BANGALORE: Last year in July, Carnatic music vocalist Bombay Jayashri along with Bhoomija Trust, an NGO for performing arts, had put together a Children’s Carnatic Choir comprising of 20 children, aged between nine and 16 years. The idea was to get children pursuing classical art together for a group performance. Gayathri Krishna, the founder of Bhoomija, explains, “We wanted to conduct a fundraiser for cataract surgeries. When we approached Jayashri, she suggested that instead of having her perform solo, we could get young children on stage. In essence, Carnatic music lends itself to the concept of choral singing. So we went ahead with the performance.”
Continuing the tradition, this year Bhoomija is conducting the second edition of the choir, which also commemorates the second anniversary of the Trust which was born out of the desire to showcase performing arts. Talking about the journey, Gayathri reminisces, “I had been associated with Ranga Shankara for over 10 years. I had always wondered how the space had grown to become the centre of all art activities in the city. According to me, art and culture mirror the society, the way we live. Since Ranga Shankara did not showcase dance and music, I wanted to create a space dedicated to these fine arts. Around the same time, a friend from Chennai had asked me to book a slot at Chowdiah Memorial Hall for a show by Bombay Jayashri. I went ahead and booked it. After a few weeks, the person informed me that he wanted to cancel the show. I did not want to do that. That was when Bhoomija was born. The show was called Listening to Life- The Journey of a Raga which portrayed how music is an integral part of our lives. It was our very first show and since then we have conducted many performances both in India and abroad.”
This year’s choir, directed by celebrated young singer and child prodigy, Abhishek Raghuram, consists of 23 children – 20 singers, a violinist, a morsing enthusiast and a percussionist. Gayathri adds, “Abhishek has been training the children for months. He will be on stage, conducting the choir and singing along with the children.”
One segment will also see Abhishek challenge the children into a duel with him. Moreover, the show is performed like a story. “We got a creative director, Mallika Prasad on board who wove the programme into a story. It is about how the children get lost in a forest and how they find themselves. Then we have Sonali and Himanshu of The Hidden Harmony who designed the costumes, and Dipti Sudhindra of The Jewelry Project who got the jewellery done.”
The Children’s Carnatic Choir 2014 will be staged on August 6 at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield and on August 9 at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
The proceeds of the show will be donated to Drishti, an eye care hospital working in rural areas, for their free cataract surgery drive. This year, the aim is to raise funds for 1,000 surgeries, says Gayathri.