KOCHI: The premises of Government General Hospital reverberated with soulful music as members of ‘Ragatharagini’ orchestra gave an enthralling performance at the weekly ‘Arts and Medicine’ programme on Wednesday. The four-member ‘Ragatharangini’ orchestra, Tripunithura, (founded by Girija Varma, radio vocal artist) — Eroor Subramanian, a veteran music lover; Yatheendra Das, deputy general manager, BPCL, Kochi Refinery; Sujatha Menon, retired music teacher; and Geetha Mahesh — dished out a number of melodies for the patients, bystanders and medical staffers.
The quartet dished out 15 lilting melodies at the programme, which entered its 223rd episode this week.
Sujatha set the tone and tenor for the programme with, ‘Ujjayinile Gayika’ which was sung originally by P Leela for the film, Kadalpalam (1969). The duet, ‘Chandrikayil Aliyunnu Chandrakantham’ sung by the duo K J Yesudas and P Leela for the film Bharyamar Sookshikuka (1968), was recreated by Subramanian and Sujatha as the concluding song that evoked a thunderous applause from the crowd. Subramanian, the pivotal force behind ‘S P Orchestra’, also sings for the Sangam music troupe and has been singing for Ganamelas as well.
“Music at its best can do wonders. To be able to perform for patients at a hospital is remarkable and we thank the organisers for providing us a platform where we get instant feedback from the audience in the form of applause,” said the music enthusiast.
Yatheendran, who is an active presence in various music troupes in and around Tripunithura, is the son of former minister late T K Ramakrishnan. Sujatha, an alumnus of RLV College, Thrippunithura, has been a music teacher for over 36 years and continues to be an active participant in music programmes. Geetha, driven by her passion for music, quit her job at an insurance company. For the past ten years, she has been learning music from Girija Varma in Tripunithura.