THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: He is fondly called Harbhajan Sing(h) by those who know him well! Read it as Har-bhajan-sing- the one who sings all kinds of bhajans.
Well, R Veeramani takes pride in this unique title. ``It’s okay, provided the pitch (referring to the cricket pitch as well) suits me,’’ he adds in jest.
It was at the monthly music appreciation class held at Tharanganisari School of Music, Edappazhanji, here on Saturday, that Veeramani shared this interesting information about himself. And when he is not singing bhajans, he is busy as Finance Officer and Public Relations Officer with Keltron.
Working with Keltron for 29 years now, Veeramani has five more years of service left. His introduction to music was the bhajan sessions held near his home.
Renowned bhajan singer Bombay Hari inspired and guided him in the genre and in the last 10 years or so Veeramani has held many a bhajan session in Kerala, outside Kerala and even abroad.
``Music is prayer to God. Saint Thyagaraja sang for God,’’ said Veeramani, who is a trained mridangam player as well. Even if he is given a chance to give a classical or light music concert, he would always opt for a bhajan session only. ``Bhajans give me satisfaction. I’m not talented enough to sing other kind of songs. Another advantage is that bhajan sessions are joint performances and there is always a group of singers to back you.’’ At Sreevaraham, where he lives, Veeramani has a like-minded community of musicians. ``We have retired officials and employed people in our bhajan troupe.’’ And he made an interesting point. That, believe it or not, bhajans have amazing reception among the IT community in Bangalore. ``We are often invited by certain IT firms who sponsor the sessions and the bhajans are the best way for them to unwind after a hectic week at their workplace,’’ said Veeramani.
This was seconded by Ram Prasad (Ramesh) who accompanied Veeramani on dholak at Saturday’s class. Ramesh, an employee in Technopark, said: ``Often families come together for singing bhajans and gradually the numbers increases. What we are doing is an offering to God.’’ V Rajagopal, who was on the harmonium, is a retired employee with the KSRTC. On every Wednesday and Sunday, the group performs at Abhedashram, East Fort.
The music appreciation class is held on the second Saturday of every month at Tharanganisari School. The class is free for all and is open to people of all ages.
``The music class was a unique experience for us. We’ve never done something like this,’’ said Veeramani. He selected different raagas and presented film and non-film songs in them, giving a pleasant experience for the small audience. An example was the theme tune of All India Radio, which is composed in Shivaranjini raaga. He listed a number of songs composed in the raaga. He also gave enough examples for ``inspired’’ songs and ``cut-and-paste’’ songs.