W hen they paid their fare, those who boarded MTC’s 29C at 2 p.m. on February 2, would not have expected what came with the ticket. On that hour-long journey, four sets of musicians got in at various “stages” to sing live for the passengers – part of the outreach leading to the annual Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha held in Besant Nagar, Chennai. The route was chosen with care – it passed through major roads and the journey played host to a cross-section of people. If the idea was to build bridges through music, this was a great way.
Music is no stranger to public buses. But this one was unexpectedly joyous. Here was a mini kutcheri – live with mridangam and harmonium as accompaniment. Soon after the bus left Chromepet bus-stand, Savita Sriraam and Suchitra Balasubramanian started a Ganapathi vazhthu, and the interior fell silent. Tamizharasu and Tamilselvan, middle-school students of Don Bosco sat riveted when the bus crossed the flyover and the word Vinayakaa rang out. “Loved it!” they said before getting off.
A Gnaneswar Abhang followed, but this was no sabha audience to respond with a polite applause. “Vittala, Vittala” the singers called and the passengers clapped in time. The pattern was set – total audience immersion in that musical jugalbandi of MTC passengers and live performers. Suchitra interspersed the singing with stories from puranas and by the time the bus reached Purasawalkam and ‘Gurucharana-kamalam Parihariste’ got over, the passengers were asking for more.
Musicians inside the bus, as part of the Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha
The USP of the Urur-Olcott Kuppam Vizha is its seamless amalgamation of various forms of music. Guitarist Suren and rapper Sofia got in next to give their captive audience a piece of their mind about life in cities. The “vetti pattu” was in a lighter vein said Sofia – when the audience hooted approval in the end, she cracked: “we are all vetti (useless) people now.”
The choice of songs matched the passing areas perfectly. When Vidhya Ragavan and Ananya Ashok (Viswesvaran-flute, Akshay Ananathapadmanabhan-mridangam) sang ‘Paarukkulle Nalla Naadu’ the bus was on Uthamar Gandhi Road, ‘Maitrim Bhajatha’ it was on Cathedral Road and Sarasa Samadhana with niraval as the bus passed the Music Academy. “Best kutcheri I’ve ever heard, sitting close to the artists, listening to music without mics,” said Jayashree, home-maker.
When the bus entered Luz, Aditya Prakash’s passionate rendering of ‘Payojimene’ drew loud in-time clapping which became permanent as Susha Raja sang a Tamil number. The bus entered Adyar to a sollukkattu which merged beautifully with matching rhythm played on the mridangam (Akshay), ghatam (Chandrasekar Sharma) and morsing (Sai Subramanyam). The tempo increased on Thiru-vi-ka bridge and on LB Road and Besant Avenue. T.M. Krishna had boarded the bus and now his voice rang out: Om shakti-Om shakti-Om, and his uchasthayi ending was a fitting finale to the combo-concert that no passenger wanted to end.
“Soul-stirring experience,” said writer-director K. Anand who travelled the length. “Arumaiyana kalaingarkal came to sing in an ordinary bus. Thanks for bringing their music to us,” said Nandagopal, the checking inspector who sat through the ride. Great idea, said driver Lenin, who ensured a smooth journey. For conductor Kabilan, who managed to issue tickets and blend his whistles tunefully with the music, it was a trilling experience. “Worked with joy,” he said. “Don’t mind doing more such trips, so tension-free.” For Rithvik and Vignesh, the young organisers, it was a job well done.
