KOCHI:
A medley of songs belonging to melody, classical, folk and even whistling marked the 260th edition of the weekly Art and Medicine programme being organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation as therapeutic music at its permanent venue: General Hospital, Ernakulam.
On Wednesday, four emerging talents together presented the concert, much to the appreciation of the crowd typically involving patients, their families and helpers, doctors, paramedical staff and the curious among those who passed by the premises.
This edition of Art and Medicine, organised in association with Mehboob Memorial Orchestra, was the penultimate in the series that overlaps with the ongoing fourth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale. A N Manikandan, Dhanesh, Riya Das and Jyothi R Kamath came up with a dozen ditties that included solos, a duet and a group song. Jyothi delivered whistle music that sounded close to flute, much to the pleasant surprise of the gathering.
Manikandan set off the 90-minute programme by crooning ‘Akashagopuram’ from the 1990 Mammootty-starrer Kalikkalam. He also sang the evergreen four-decade-old Hindi song ‘O Sathi Re’ (MuqaddarkaSikandar, 1978) and Tamil song ‘MankuyilePoonkuyile’ (Karakattakkaran, 1989).
Riya, on her part, began with ‘Mohamkondunjan’ from the 1983 Malayalam film Sesham Kazhchayil. She too excelled as a multilingual singer by delivering a Hindi song: ‘Churaliya’ from the 1973 Bollywood hit Yaadonki Baaraat.
No less was Dhanesh in his language skills while proving to be a good singer. The youngster sang ‘Pehlenasha’, ‘Nilavevaa’, ‘Dilheiki’. Together they sang ‘Varikkachakkedecholakanakke’ a folk song popularised by late Kalabhavan Mani.
Manikandan, who is a native of Mattancherry in West Kochi, has been involved in music programmes as a child. Dhanesh is well known for TV viewers, more so on Star Vijay channel.Riya, too, is famed in min-screen circles and regularly performs for Ganamela. She studies at St Aquinas College, Edakochi. Jyothi holds a record in whistle music.
