KOCHI:
With schools in the midst of summer vacation giving a respite to students from the gruelling study schedule, Vaishnavi P, a pupil of Tirumala Devaswom Higher Secondary School, Mattancherry, used the break to combine her passion for music with a social cause: she regaled the patients at the Government General hospital, Ernakulam here today through masterly renditions of songs.
A joint initiative of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) and Mehboob Memorial Orchestra, the all-Wednesday ‘Arts and Medicine’ is a therapeutic music show conceptualized in 2014, and it aims to provide solace to patients through soulful music at the hospital premises.
Vaishnavi, who hails from Mattancherry, has just completed her tenth grade and is passionate about music. A winner at the district-level school festivals, she is currently undergoing training for Carnatic music.
Aneesh Raheem from Palluruthy and Rajesh from Mala were the other singers that accompanied Vaishnavi at the 262nd episode of Arts and Medicine. Aneesh is an amateur singer who sings mostly songs of the late ghazal singer Talat Mehmood. Rajesh works for a company under the Kerala Government and has been in the music industry for over 15 years.
“I feel sad and miserable to see patients who are bedridden and are not able to do anything without someone’s help. I believe music can be an uplifting experience when you are in distress; pleasant songs can alleviate misery and bring solace to the patients,” Vaishnavi said. “I feel honoured to be able to perform for the patients,” added the budding singer, who sang over five songs with resounding applause from the audience.
The songs that were rendered in this week’s episode were ‘Manushyar Mathangale Srishtichu” from the film Achanum Baapayum, which was sung by Rajesh and Vaishnavi. It was followed by ‘Innenikku Pottukuthan’ from the film Guruvar Kesavan and a Hindi song, ‘Wadiyan Mera Daman’, which was sung by Aneesh. In all, more than a dozen melodious numbers were rendered on the occasion, which were heartily welcomed by the audience. Rajesh and chorus rendered ‘Pennale Pennale’, which marked the last song in the series.
Hindi songs topped the list of the programme, followed by Malayalam. There was also a popular Tamil ditty. This was the first week of Arts and Medicine programme after the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the mega art festival, concluded on March 29.
