KOCHI: Started around one-and-a-half-year ago by a group of passionate amateur musicians, Dhawni Music Club was founded with 12 members. In a few months, the club has inducted 26 into its ranks along with four non-singing members.
“We love singing but are not confident enough to sing in public. Thus we wanted to provide a platform for enthusiastic music lovers like us to perform and practice in front of a closed group who are not judgemental,” says Sheila James, founder of Dhwani. Its members gather once a month at clubs or restaurants in the city to showcase their talents.
The sessions start with the introduction of the guest of the day. Around 25 songs in different languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and English, are sung in each session. The motto of the club is to promote music as a means of relaxation. Each session provides a platform for its members to interact and share their interests in different genres of music.
“All the members eagerly wait for the meet-up,” says Sheila. The members of the group are from different walks of life. There is a politician, mediaperson, a techie, an entrepreneur, doctors, engineers, retired government officials and housewives.
The first anniversary of the club was celebrated at Vyloppalli Samskrithi Bhavan a few months ago which was attended by playback singers M Jayachandran and Akhila Anand. The members of the club got an opportunity to perform that day. “A few members shared their experience saying, each session reminds them of their childhood because it was the last time they sang in front of a crowd,” adds Sheila.
After joining the club, the members least exposed to classical music started to attend classes. “We practice for hours before each meet-up to give a good performance. Our skill has enhanced after attending the sessions,” says Sheila.
M K Muneer, MLA, is the chief patron of the club. The other core members of the club are Lakshmi Devi, director of Abhaya NGO, Vishnu A R, CEO of Sound Engineering Academy and Udayakumar, a mediaperson. The club also honours and provides financial aid veteran singers who are no more in the limelight.