Sumesh Anand could not remember when he picked up his first guitar, but at the age of five, he was out there, taking part in a competition. But then he was too young to fit even into the sub junior category and came home with a consolation prize. His dad Anandan took care of the rest. The whole family was into music and Sumesh didn’t have to go out for another guru. His dad taught him to play the guitar. Somewhere along, he drifted towards the keyboard and joined the navy band, touring many countries, performing in the turbulent seas. Two years ago, Sumesh left the navy to come home to Kerala and begin a band — a fusion band of eastern and western music.
On September 3, he will be performing in Kochi for a Carnatic show by singer Rahul Lexman, while he gives a western backing with his keyboard. “I had begun performing with a troupe when I was a fifth grader. There were many troupes then like the Blue Diamonds,” says Sumesh, who spent the first years of his life in Alappuzha. His only bit of break from music came in his tenth standard days with the board exams. But even then, he had won first prize for guitar at the state school youth festival. After that he was selected to be in the navy.
“In my pre-degree days, there was a music group in college looking for a keyboardist. I had till then played only the guitar. But I saw them rehearsing the English pop song Quit playing games with my heart, joined in, and it worked. As luck would have it, the naval band was also performing this song when I joined. And I already knew the chords, so they were happy.” Then on, it was the keyboard for Sumesh. That, and the trombone. “That happened when we got professional training for nine months in Odisha — giving us a foundation in western classical music. We had to master an instrument and I took up the trombone.”
For 15 years, he was in that naval band, playing in the sea to keep the officers calm, and in many overseas venues, representing India. He has been to the Rasthrapati Bhavan playing for the President — once for KR Narayanan and once for APJ Abdul Kalam. He treasures the time he played for Kalam. “He had requested us to perform Endaro Mahanubhavulu. It was great.” Sumesh has gone on musical tours to Germany, Italy, France, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Kenya and many more countries.
“Sometimes we’d go as a tri-service. That is when 25 musicians each from the Army, Navy and Air Force join to perform at an international music festival, representing India. There would also be International Fleet Reviews hosted by different countries. Once when we went for that in Australia, I had a lot of Australians coming and asking me about Sachin Tendulkar.” In fact, he has also performed in front of Sachin, for BCCI events. Some of his most memorable performances are with Hariprasad Chaurasia, Bismillah Khan.
“Once Adnan Sami and I played on the same keyboard,” says the excited musician. But he left all that to get more exposure. Starting a band, he got violinists like Abhijith, Sabareesh, Vivekanandan and Roopa Revathi to join him for performances where he’d have a fusion of eastern and western music. “My wife Anjali, who is a lecturer at the RLV College, is a Carnatic singer and gives me the basics in Carnatic music.” With his band, he has gone to quite a lot of Middle East countries apart from the shows within the country. “I wish to go to the US and the UK too with my music, two places I have missed out so far.” Among his biggest desires is also a hope to meet music maestros Ilayaraja and AR Rahman.
