You don't have to be on a reality music show to be a singer. Swara Sampada, a Mulund based non-profit organisation is here to help you showcase your vocal chords
You don't have to be on a reality music show to be a singer. Swara Sampada, a Mulund based non-profit organisation is here to help you showcase your vocal chords
On the third Sunday of every month, a motley group of working professionals ranging from doctors and lawyers to chartered accountants and businessmen meet at a school in Mulund. Here, they match melody for beat, and fulfill a long-held dream of getting a platform to sing outside their bathrooms. 
u00a0Swara Sampada members give a Sunday qawwali performance
u00a0in costume
Started in February 2003, Swara Sampada is an organisation with a motto to convert all bathroom singers into drawing room singers and all drawing room singers into stage singers. Ambitious but certainly commendable. As secretary Jatin Shah puts it: "If you love music but have never got a platform to really showcase your skill, find us. We promote and encourage musical talent that may have been subdued by other
considerations."
Each Sunday, members perform two songs each to a pre-decided theme. According to vice president Dr Vijay Thakker, "It could be a lyricist, a musician, or even a type of song--love songs, devotional songs et al."
Today, the walls at Purandare Hall in Mulund will resound with the songs of veteran music composer Naushad Ali.
"We help each other practise; rehearsals are held for one week before the Sunday show," explains Shah.
Calling it a "family", Shah is at pains to emphasise that Swara Sampada is more than just an organisation to
promote singing. "No one here has had any sustained training or guidance, yet we all encourage each other to get up there and sing.
If you're crazy about music, you'll find all the support you need from our members."Thakker agrees. "I don't know about any other such organisation in India, where people are given only encouragement and very little criticism." Clearly, bonhomie is a big part of this organisation, where even practice sessions are held in members'--anywhere from 20 to 80 year-olds) homes.
That's not all. Every year on July 31, members commemorate singer Mohammad Rafi's death anniversary by going on a three-day picnic and indulging in 18-hour sessions of his music.
Log on to:
SwaraSampada.tripod.com for membership details, or to visit today's performance
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