Staying afloat without fizzling outConrad Bhengra

From family dinners and festivals to school choirs, Conrad Bhengra's relationship with music dates back to his childhood days. With time, music transformed into his life's purpose.

"In my family, everyone appreciated music, but nobody really pursued it as a career so as a kid I never anticipated that I would one day be a professional musician. But, slowly in my teens, I began to understand my attraction to it. I remember saving up to buy a second-hand guitar and then spending weeks to learn it on my own," he shares.

From school to undergraduate college and then a postgraduate diploma, Conrad continued to balance his education and music through several band collaborations as a guitarist. However, breaking away from the convention was still difficult for him at first, says the 36-year-old guitarist who began his professional journey with event management.


"In 2012, I moved back with my family to Ranchi with an event management job in a prominent media organisation. While it was financially stable, the work did not motivate me enough and was too hectic. At that time, it was my mother who pushed me to change my career and do what I loved - music. Without my family's support, probably I would not have had the courage to pursue my dream," adds Conrad who quit his job in 2014 and began working as an independent artist.

Soon, opportunities began to knock, and he took up a teaching job at a Pune-based music academy, The Music Club. This was the turning point in his life, as the institute allowed him a dual role of a teacher and a musician.

"With a few members of the faculty, including the principal Shruti Jakati, we started a fusion band called Idanim in 2016 and since then the journey has been incredible," he shares.

Idanim was one of the first bands to be featured at the HCL Digital Concerts, in November 2019.

"A constant challenge for young artists today is to stay afloat and not fizzle out. With talent and the right opportunities, one can steadily rise. While this needs conviction, the support of organisations like the HCL is a huge help in that direction," says the artist.

HCL Digital Concerts is a platform meant to identify aspiring musicians and provide them with opportunities to showcase their talent through digital as well as physical music concerts.

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Excellence in performing arts is the consummation of years of rigorous application and expert training. The fusion of body and mind makes every expression of artistry truly world class. Just as HCL synergizes knowledge with endeavour to produce innovative solutions, HCL Concerts celebrates the sheer brilliance of human genius in the field of performing arts.