‘We are cooking some delicious dishes with our instruments,’ reads the Instagram profile of Arakavyuuham, a percussion band formed by students of Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University, Kerala’s premier institution for learning performing arts at Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur district.
The 10-member band comprises students pursuing postgraduate courses at the institution. The USP of the band is blending the beats of traditional percussion instruments such as the chenda, mridangam, thimila, mizhavu and edakka with that of drums, cajon and darbuka.
The musicians have been studying at Kalamandalam from Class VIII, when students are enrolled at the institution. “We have known each other for over a decade now and some of us are in the final year of our courses. We are like family since we have stayed at the hostel all these years,” says Adithya Krishna, founder of the band and a student of the chenda.
