1 week Ago By Barkha Kumari
Dr Thomas Chandy’s life is an inspiring example for young people torn between passion and profession, says musician Sriram Raman Iyer. Dr Chandy, 74, who passed away late Monday night, was a noted orthopaedic surgeon and jazz singer in Bengaluru..
“For many years, Tom chetta, as I called him, made time to jam with us every Tuesday. If we had a show coming up, we’d rehearse up to 10 times. We met on the third floor of his house, filled with instruments from around the world, including a rare harp from Greece,” says Iyer, who co-founded The Jazz Revivals with Dr Chandy in 2000, when “there weren’t enough avenues for that style of music”.
The band was later renamed Jazz and Rock Revivals..This January, the band completed 25 years, having performed nearly 700 shows.
“Musicians came and went, but chetta and I stuck around. We performed at clubs and hotels, during Christmas and rock ‘n’ roll nights, and even for consul generals and prime ministers. I once organised a fundraiser for an old saxophonist who had broken his leg, and chetta offered him medical assistance,” says Iyer, who plays the saxophone, flute, and clarinet.
.Bengaluru: Vidhana Soudha now open to public on government holidays.Though some urged Dr Chandy to focus on his career as a doctor, he didn’t leave behind jazz.
“It was while practicing medicine in New York that he began taking vocal jazz lessons and frequently visited jazz clubs. Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin were among his favourite jazz singers,” Iyer adds..
Writer Stanley Carvalho says Dr Chandy’s love for music was shaped by the Anglicised sensibilities of Richards Town in the ’50s and ’60s. His junior of several years at St Germain High School in Cleveland Town, Carvalho recalls, “In school, Tommy — as many would call him — was part of the Beatlets, a pop-rock band named by the sports master after The Beatles. After school, he joined Spartans, a four-piece band that performed across Bengaluru and as far as the Kolar Gold Fields.
In 1968, they won the first all-India beat contest in Mumbai. Back then, bands were known as ‘beat groups’.” Despite his deep passion for music, Dr Chandy chose medicine, knowing it promised a more secure future, Carvalho says.
.M R Jagadeesh, director of the Bangalore School of Music (BSM) and co-founder of jazz band MoonArra, remembers Dr Chandy as a “true friend of musicians” whose contributions were far-reaching..
“When a carpenter at our school badly injured his hand, Dr Chandy performed the surgery free of charge. He also funded a BSM project that brought music education to underprivileged children,” Jagadeesh recalls. And as a member of BSM’s advisory board, Dr Chandy brought a wealth of professional insight to help navigate organisational challenges.
.Dr Chandy’s band is planning a series of tribute concerts for him..
