09 December,2016 08:58 AM IST | | Krutika Behrawala
In the presence of its alumnus and Indus Creed’s Zubin Balaporia, a SoBo college launches an initiative to create awareness about the industry
Zubin Balaporia (left) and Anirudh Kumar Bhardwaj. Pic/Poonam Bathija
YESTERDAY, the auditorium at Jai Hind College in Churchgate reverberated with drum beats, sounds from a box-shaped cajon (Spanish percussion instrument) and Sufi renditions as 18- and 19-year-old students took to the stage to showcase their talent. These included students from across subject streams, along with participants from GN Khalsa College and Sophia's, selected via auditions. This marked the launch of Music Cafe, a Jai Hind College initiative that aims to nourish musically-inclined students.
It's the brainchild of two second year Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) students Shaurya Pandit and Hrideep Barot. "While our college has a strong music culture, the idea was to start something specifically for it. Since Hrideep and I are drummers and have played at college-level competitions, we thought of Music Cafe. Till now, 70 students have registered," said Pandit.
"Through the year, we plan to conduct six to seven seminars, and workshops with artistes from the industry to educate and mentor students in different aspects of music," said Dr S Varalakshmi, head of department, BMM and professor in-charge of the music café. Though primarily for Jai Hind College students, the seminars are also open to interested students from other colleges. They need to register on the café's Facebook page.
The launch session also witnessed Zubin Balaporia, keyboardist for India's trailblazing Rock band, Indus Creed, in a panel discussion with music producer Anirudh Kumar Bhardwaj, both alumni of Jai Hind. "I played for the first time on this very stage as a 16-year-old. I also met Uday (Benegal) here during a college fest [he was a student of HR College] and we went on to join Rock Machine, which later came to be known as Indus Creed," said 50-year-old Balaporia, who graduated with a BCom degree in 1988. He reflected upon the early years of the band, which included rough train journeys for multi-city tours and buying keyboards from the "nearest available shop in Hong Kong".
Shaurya Pandit (left) and Hrideep Barot with college principal Dr Ashok Wadia
He had a few words of advice: "Music is no longer frowned upon as a profession. Even if you are unable to cut albums, there are several other avenues related to music, either as a copyright lawyer or music publisher. So, there's no reason why you should give up on it."
The cafe will also launch its own YouTube channel with students' studio recordings. "It's a platform to help them get noticed by the industry," summed up Barot.
