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The Raman effect
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CONCERT Susheela Raman and her band from the U.K. mixed bhakti with rock in a recent performance at the Unwind Centre
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HIGH ENERGY CHANTING Susheela Raman
Unwind Centre got its dose of worship music of a different kind during the launch of its tenth anniversary concerts.
Susheela Raman and her band from the U.K. mixed bhakti with Hendrix leaving the organisers speechless. It’s not every day you hear passionate, high-energy chants of ‘Vel Muruga, Vel Muruga’ at the Centre, known for its soft spot for gospel music/rock. After the opening act by an immensely talented Inside Out, Susheela Raman took centre-stage to introduce herself and her kind of music.
Raised in the U.K., she went to Australia and turned to rock. She did a few gigs before realising that there were many bands around the world that did rock, funk and soul. She then came to India to discover the “soul of Tamil music and bhakti.”
Susheela’s act has to be seen to be believed. Guitarist Sam Mills sets the mood, she always begins slow and mellow and, in no time, the music consumes her, she goes into a state of trance and launches into high-energy chants like a woman possessed. The band slipped between genres effortlessly and seamlessly, whether it was Dylan (Like a Rolling Stone) or Hendrix with Kovai Kamalam.
There were only a handful of people in the hall but that didn’t seem to bother her. She called them closer to the stage and performed for a little over an hour at a stretch. She even invited them to come and watch the band rehearse on Sunday ahead of their other concerts in the city. It’s with that sort of music-loving culture and the platform it provides that Unwind Centre has managed to keep hope alive for rock and other forms that defy norms, across borders and beyond boundaries.
SUDHISH KAMATH
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