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 The fifth anniversary of Jus Drums, the music
school of Murali, the percussionist, was held recently in
Chennai with great fanfare. The musical evening gained lustre
with the participation of film playback singers Sujatha Mohan
and P Unnikrishnan, who gave away certificates to Murali's
students. Unnikrishnan and Sujatha launched the group's official
website,
www.jusdrums.com
The first item of the evening was Kids' Solo.
Sai Bharath and Varun played the solo for about 5 minutes and it
was breathtaking. What a great start. They were so much in sync
that it sounded like only one kid was playing. This was followed
by Barani and Srikanth in 'June Ponaal' and shwetha provided the
supporting vocals. 'Rum Bum Bum', a song in the rock ‘n’ roll
style, was sung by Barani and Shwetha with Murali conducting the
orchestra.
 The next song was 'Cheeni Kum' from the
Amitabh Bachchan Movie. Murali announced that Ilayaraja's tune
was from his own popular Tamil song 'Mandram Vandha Thendralukku'
in 'Mouna Ragam', and that it was redone for the Hindi movie.
The first half of the song was in Hindi and the latter portion
in Tamil. One could hear the last row calling for a once more.
'Paartha Mudhal Naale' was followed by 'Marugo,
Marugo' sung by Murali and playback singer Kalpana. The BGMs
were so good that left a section of the audience wondering
whether the orchestra was playing live or from a track.
When the next song, 'Balle Lakka', was
announced, the reception made it clear that it was from a
Superstar movie.
 In the jugalbandhi, Sundar was on the
mridangam and Ramnarayanan on the ghatam to join Ramkumar on the
drums. It was in the format of a typical Carnatic concert format
of questions and answers with arithmetic accuracy.
There was a light drizzle in the evening
before the show but nothing could stop these young performers
and their master from holding the show. That’s what the song
said. 'Megam Kottatum'. A very difficult song for a drummer and
a bass guitar player, said Murali. But it didn’t seem so for the
players. They played the song in its original format with ease
and, of course, heaved a huge sigh of relief at the end.
The All-Drum piece was composed and rehearsed
in two days. It had drums like the Duff, Concert bass drum,
Tuning drums, Big Timpani like drums, Timbales and a drum kit
along with a few oval shaped wooden pieces, which Murali claims
are the remains of wood from the speakers he made the previous
week.
That was followed by a video presentation of
what had happened in the last five years. The only snag was it
was too long, and tested the patience of many in the audience.
Also, the organisers would do well to take care of the video
quality.
 Junk Piece was the highlight of the evening
where students played on helmets, cans, water bottles, car
wheels, body of an old washing machine and a couple of vessels.
Thundering beats rolled down in precision and Murali was quick
to point out that nothing happens even after so much of drumming
on the helmets. So please wear them to safeguard your head, was
his appeal.
Sujatha and UnniKrishnan, having done the
honours, presented a few songs. They were simply outstanding.
Sujatha's presentation of her number 'Poopookkum Osai' was
superb, showing why she was rated as a truly gifted singer.
While she was effortless, Unnikrishnan made sure he put in
plenty of effort both with the preparation and the actual song 'Ennavale'.
The hall was full of enthusiastic parents and
well-wishers right till the end. For Murali and Jus Drums, it
was one more glorious evening. For the young drummers, the
evening exemplified key aspects of discipline and dedication,
which they would do well to emulate.
R Rangaraj
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