BENGALURU: Irrespective of what one’s profession is, there is always a passion which keeps them going. For Dr Rohit Udaya Prasad, a consultant ENT & cochlear implant surgeon from Bengaluru, it’s the violin.
Playing the musical instrument for the past 25 years and doing stage shows along with his twin brother Dr Rahul Udaya Prasad, a neonatologist at Sydney Children’s Hospital, the experience has been nothing less than therapy. But it was not the first instrument that he was exposed to. “When we were younger, we used to play the mridangam. But at the age of nine, we started learning the violin. And after intense training, we started doing stage shows,” says Prasad, who has always performed as a duet along with his twin brother.
The duo has performed in various places in Bengaluru like Alliance Française de Bangalore, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to name a few. “We continued to perform till our MBBS days. Since a musical programme needs a lot of planning and preparation, I have not been able to do it for the past few years. Since my brother is in Sydney and I am preoccupied with work, I hardly get time for performances,” says the 36-year-old, who was born in Mysuru.
Prasad plays various Carnatic classical tunes on a seven-string violin. Coming from the gharana of N Venkatesh, he has got a chance to meet popular violinists like Mysore Manjunath and Mysore Nagaraja. Not just as a mode of relaxation, practising the violin has always helped him in his profession as well.
“Composing a musical piece needs a lot of planning to ensure the right execution. This is essential in any profession. Apart from that, playing a seven-stringer instrument needs a lot of hand-body coordination, which again comes in handy while performing surgeries,” says Prasad, who also listens to music during his surgeries to keep him calm.
Although in recent times he has not done many stage performances, Prasad makes it a point to have regular riyaz sessions. Once his brother is back from Australia, he hopes for the show to go on.