The rain did not spoil the fun
The rain surely did not spoil the fun for everybody. A few lucky people who decided not to leave the Festival of Music at Kalabhumi had an beautiful experience that night.
As everybody was helping to bring the music equipment inside the Kalabhumi studio, the rain increased. The studio soon became a refuge from the mud and water.
Perhaps because we did not know how long we would have had to wait for the rain to stop, or perhaps simply because we did not feel like going home just yet, but each found a small corner to sit, and the studio’s atmosphere turned cosy.
Shakti opened the piano and together with Vera started playing some Bossa Nova tunes. I could not resist, I had to sing along (I love Brazilian music).
One song after the other, everybody joined in by keeping the beat on boxes or with their hands.
Then Shakti left the piano to a young Indian guy who played some Adele’s tunes, and contagiously Vera, Margerita and Christabel sang along.
The four members of the guest band Thermal and a Quarter, whom had been watching and listening to us, got inspired and decided to plug in their equipment and gave us a private concert.
In no time the rehearsal studio looked like an underground live music club. People were up dancing and the space seemed just right too.
“Sometimes this sort of spontaneous small concerts give us more energy than the usual performances in large venues.” said Bruce Lee Mani (singer, song writer and guitarist of the band) after the concert was brought to an end by a power cut.
While the musicians were recollecting their instruments, I managed to have a brief interview with Rajeev Rajagopal (drummer of the band), and asked him what was the meaning of the name Thermal and a Quarter. Listen to the last five minutes of the audio file to find out.