A young coach & his talented team win hearts

KOZHIKODE: The conventional image of a ‘Guru’ is that of a mature person, but one look at Bernard Benny (19), a second year BSc (Zoology) student of Newman College in Thodupuzha, will shatter that illusion. The Vrinda Vadyam team of St Mary’s HSS (Idukki) he trained enthralled a packed audience at Ganapath Boys School Chalappuram, on Tuesday.
Bernard had trained a sevenmember school team for six months and his sister Rose is also a member of this team.He had composed the title portion of the item the team performed while other portions were fusions of the compositions by (late) violinist Balabhaskar and musician Stephen Devassy.
Bernard said he started learning music at an early age with his father Benny Mathew, a tabla artist with All India Radio. “I’m training a school team to perform at a major venue for the first time.
I’m proud as my team won the first prize in district competition and got a chance to perform at Kalolsavam,” he said, adding that the dedication and talents of students led to an enthralling performance. Kailas, a team member who handles chenda, drums and triple jazz, said Bernard’s intensive training helped a lot. “We enjoyed it when the packed audience responded positively to our performance,” he said.