Corporate Initiative: Help A Carpenter Turned Musician Sustain His Art and Passion (Tata Capital’s ‘Half Stories’ Series)

The Tata Capital Do Right team reached Rishikesh, and that's where they found their next half story in a man who is passionate about music and a unique instrument called the Didgeridoo! Learn more about this art form and also how you could help foster it.

By Ashiya Shah

December 25, 2013

Remember the ‘Do Righters’ who started from Dharamsala looking for half stories that you could complete? You might have offered help along the way to a shepherd who needed a basic survival kit to tide over harsh winters or to school children in Manali who needed heaters in their classrooms to concentrate in the biting cold? Here they offer you another opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life.

This half story was found in the pristine locale of Rishikesh — The pristine town of Rishikesh is the ideal spot for some soul searching and spiritual awakening.

It is in the spiritual city of Rishikesh that they have come across a Mukesh Dhiman, a veteran maker of the world’s oldest mouth organ – the ‘Didgeridoo‘ – a traditional Australian aboriginal musical instrument. 30 years ago when Mukesh ji heard the instrument being played by an Australian tourist, it touched a chord deep within his soul and changed his life forever. If you cannot view the video below, please click on the link.

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Mahadevan Muthalampet, a philanthropist and former professor, has transformed thousands of lives through ‘charity cafes’, where he trains single mothers, people with disabilities, inmates, burn victims, and the poor in earning a better livelihood.

He was a carpenter then, and this turned him into a musician! From the last 30 years, Mukeshji has not only been making these unique musical instruments every single day, but has also never gone to bed without playing one! His passion is palpable in his words:

I don’t know myself. All I know is that didgeridoo knows me and I know didgeridoo. I love it too much. I can’t even sleep in the night if I haven’t played the instrument – I feel like I have lost something in my life.

Now, even his three sons have entered the art, and the entire family depends on these instruments for a living. While they currently take 8 days to make one didgeridoo with their bare hands and basic tools, the process can be reduced to a single day with the help of a few electrical tools, which will cost Rs.9000.

Mukesh ji's 3 sons are also passionate about creating and playing the Didgeridoos — Mukesh ji’s 3 sons are also passionate about creating and playing the Didgeridoos.

Can you help them sustain their passion for music and love for the unique instruments by contributing money towards the purchase of tools or by sharing the video? Let us complete Mukesh ji’s Half Story and encourage him to carry on.

For more details, log on to the Do Right website: www.doright.in or follow them on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/doright.in) or twitter (https://twitter.com/WeDoRight).