Top executive showcases unrelenting passion for percussion

Music and arts are an integral part of the expatriate life in the Kingdom, which has been providing a lively platform for all forms of arts and music. Many expatriates have been pioneering various art forms in the Kingdom. And last week stage was set for a long-time resident to showcase his percussion skills and that too, for the first time.

M P Raghu, General Manager of Modern Art Studio, which is one of the longest established Rolex agents worldwide, offered a special treat for art enthusiasts in the Kingdom as he joined leading percussion artists Mattanur Sankaran Kutty Marar and Malayalam movie actor Jayaram for a percussion show on the premises of Indian School last Friday.

At 68, Mr Raghu has proved that age is just a number for artists, who are guided by passion and great enthusiasm.

“This was my first performance. I was yearning for this day since the age of 13,” Mr Raghu, who performed Timila, an hour-glass shaped percussion instrument used in Kerala, told Tribune. A Panchavadyam (orchestra of five instruments) performance is begun with ‘Timila Pattu’ and ends with the ‘Timila Idachal thus making timila a very important component of the traditional Kerala percussion ensemble.

Mr Raghu, hails from Palakkad district in the Indian state of Kerala. “I was born in a village, which had many musicians. However, I could not pursue my music interests as I relocated to the Kingdom at a young age. “My enthusiasm for percussion did not die down. It only surged from time to time and I was only waiting for the right opportunity for the first performance,” he added.

Mr Raghu, who performed as part of a bigger team of expatriate percussion artists groomed by Bahrain Sopana Sangamam, is looking forward to “further embrace the world of percussion”. Highly active in social circles, Mr Raghu is the current general-secretary of Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam. His family includes wife Santha, sons Anoop and Prashob and daughter-inlaw Praseetha.