KOCHI: Have you heard of the Latin American musical instrument berimbao? What about the didgeridoo, a bow and arrow shaped device used by Australian aborigines ? Well, here is a man who can effortlessly play quite a number of them.
His passion for making music has seen Sunil Kumar P K learn a number of music instruments-100 to be approximate. Accompanied by a keyboardist and a guitarist, the Thrissur-based musician had recently given a musical performance at Kanakakunnu Palace as part of the two-day-long Kerala Loka Sabha in the capital.
Speaking about the performance, Sunil says, “It was a truly spontaneous performance. As it started raining , I started my performance, singing about rain. I played around thirty instruments, including the Tabla and a few electronic equipments and a tape drum.”
Recalling his younger days, Sunil says he had always had a passion for music. He said, “I would use utensils at home to make music, for instance using glasses filled with water, similar to music made with tarang.” Learning the Tabla during his younger days from Jawahar Bal Bhavan from the temple city, his interest gradually led him to master more instrument.
It was his interest for learning new instruments that led the musician to have a collection of those at home. From the tabla to the Latin American instrument and many more, Sunil has a number of such devices with him, most of it received from friends during performances, while others were bought. Elaborating further, he says, “When you are exposed to a number of instruments, it is natural for you to be drawn to one, especially when it is something different or fascinating.In today’s time, there are a number of ways to learn any kind of instruments. For me, it’s mostly been self-learning and observing.”
For Sunil, his passion is not restricted to just music. Having been a mimicry artiste as well, he also gives theatre performances. The artiste says, “Along with musical instruments, I had been taking part in mimicry, mono act and drama competitions right from my younger days. I started giving stage shows after one point of time. Performing mimicry in stage shows initially. I started concentrating more on musical stage shows and later theatre. Recently I had performed a stage show as part of a play with puppets.” Winding up the conversation, Sunil shares his enthusiasm for learning and exploring more, when it comes to music. He says, “If I come across one with a different sound, I would always be tempted to try it out myself.”