IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao’s timely intervention has given the city-based death metal band, Godless, the wings to travel to Germany and play at the prestigious Wacken Open Air (W.O.A.) as Lahari Resorts has agreed to sponsor the quartet.
The band – comprising frontman and vocalist Kaushal L.S., bassist Syed Abbas Razvi, guitarist Ravi Nidamarthy and drummer Aniketh Yadav – has beaten 40 others from across the country to bag a spot at W.O.A. and become the first from Telangana to represent India at the music festival.
But despite the achievement, the band found itself staring at the face of crisis when they realised that they did not have enough funds to travel to Germany. The band tweeted to IT Minister who said he would try to find a sponsor.
Speaking to The Hindu , bassist Abbas said, “We later emailed K.T. Rama Rao. His office put us on to Lahari Resorts. We had a meeting with its managing director on Thursday and he agreed to sponsor our trip to play at W.O.A. We wish to express our gratitude to the Minister as he made the effort to get us the sponsorship from Lahari Resorts which has agreed to cover all expenses. It means the world to us.”
Lahari Resorts MD Sanjay Gaddipati confirmed the development. “The band met me and I have agreed to sponsor them. As a family, we have been active in promoting arts and culture. I know the difficulty that some artistes face in such situations,” he said.
The band is scheduled to leave for Germany on July 29. They will perform at W.O.A. on August 1.
