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An eye for music

Meri Awaaz Suno, a unique music orchestra of visually impaired artistes tugs at the heartstrings of music lovers in Nerul

JVR Gopal

On Sunday evening, Nerul’s music lovers got a rare treat, as a unique orchestra of visually impaired artistes gave a soul-stirring performance, under the banner Meri Awaz Suno.

The performance by four singers and 10 musicians opened with shlokas recited by
Daniel D’souza.

Mangla, the president of National Organisation of Disabled Artistes (NODA) and a gifted singer, performed a rendition of Satyam Sivam Sundaram with chorus. The other songs that followed revealed her vocal versatility.

Prakash Nambiar pushed the tempo with Jiya Dhadak Dhadak Jaye and Mai Nikala Gaddi Leke, and was followed by Alka who sang Sona Re Sona.

The audience went into raptures when D’souza, Nambiar and Mangla sang the vivacious Kajra Re. The show concluded with a poignant rendition of Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan, sung by Nambiar.

The highlight of the show was the magical performance by 21-year-old flautist, Kiran Vinkar, a resident of Vashi, who was accompanied by Augustine on octopad and Dipak Kamble on dholak. “I am now completely into music shows. I want to achieve mastery in flute,” said Vinkar.

“Kiran is a shagird of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. Twenty-three-year-old Sarfaraz Qureshi, who is a keyboard player, is also a very gifted musician. Imagine playing keyboards without being able to see. They are now a regular part of stage shows by celebrity singers,” said Amit Mehta of RICS Entertainment.

NODA is an academy for the disabled with promising talent in fine arts, music, etc. “We develop potential talent before organising stage shows, as it gives such artistes economic independence,” informed 35-year-old Kishore Lalit Gohil, general secretary of NODA, who is also visually impaired. Gohil, a postgraduate in Marathi literature, comperes all Meri Awaz Suno shows.

Established in 2000, NODA has organised 600 shows so far.

“What is you see is not an overnight phenomenon. The artistes are also very hard working. For three months before the launch of the orchestra, we conducted daily rehearsals lasting six hours,” said Suyash Sethpal, of RICS Entertainment, who directed the show.

According to Brigadier Prakash, “They lack sight but are gifted with great insight. Their music comes from the soul.”

“We don’t want pity or charity. What we want is an opportunity for us to exhibit our talent. Nothing more, nothing less,” Kishore insisted, summing up the bottom line of the show.

The musicians who performed also included Mahesh Naik on keyboards, Ashok Arya on dholak, Sachin Gaikar on percussions, Manoj Jadhav on mandolin and Giridhar Roy on bass guitar.

“Rotary Club of Navi Mumbai Seaside (RCNMS) organised the charity musical show at the amphitheatre of Nerul Gymkhana, to fund its community based projects,” informed Brigadier Dharam Prakash of RCNMS. This orchestra is the outcome of NODA with Rangat Design and RICS Entertainment. “Rangat Design produces the shows and RICS Entertainment directs the same,” said GS Chawla of RCNMS.

The orchestra does 10-20 shows each month. After a successful show in Dubai recently, the orchestra now intends to go international.
DHALL