How it all happened
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When NM arrived in Hong Kong in 1995, there were two initiatives to promote Indian music in HK – Brindavan (Hindusthani) and Gananjali (Carnatic). The fare offered was top-notch musicians from both the streams. Besides these formal concerts, there were informal gatherings, chamber music etc. The families of Mr.Vishu, Dr. Subbu, M. R. Srinivasan, Mr. Sunderrajan and last but not the least, the key drivers of Gananjali, Suja Srinivas, the late Sivanandan and Avisha Gopalkrishnan (Brindavan), come readily to mind. Kanaka Bala, who now imparts Carnatic music training in Hong Kong, used to be an active participant even back then. |
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Such an environment nurtured NM’s talents and welcomed JP when he arrived in 2001. From day one, NM and JP bonded well, sharing the joy of music. Gananjali was very active and had sighted a number of venues in HK, which proved to be handy for NM, JP and Tamil Cultural Association for initiating shows almost at will! |
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A precursor to PC was “Friends of Music” under which, auditoria like HKVAC was hired very often for cultural get-togethers. The emphasis was to facilitate even tiny tots to come and perform in front of an audience, so that they shed off ‘stage fright’ early in life. Most of the participants used to be from Tai Koo Shing, Mei Foo, and South Horizon. Meanwhile, JP with in-depth and varied training in music and unlimited creative imagination saw new horizons in music never sighted in HK before. He, along with a team of members - the co-founding team - started a brand new initiative –THARANGINI which introduced the choir format of music to HK. As they say in Hindi, “Ishq aur mushq chupaai nahi jaati”, the fragrance of this high-quality initiative spread widely and very soon many musically inclined individuals of different age groups were attracted. The group size has since grown to more than thirty. |
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Despite these varied activities, all along there was another need that was beckoning to be filled… i.e., in the more popular light music category, be it our golden melodies (from films of all languages) or ghazals, nazm, qawwalis etc. This was being done – but informally in settings akin to chamber music amongst friends and occasionally at HKVAC or other venues. NM and JP not only performed, but also actively facilitated performances by many other keen participants. All this was done without the use of any specific association, as all existing ones were essentially demarcated based on language. However, participants in shows that NM and JP conducted attracted participants from all sections of the different communities in Hong Kong. Slowly but surely, even unknown to NM and JP, the foundations for the launch of “Palghat Cousins” were being set. |
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Interestingly, the launch of “Palghat Cousins” was under the auspices of Indian Arts Circle. This event was called the “Indian Golden Melodies”. This was our first commercial outing, and the entire surplus from the show went to charity. The date was 28th May 2004, and the venue, Ko Shan Theatre. Despite several odds (week day, unknown venue, two major competing events and torrential rains), the event drew nearly 800 patrons! Another unique aspect was that it was the first time ever that Indian food was made available at the venue. |
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Several lessons learnt from our debut outing were to influence the thinking of “Tharangini” and “Palghat Cousins” in regard to finalizing the content of a show - its quality, duration and presentation! |
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“Manjari - A bouquet of melodies”, the mega event for charity (again, the name came from within the group) that took place on Saturday, 24th May 2008 (exactly four years and four days after the first one) did incorporate several of these lessons and notched up several firsts - |
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(i) Charity of HK$150,000, from an event with not a single overseas vocalist. |
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Some of the other events facilitated by PC or NM as an IAC committee member: |
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(i) Twin Treat
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