Articles by Hari Shenoy

On Sunday morning (February 16th, 2014), I was rudely woken up at 5.15 am by a group of people who were making religion* loudly outside my apartment block. I’d heard this cacophony before and had dismissed it, assuming incorrectly on two separate occasions that it was a funeral procession and a Jain family taking sanyas. Even though the religion was happening loudly on both occasions, I thought this was an aberration that can’t be outraged over because these were one-time events. However, what took place on Sunday changed all that. At 5.15 am, about 15 people, armed with a dholak…

My fondest childhood memories of a ‘santhe' have comprised my annual visits to the Dasara exhibition in Mysore during the festival season. Over time, the duration for which the entire fete lasted continued to increase, as did the kind of displays, shops and rides that turned it into a curious blend of a shopping festival with theme park style rides and lots of food. Cut to the present when, as a resident of Bangalore, I was excited about the prospect of visiting the recently held Sunday Soul Santhe at the Palace Grounds on Sunday, September 11th. It seemed like an…

If the Bandstand at Cubbon Park could talk, it sure would have a lot to say. It would probably tell you about how it started off, as all bandstands do, as a space for outdoor concerts / musical performances. It would narrate to you tales of long lost glory, of how it was a location where the royal family was entertained by musicians, and how, the people of Bangalore got an opportunity to witness memorable recitals by prominent artists, when the city was well and truly able to live up to its name of being the Garden city, much before…

Rock On is quite unlike any other movie that the Bollywood factory has churned out. It is the first Hindi movie that deals with rock music as its central theme, and is refreshingly different from most of the standard fare that we, as cinema-goers, have been subjected to. While the public in general seems to have been greatly appreciative of the movie, as box-office records would illustrate, I had mixed feelings about it once I walked out of the multiplex and walked back into reality, where rock bands were struggling to make it big, despite the odds being stacked heavily…

The 10th of August saw a protest, amid much publicity, by the entire musical fraternity of Bangalore, accompanied by some of the most famous Bangaloreans and owners of commercial establishments hit hard by the recent ban on live music and dancing in places that serve alcohol. But there was another protest by the musicians of the city that took place on the 13th of August for a cause that wasn't publicised as much as the former was. Music Enthusiasts jam up to re claim the Music Strip at Cubbon Park 3rd August 2008 (Pic: Arvind Padmanabh , Sudhaker Shenoy)As a…

A musician's path towards the final goal of being able to reach out to a mass audience with quality, original music is one that is full of trials and tribulations. For those that make the assumption that most of the work is done once musicians have composed, recorded, mixed and mastered their songs, the amount of significant additional effort involved in getting the music to gain mass-level popularity comes about as a rude shock.Once a band is ready with a demo, the next thing that needs to be done is to distribute this work and help promote the music they've…

On Sunday, the 27 April, 2008 at 8 AM, a group of eleven people met up in front of the Apsara theatre at K R market and embarked upon what could well be called Bangalore's first ever PhotoWalk. As the name suggests, a PhotoWalk is all about people walking and taking pictures of whatever they find interesting along the way. They walk along as a group and click photographs, while sharing their information related to photography, to the buildings they pass by, or about anything else they find relevant. This concept as first mooted and implemented in Chennai by blogger…

Enough and more has been said about how Bangalore city is the rock and metal capital of our country. It is not inaccurate either for such a claim to be made, and the fact that international musical heavyweights such as Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Sepultura, The Scorpions (who made their second visit to the city) and America among others visited the city last year as part of their tours just goes to reinforce that statement further. This exposure that the city has been enjoying over the past decade or so has led to a vibrant musical scene, giving artists a chance…

At first glance, K Raja, 26, a resident of Bull Temple Road in Basavangudi and David Moszkowicz, 34, a native of Lyon, France would seem to have nothing in common. In fact, if one were to try and apply the six degrees of separation rule on these two individuals, it is quite a high possibility that, under normal circumstances, the number of links to connect them would be much greater than the standard six. Raja the Tavil player engaged in a jugalbandi with Pavan Kumar at the New Year eve celebration. Pic: Shreya Dasgupta. Mild mannered David looks every bit…