IDL Blind Band, a troupe of musicians with visual disabilities, has set a national record for more than 500 performances since its inception in 2006. The Limca Book of Records conferred a certificate on the band a fortnight ago in recognition of its achievement.
The band, comprising 13 full-time and 40 on-call artistes, had sung over 1,500 songs in several languages. Dancers and mimicry artistes are also members of the group.
Singer and music director S. Gururaj, who is president of the Akhila Karnataka Vadyagoshti Kalavidara Sangha, formally released the certificate from the Limca Book of Records here on Tuesday. IDL Band was an “ideal band”, that proved that those with visual impairments could achieve anything with determination, he said. He sought more encouragement from the public for the group.
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P.K. Paul, founder of IDL Foundation, said the singers were well-versed in sugama sangeeta as well as film songs. “We are planning to give a 24-hour non-stop music show in November at Raj Kumar Memorial in Nandini Layout. The 40-member music troupe will render melodies of Rajkumar,” he said.
Guitarist Manohar, keyboardist and singer Nagasing, and singer Nagina appealed to companies to encourage them by providing them opportunities to perform.