Big Noise: Finding connection through music and culture

Earlier this year, local music charity Big Noise travelled to South India to participate in a concert that celebrated the shared heritage of Scotland and India. One of the young musicians shares her experiences of the trip.

Words and photos by Harine Uthayakumar

I started Big Noise when I was in P3 as an after-school club. I would go to play the violin for fun but I slowly began taking it more seriously and participating in concerts. Going to India with Big Noise wasn’t expected, I never really thought about playing outside the UK, but when I heard there was a possibility of going to Chennai, a city in the south of India, I was really excited and curious. I was worried I might be homesick and would want to come back right away. But it was really fun and, in the end, I wanted it to last longer.

India was a brand new experience for everyone going. Travelling with a group of people from my school to another country was a very special and rare occasion. We spent a week there experiencing a brand new and eye-catching culture. We went there to participate in a concert with the local Sunshine Orchestra. We spent hours upon hours practising the pieces with them to make sure the performance was perfect. This was really hard and I didn’t really look forward to it but it led us to meet people from the Sunshine Orchestra. They communicated with us like we were a part of their orchestra and were always ready to help us with anything that confused us.

We learnt two different pieces for the concert. The music may have looked simple in sight but I personally thought it was harder than all the other music I learnt for the concert. They played it so effortlessly, it really brought out another side of music for me. For example, the method that they were using to play well-known classical songs sounded pretty and different. There were also many different ornaments that were added to the music - these are effects added to the music to make it sound more entrancing, such as trills. The concert also meant a lot to me as this was the first time my family from India saw me perform in person.

But it wasn’t just rehearsals every day, we got time to look around Chennai. There were many temples in Chennai, some small, some big. Every temple had a statue of Gods on it, one building that we went to was made of little detailed statues which went from the bottom all the way to the top. It also ranged in different colours, making the building pop out from the rest of the surroundings. They brought out the culture of India and highlighted how so many people value their Gods and celebrate them together.

We also went to the DakshinaChitra Heritage Museum. This museum had a lot of old houses from the 50s and we had an insight into how people lived their life during that time and how a normal day was for them. It was eye-opening to see the houses and how they were built for bigger families as a place to connect with each other, whereas modern day houses now have more technology meaning you can talk to anyone, anywhere without being in the same room.

The local food was also really good. I have eaten Indian food in Glasgow regularly, but it made me feel more comfortable eating it there as everyone else also ate it and didn’t question why it tasted like this or that. I felt more comfortable there as I was connecting with my culture and I was happy to see people wear clothing from Indian culture which I would rarely wear in Glasgow, apart from special occasions.

Going to India has really shown me what it's actually like to travel across countries to play in a concert. It comes with negatives – like jet lag, and the lack of sleep – but, really, it was a big opportunity to do something you love while being in a different country and investing yourself into a culture. When you think about all the positives it's way better and worth it. This has really made me consider travelling the world and performing as a future career because of how fun this one experience was alone. I really hope I can revisit it, including the classical music I heard and I hope I can spend more time learning it well and playing it even better.

If you’d like to get involved with Big Noise, you can get find out more info at makeabignoise.org.uuk