Reunion of members of Bluebirds the once-famous orchestra of Thiruvananthapuram

As Srinivas began to sing ‘Musafir hoon yaaron…’, an evergreen Kishore Kumar-RD Burman number from Parichay (1972), there was a cheerful buzz among those gathered at Sree Moolam Club in Thiruvananthapuram. Srinivas was not present there as one of the prominent playback singers but as a member of Bluebirds, one of the oldest orchestras in Thiruvananthapuram. Around him, over a dozen orchestra members stood or sat, cherishing their reunion after almost four decades.

The occasion was the marriage of the daughter of R Sudeep Kumar, the orchestra’s guitarist. “Sudeep insisted that we all should attend, so I came specifically for the function. This get-together has been long overdue,” says Srinivas. After the marriage, the orchestra played classic film songs and ghazals, much to the delight of the people, many of whom had heard them live.

What makes the Bluebirds stand out is that many of its members went on to make a mark in the entertainment industry. Notable figures among them being filmmaker TK Rajeev Kumar and singers G Venugopal, G Sreeram and B Arundhati. “KS Beena, elder sister of KS Chithra, has been our prominent singer. Chithra, who was then just a young girl, also performed on a couple of occasions,” says Rajeev Kumar, a percussionist of the orchestra.

Then there were guest artistes Susheela Devi, Mohan Sithara, and Murali Sithara, among others, remembers C Gopalakrishnan, who used to play the harmonium and the keyboard.

Bluebirds originated because of the Kerala University Youth Festival. “You could say it was born out of the hangover of the youth festival!” says Rajeev, as Sreeram agrees. All the members studied around the same time at the Model Boys High School and Government Arts College, where they pursued Pre-Degree (now renamed as Plus Two). Bluebirds was formed during 1978-79. Though some members moved on to different colleges, especially University College, or switched courses, the group remained intact.

“It was Rajeev’s idea to form the orchestra since we had both singers and instrumentalists among us,” says renowned photographer Balan Madhavan, who played percussion occasionally. Rajeev explains, “It just happened. What made us different was that we were a bunch of youth festival winners in various disciplines. The orchestra was started on a whim, for fun, but it became refined over time. I got the idea because of the singers we had, such as Srinivas, Venu [G Venugopal], Balagopalan Thampy, Sreeram, Beena, and Arundhati. There was this feeling that they would go on to make a name for themselves, and some of them eventually did.”

Around the same time, Rajeev formed Super Mimics, a pioneering mimicry troupe, with Sreeram, Gopalakrishnan, and Balan from Bluebirds, as well as GR Nandakumar, now a veteran dubbing artiste. “We used to book programmes of Bluebirds and Super Mimics together,” says Balan.

Bluebirds would perform at college union inaugurations, temple festivals and public events in and around Thiruvananthapuram. “But we never performed for a livelihood. We enjoyed performing and being together,” says Sreeram, adding that he often sang “comedy” numbers.

Srinivas refers to the group as a bunch of crazy youngsters. “We didn’t know what we were doing with our lives. We all had dreams, that’s all. But Bluebirds was perhaps the most significant thing that happened in my life,” he says.

However, their fan following was huge. They remember how Balagopalan Thampy drew large crowds. “He was our Yesudas [KJ Yesudas], especially in his all-white attire and beard,” says Balan. When the group came together again at Sree Moolam Club, he was once again the star as he regaled the gathering with ‘Onnini sruthi thazhthi’, the P Jayachandran song. “‘Mizhiyoram’ and ‘Oru mukham’ were among the audience’s favourites back then. And Srinivas was our Kishore Kumar,” Balagopalan says.

A few members of Bluebirds orchestra
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Rajeev recalls there was stiff opposition from the families of Venugopal and Srinivas for being part of the orchestra. “In their eyes, they were neglecting studies at the cost of music,” he observes.

The presence of Beena and Arundhati, both alumni of the Government College for Women, made the get-together even more special. “I was not in touch with most of them. This marriage revived the connection, and it felt good to meet all of them again,” says Arundhati.

The Bluebirds orchestra was active only till 1984-85, after which it became defunct as the members got busy with their careers and personal lives. “The orchestra was active for hardly four or five years. But it was something special. Hopefully, we all can meet again,” concludes Venugopal.