Biennale Music: Delhi Student Ram Visakh’s Soulful Hindustani Renditions

KOCHI:
Hours before the curtain came down on the 108-day spectacular Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016, a young college student from Delhi struck chord with audiences at the Government General Hospital, Ernakulam with a flawless and soulful rendition of popular Hindi and Malayalam songs at the weekly ‘Arts and Medicine’ show organised as part of the biennale.
Ram Visakh, a first year Malayali student of the Hans Raj College, Delhi and gifted with amazing tonal qualities and versatility, mesmerized the audience — patients, medical staffers and bystanders at the hospital — with his immaculate and mellifluous crooning of songs from yesteryears.
Visakh started the show with the song, ‘Poocho Na Kaise’ (originally sung by legendary singer Manna Dey), which left the listeners gasping for more. He got into the groove of things straightaway and belted out soothing numbers with the classical touch as the musical programme gathered tempo.
The songs he chose to sing on the occasion included ‘Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli’, ‘Jab Deep Jale Aana’, ‘ Jhoom Le’, and ‘Surmayee Ankhiyon Mein’. He capped his solo performance by singing the popular number ‘Har Ghadi Badal Rahi Hai’ (sung by Sonu Nigam in Hindi film Kal Ho Na Ho).
The lead singer of the programme was joined by Gopika S, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Naval Base, Kochi. Together, they sang more than a dozen songs flavoured with the Hindustani touch.
On her part, Gopika stringed a couple of melodious Malayalam songs like ‘ThenumVayambum’ and ‘KaathirunuKathirunnu’ from the hit movie, ‘EnnuNinteMoideen’, besides ‘Viswam Kaakunna Nadah’, ‘Sarike En Sarike’ and ‘ ‘Dil Ghoom Ghoom kare’.
An ardent music lover, Visakh started learning music at the age of seven. A student of Gandharv Mahavidyalaya Mandal, New Delhi, he trained under the guidance of  Sawni Mudgal, daughter of Pandit Madhup Mudgal, for ten years. He later trained under Dr. Harish Tiwari, a disciple of Pandit Bhi
msen Joshi, for one year and is currently pursing music under Pandit Sarathi Chatterji. He has won many inter- school/college competitions.
“This is for the first time that I am singing for a charitable cause, and I am ecstatic. When I heard about a platform like this one by the KBF, I did not let the chance go by and just grabbed it,” Visakh said, adding: “It was a completely different experience for me. It was a sublime feeling for me to see happiness on the faces of hospital patients.”
This week marked the 164th episode of the ‘all Wednesday’ music show, an initiative of the KBF in association with the Mehboob Memorial Orchestra and Lake Shore Hospital and Research Centre Limited to provide solace through therapeutic music.