On August 15, Thiruvananthapuram will sing for the nation. It is the 79th Independence Day and Kanakakunnu Palace grounds will reverberate with the voices of 1,200 singers at ‘Thalasthanam Deshathinaayi Paadunnu’ (The capital singing for the nation), an initiative of Paattinte Koottukaar, a charity for music.
“The singers will render two songs that every Indian knows – ‘Saare Jahaan Se Achcha’ and ‘Jana Gana Mana’,” says Nayas Elias, who heads Paattinte Koottukaar, which has been conducting music periods at establishments that home most cancers sufferers and their carers and at outdated age houses in the town. “They will be dressed in white and wear caps in the colours of the national flag. Our idea is to sing for the country in a national flag formation,” he says, including that the event can also be an try at coming into the Talent Book of World Records. Two hundred and twenty NCC cadets may also be singing with this group.
Nayas provides that he bought the concept after Paattinte Koottukaar carried out a music programme that includes 122 singers on December 25 final 12 months in reference to the a hundredth beginning anniversary of Mohammed Rafi on the flower present. Preparations began in January and so they held programmes on the Poojappura Central Jail and Shanghumugham seashore on January 26 with 79 singers of the discussion board to check if they may pull it off.
“It was an ambitious move. We officially invited the 80-odd music clubs and forums in the city, to allow their members to be part of this. While many refused, several others extended their support. And from just 13 singers at our first practice session held at Priyadarshini Hall, East Fort, the numbers grew as word got around,” he says.
Once the registration (free) started, members had been break up into teams headed by 48 coordinators. “There are people from all walks of life, irrespective of age and gender, from daily-wage labourers, homemakers, professionals and retirees to government officials. While most of them are singers, both trained and untrained, the others are in it because they wanted to be part of the initiative,” Nayas provides.
Rehearsal for Thalasthanam Deshathinaayi Padunnu at Gandhi Bhavan
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Gandhi Bhavan, Thycaud, and Sree Chithira Thirunal Auditorium, Poojappura, gave area for them to conduct rehearsals. Besides Nayas, coaching periods are led by B Venugopalan Nair, the 84-year-old music exponent and patron of Paattinte Kottukaar, which at the moment has over 300 members.
“The biggest challenge for us was that many of them were either singing the wrong lyrics or pronouncing the words incorrectly. We had to rectify that and have succeeded to some extent,” Nayas says.
Jameela Beevi, a retired authorities worker and one of many singers, says, “I am not a trained singer. When I heard about the programme I felt I should be a part of it. We are Indians and this is my way of giving back to the nation.” Many, like Shalin Sha, who was together with her mom, Shimna, turned up for apply with their household. Prince NP and his household had come all the best way from Kodungalloor in Thrissur district. “I work in Qatar and am on leave now. I am participating with my parents, elder sister and two of my mother’s friends. When we came across announcements about the programme, we wanted to join it, especially because we all sing. And distance did not matter,” says Prince.
The programme begins at Kanakakkunnu grounds on August 15 at 5pm.
