True to its name, Pragathi has had no looking back since its formation six months ago. Meaning ‘progression’ in Malayalam, this eight-piece band in the creative music space is made up of a circle of friends. It has become a near-constant pick for pro-shows in Thiruvananthapuram. It is a melange of three college students, an engineer, two musicians and two techies, all bound by a common passion – music.
Three are well-experienced hands in music for several years. Vocalist Harisankar K S, a singer from childhood and grandson of renowned carnatic vocalist K Omanakutty, has a couple of numbers to his name in the Malayalam film already. He is a BDS student at PMS College of Dental Science and Research at Vattapara, Thiruvananthapuram. Lead guitarist Sreemon V has been a professional in his field for over a decade, and percussionist Presanth P S had been an RJ for several years before becoming a sound engineer and software engineer.
The team is never short of confidence for which they are all thankful to their families and well-wishers. “Hari’s mother suggested the name for our band and our practice happens at his home. However busy our schedules are, we all assemble at his home by evening to jam. The idea of forming a band first came about when Hari used to come to me to learn the guitar,” says Sreemon.
“The biggest blessing is the rare chemistry between all of us when we are on stage. So far, not even a minute’s glitch has crept into our performance,” says band manager-cum-vocalist Sanu RS, who works with the IT cell of the Agriculture Department. Keyboardist Rohith Krishnan has quit the job of an engineer recently to learn music. Other members are violinist Ravisankar, younger brother of Harisankar (multi-media student), percussionist Ambadi P (mechanical engineer) and Afshan Naushad (vocalist).
meera.manu@newindianexpress.com