The LitSoc LM solo which took place at the CLT on the 30th of October, witnessed a multitude of brilliant performances. After a short delay (which the FR coordinator was at pains to explain was due to the Amplifier suppliers who were stuck in a traffic jam) the event began. There were 60 participants, a record for the competition, with much greater participation from the PG hostels. The performances were thoroughly professional and refreshingly melodious. Tracks ranging from Hindustani classical to Indian rock were performed. Not for one moment was the audience’s attention drawn away from stage.
Akshay stole the show with a superlative rendition of ‘Malhaar’ by Fuzon. Glucon’s performance of ‘Tu Hi Re’ was stunning. Gelatin , after accompanying nearly every third participant marvelled with a cover of ‘Manmohini Morey’ from the astrologically named ‘Yuvvraaj’. Tadar was magnificent in his energetic performance of ‘Allah Ke Bande Hasde’. The only request from the audience for an encore came after this performance. The coordinators, severely constrained by time(the event was 5 hours long!) unfortunately couldn’t allow it. ‘Mere Dholna’ performed by Ashwini was pleasing. Sriram from Saras was technically correct in his rendition of ‘Poi Solla Koodathu Kaadhali’. Mitta finished the standings with an impressive performance of ‘Noor e Khuda’. Chandrashekhar from Alak and Fungus from Godav among many others did a wonderful job accompanying the vocalists.
The judge Mr Kalyanasundharam who has composed songs performed by the likes of Janaki, Chitra and Shankar Mahadevan said that he was truly impressed with the quality of participation. He said he did not rate anyone below par. After a particularly mellifluous rendering, he commented that at the highest levels, one needed to sing from below the throat. He lauded the technical correctness of most performances saying their ‘sur’ and ‘taal’ was spot on.
The Results-
1) Akshay Subramaniam( Ganga)
2) Anirudh ‘Glucon’ Gurjale (Saras)
3) Aditya ‘Gelatin’ Shankar (Mandak )
4) Tadar (Mahanadi)
5) Ashwini C(Sharav)
6) Parthasarathy P( Pampa)
7) Sriram (Saras)
8) Rohit Mitta (Mandak)
