An ear splitting crash of cymbals and a high-pitched guitar riff greets visitors to Kites Café. Mark John and Vinith Nair, the guitarist and drummer of Avyaktha music band are doing a test run of their equipment.
The band is here to perform for Dine In for a Cause, a rock show to raise money for the education of the girl child which is organised by ENLIFT, an NGO, in association with Kites Café.
“This is different from a regular gig. Performing for a cause always gives you a different high than a commercial concert,” says Mark. It is not the first time that they are singing for a cause, says Vinith. “We have teamed up with Make A Difference in Dream Camp programmes that help under-privileged children get exposed to art, craft and music. Many of them might have the flair for music but not the resources to study it. It makes us happy if we can inspire them to pursue music.” Avyaktha has contributed Rs. 10,000 to the cause.
The café is packed with noisy college students sipping mocktails and waiting for the music to start. Selfies are clicked. Lemonades and burgers are passed around. It has been a busy day for the Kites’ team, says Sundar Yazhin, one of the owners. “The crowd has surprised us. Six hundred tickets have been sold off! But this is what we always wanted to do – create a space for the youth in the city.” Kites will contribute 75 per cent of the revenue from food to the cause.
“It is any day better than listening to a dull seminar,” says Dr. Mohan who is there with his friend, Vineetha. He says such causes bring people together. The show begins. Avyaktha launches into Surfing with Ganesha, a fusion piece. Mark’s guitar has now transformed into both veena and tabla! He taps on the guitar surface and gently twiddles the strings to recreate the sounds of the Indian instruments. The band follows this up with a Rodrigo y Gabriela number.
It is then the turn of another city-based band to perform. 360 degree gives a rock makeover to popular Tamil melodies. There are cat calls when they present the groovy ‘Aaromale’ from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. Most of band members are students of DPS Music Academy, which has sponsored the sound system, mikes and drums for the evening.
They would love to have girls in their bands, adds Mark. “It would be so cool to watch a female drummer!” says Mark. “But it is a rare sight. The main reason is the social conditioning of girls in our society. We are okay with women performing mild numbers. But not rock, which demands attitude and aggression. A woman who is wild is seen as “fallen”. This mindset should change.”
Most of the audience members are appreciative of the evening’s event. “It is great to see youngsters take up charity issues”, says Lakshmi Meera, head of South India Institute of Fashion Technology. “Many of them are taking charge of social entrepreneurship at a very young age. And, what better than using music to bridge people and spread awareness.”
ENLIFT is a team of 20 somethings who work with orphanages in the city to educate under-privileged children. In this project, ENLIFT will adopt two girls, says Mukul Ranjan, the director of the team. “We have raised nearly Rs. 50,000 through this show which will be used to support the girls’ education. When they grow up, we will put them in good colleges and make sure their dreams come true.”
For details about ENLIFT, visit www.enlift.org.
