the Kochi Biennale Foundation at the General Hospital can now be enjoyed by more patients and staff with newly installed speakers inaugurated today at the Psychiatry Department.
The all-Wednesday musical fiesta, Arts and Medicine, is usually held in the green lawns of the hospital and draws a considerable audience, but now it will be available to more patients with limited mobility or those unable to gather at the programme venue for other reasons.
A similar provision had been made for the Dialysis Department last year.
Arts and Medicine celebrated its 160th edition today with a music show featuring old melodious numbers. The evergreen ‘Chandrakantham kondu Nalukettu’ sung by Dr. Sreedhara Kumar, who inaugurated the speakers for the psychiatry ward, set the tone for the programme.
Singer Sindhu P K followed it up with ‘Janaki Jane’. Sudharshan Kumbalam, Yahiya Azeez and Jr. Mehboob also rendered some heart-warming numbers from yesteryears.
Vocalist Sudarshan , a philanthropist who has extended his helping hands to the inmates of ‘Sneha Bhavan’ , Palluruthy and ‘Vridha Sadhanam’ at Thevara believes deeds of charity are of paramount importance in life. He has been an active presence in the music field for over 15 years.
Sindhu, a nursing assistant at the hospital, pursues music as an insatiable passion. She expressed her delight in being able to perform at the venue on Women’s Day.
Singer Yahiya Azeez is a regular at the Arts and Medicine show and has performed several times for the patients.
Together the singers delivered over thirteen songs in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi.
“Installing speakers to stream therapeutic music will help the patient
s in a state of despondency and distress, and will lift up their spirits and improve their mental well-being. The gesture by KBF is remarkable”, said Dr. Diljith Bharathan, head of the Department of Psychiatry at the hospital.
‘Arts and Medicine, is an initiative by the Kochi Biennale Foundation in association with the Mehboob Memorial Orchestra and Lakeshore Hospital and Research Centre Limited.