<p>A group of Bengaluru-based senior citizens has come together to form a choir, which will have its debut performance on April 12 at Sabha Blr, Kamaraj Road. Called Silver Songbirds of Bengaluru, they are directed by Soundarie David Rodrigo and Juanita Jayant.</p>.<p>Among its 20 regular members are former foreign secretary of India, Nirupama Menon Rao, and her husband, Sudhakar Rao, former chief secretary to the Karnataka government, apart from a few journalists, corporate leaders, homemakers and music teachers.</p>.<p>“The idea was to create a community for senior citizens with similar interests, a safe space where they can come together and connect on something they all resonate with,” says writer Sandhya Mendonca, one of the members. The youngest member is 52, and the oldest, 80. “Bernadette D’Souza, the 80-year-old, still works at a school and is more physically active than many 20-year-olds,” she shares. </p>.<p>Nirupama, a regular visitor to Colombo, Sri Lanka, stumbled upon a similar group on one of her trips to the island country. Since then, she felt strongly about bringing a similar choir together in Bengaluru, her home city. Two months ago, she put out a post asking interested individuals to sign up and in no time they had numerous candidates, Sandhya recalls. Since then, they have been rehearsing twice a month. Soundarie, the director of the Colombo choir, flew down to Bengaluru for the first few rehearsals and will be visiting the city again for their debut performance. </p>.Folk and Tonic: All-women ensemble explores global folk music.<p>Sandhya points out that the word ‘choir’ often conjures images of a church or school group that sticks to religious hymns. However, the Silver Songbirds are nothing of the sort. “Our list of songs spans all genres and languages,” Sandhya shares. </p>.<p>A particular favourite of hers is ‘Some enchanted evening’, a ballad from the Broadway musical ‘South Pacific’, first staged in 1949. “‘Que sera sera’ is another song we will be singing. Most of these songs were old when we were young. I remember singing this in school with my sister,” she recalls. ‘Neera bittu nelada mele’, a S P Balasubrahmanyam hit from the Kannada film ‘Hombisilu’, will also be a part of the list. ‘Dancing queen’ by Abba and ‘I believe’ by Elvis Presley are some of the other popular numbers the group has been practising.</p>.<p>In the run-up to their debut show, the group performed as a part of Soundarie’s choir in Colombo two weeks ago.</p>.<p>“That was a fun experience and gave us the confidence that we can do it ourselves,” she states, and adds, “As you grow older, you become almost invisible. But being a part of a community like this, makes you feel seen.”</p>
<p>A group of Bengaluru-based senior citizens has come together to form a choir, which will have its debut performance on April 12 at Sabha Blr, Kamaraj Road. Called Silver Songbirds of Bengaluru, they are directed by Soundarie David Rodrigo and Juanita Jayant.</p>.<p>Among its 20 regular members are former foreign secretary of India, Nirupama Menon Rao, and her husband, Sudhakar Rao, former chief secretary to the Karnataka government, apart from a few journalists, corporate leaders, homemakers and music teachers.</p>.<p>“The idea was to create a community for senior citizens with similar interests, a safe space where they can come together and connect on something they all resonate with,” says writer Sandhya Mendonca, one of the members. The youngest member is 52, and the oldest, 80. “Bernadette D’Souza, the 80-year-old, still works at a school and is more physically active than many 20-year-olds,” she shares. </p>.<p>Nirupama, a regular visitor to Colombo, Sri Lanka, stumbled upon a similar group on one of her trips to the island country. Since then, she felt strongly about bringing a similar choir together in Bengaluru, her home city. Two months ago, she put out a post asking interested individuals to sign up and in no time they had numerous candidates, Sandhya recalls. Since then, they have been rehearsing twice a month. Soundarie, the director of the Colombo choir, flew down to Bengaluru for the first few rehearsals and will be visiting the city again for their debut performance. </p>.Folk and Tonic: All-women ensemble explores global folk music.<p>Sandhya points out that the word ‘choir’ often conjures images of a church or school group that sticks to religious hymns. However, the Silver Songbirds are nothing of the sort. “Our list of songs spans all genres and languages,” Sandhya shares. </p>.<p>A particular favourite of hers is ‘Some enchanted evening’, a ballad from the Broadway musical ‘South Pacific’, first staged in 1949. “‘Que sera sera’ is another song we will be singing. Most of these songs were old when we were young. I remember singing this in school with my sister,” she recalls. ‘Neera bittu nelada mele’, a S P Balasubrahmanyam hit from the Kannada film ‘Hombisilu’, will also be a part of the list. ‘Dancing queen’ by Abba and ‘I believe’ by Elvis Presley are some of the other popular numbers the group has been practising.</p>.<p>In the run-up to their debut show, the group performed as a part of Soundarie’s choir in Colombo two weeks ago.</p>.<p>“That was a fun experience and gave us the confidence that we can do it ourselves,” she states, and adds, “As you grow older, you become almost invisible. But being a part of a community like this, makes you feel seen.”</p>