11 February,2009 05:28 PM IST | | Hemal Ashar
Udaan, a music band comprising a mix of artistes who can see and visually challenged musicians is awaiting release of its debut album. The band has been in existence since December 19, 2005. It has 35 artistes playing different instruments, including singers. There are 20 blind band members and 15 who are sighted. Out of these 20, several can see a little while the others are totally blind. They specialize in light music from bhajans, ghazals and even dandiya music. In fact, in 2008, the band played for nine dandiya nights at Oswal Wadi in Bhiwandi.u00a0
Keyboard Cool
Their album, the name of which is withheld may be released in time for Valentine's Day under the T-series umbrella. Says Deepak Soni, co-founder and singer of the band Udaan. Soni who is also visually challenged, We cannot reveal too much about the album at this stage though I can tell you that it is instrumental with eight tracks. It has romantic numbers and hip hop tracks. All the tracks are by sighted and blind persons, but the main players playing instruments like the keyboard and flute are blind. The album was recorded at the T-Series studio.
Real Talent
Soni says there are several blind orchestras performing in the city. Yet, we, Keval Haria, the founder, who now looks after the marketing aspects of the band, and I decided that one should not take an artiste into the band just because he is blind. There has to be real talent that is why there are some sighted people too in the band. Some orchestras simply take players because they are blind. They, then, have to compromise on quality. Both Soni and Haria discovered they were musically inclined at the Happy Home School for the Blind in Worli, where they did their schooling..u00a0u00a0
Sallu Salute
Haria and Soni say that the T-Series story began when the band met with actor Salman Khan at a Bandra cafe last year. Salman actually announced to the entire cafe how proud he was of the band, played a song of theirs on CD on his laptop at the cafe and then introduced them to Kishan Kumar of T-series. That is how the recording came about, with their album being recorded by Raj Kumar Banerjee, senior recordist there.
The band, which has staged nearly 120 shows says that, Through music we also break certain stereotypes about blind people. For instance, we mingle well with the sighted, but there are people who still wonder how the blind and sighted can get along, say the artistes.
Host toast
The audience is the lifeblood of any artistic performance, but as the blind artistes cannot see the audience they have a 'host' who can see in the audience. The 'host' actually conveys the sentiment of the audience to the blind artistes on the stage. Soni explains, The host actually lets us know if the audience is smiling, laughing or cheering our songs. What would they appreciate, or be happy to hear. He is the facilitator between audience and us.
Shows not sympathy
The band has plenty of well-wishers and those who encourage them like Dr Arvind Prabhu, son of former Mumbai mayor Ramesh Prabhu. Dr A Prabhu has ensured they have a place to practise regularly at Vile Parle. Most artistes in Udaan now make their living through music. We do not want sympathy, they say. Though instrument costs like that of a flute set are prohibitive (30 flute set costs Rs 1 lakh), we do not just want money.u00a0 We want more shows. We also want this album to be judged for its quality, not because of the novelty factor of blind artistes playing for it.
