All about drums!

Drummer B Sridhar set a National record earlier this year with a traditional set of drums. The professional drummer, who set a record by drumming non-stop for 24 hours, is the first Indian to have accomplished such a feat.The musician is now busy unravelling and exploring the beauty of ancient and modern rhythms with his five-piece drum kit that includes an octoban and additional cymbals. . Sridhar, who is currently playing for Abaswaram Ramji, Thayanban and Gatam Karthi says, “The time to beat on another occasion is ‘121 hours’ and set a new World Record."For this 31-year-old drummer, setting a new record was not an overnight thought. He says, “It was  a 10-year-dream for me to achieve something like this.” The drummer set the national record and entered the Indian Book of Records on January 7. He began drumming at 9.30am on Saturday and finished at 11.30 the next morning. CH Venkatachary, chief co-ordinator, South Region, Indian Book of Records, honoured him and presented a certificate.During the 24 hours, he played eight different genres of music that included western, unplugged, classical, light music and instrumental. This percussionist plays the drums not just to create a record but to prove his potential. He says, “I would want to show variety in my performance. This is not for setting a trend but for my satisfaction. My next target is to play drums for 48 hours and later 113 hours. By then, I believe that I should have improved and have the confidence to perform continuously for 121 hours.” Some might consider sitting and playing the drums as passé. However, Sridhar is not among them. “A lot of people are trying different ways to produce rhythms. I appreciate them,” he says. However, commenting on the technical aspects, he says, “There is a certain posture that one must adopt while drumming. Also, there is a procedure to it. Most of the drummers in the western countries stick to sitting and playing. I want to bring back that trend in our city and incorporate methods of traditional drumming.” With a pure and natural approach to music (no synthesizers or samplers), Sridhar aims to create music live on stage. “I don’t want to enter films. With the advanced technology, there are hardly any acoustic players these days. So, I hope to a start a school for traditional methods of playing the drums.”When not playing the drums, Sridhar is found creating unconventional art with glass bottles. This artist chooses to paint landscapes on the ‘inside’ of the bottle. What's more, he has also managed to paint a few portraits as well!So, will there be any new records on that front? He smiles and says, “Nothing to beat the drums!”