Crossing borders with music

CHENNAI: When the students of Global Rhythm sang Chale Chalo from Lagaan, the audience at Ashok Leyland, Guindy, were transported to one of the opera houses in the US. And that continued with Srinivas singing Khwaja mere Khwaja from Jodha Akbar, with Nick Wright on the acoustics, supported by the students of KM Music Conservatory. Tuesday evening, Leyisai, an in-house musical troupe of Ashok Leyland, welcomed musicians from Miami for a delightful evening. Students of Global Rhythms, rendered hits of AR Rahman along with their guru, Srinivas. Being a veteran percussionist from India, Srinivas is also an alumnus of Miami University and has trained several students from across the world to join hands and perform Rahman music.“We’re here not only to perform music, but to learn and share ideas with fellow musicians and students,” says Sean O’Neill, head of the troupe.Few students have been chosen by Srinivas while some have willingly joined the group to perform in Chennai. “In fact some of them who have joined the troupe are not pursuing music studies but are passionate about music and hence are a part of our troupe,” adds Sean. Their visit to Chennai doesn’t stop just with music, the students are learning Bharatanatyam, Nadhaswaram and the Tabla. When asked about their ideas on Bollywood music, Nick picked Jodha Akbar, and explained how they learnt to understand the language after watching more than 10 movies. “Here the music involves raga, thalam, swaras and much more. Also, carnatic music is different from hindustani, so rendering a song with perfection was difficult in the beginning. But it’s a learning experience and we enjoy singing Indian music,” reveals Adam Norris, percussionist in the troupe. The students are now gearing up to perform in the upcoming shows. When asked about their show, Nick informed, “We have a long list of songs that include Dil se re, Velai Pookal from Kannathil Mutthamittal, Jai Ho, Chale Chalo and few of our compositions as well.” Global Rhythms will be performing at Kalashetra (entry is free) on August 12 and the grand finale (paid entry) will be held at Museum Theatre on August 14. For passes, call 9382935477.