is more relaxed and the only purpose is to rock and roll. The jam gets rolling around 7 or 8 in the evening, right when the college students stir up from their power nap after those long exhausting lectures. Another buzzing trend is a midnight jam, in which hostel students gather at midnight and relish music for an hour or two. Be it an evening one or a midnight one it all sets in with one or two, who start playing instruments in the adda, gradually more and more folks join in and the mood soars higher. For the most part, jams are frequented by guitarists, key board players, drummers and vocalists while some others simply get in whimsically and all this finally makes a crowd of about fifty to sixty people. The genre of music is usually rock and jazz with R&B, soul and funk making a place recently. From pop star Rihanna and wrapper Eminem to their own wonderful compositions, our youngsters play them all. Surprisingly, bollywood numbers are hardly found on jam chartbusters.
Jamming it up in colleges has got many advantages. These happy hours set in a mood of entertainment which is very important to stay relieved from stress, which normally builds up due to burden of studies
Precisely, what happens is, the group starts on something like jazz, which gives way to rock which again may give way to anything from blues to trance. One never knows who might show up or what might happen next. And the thing continues for the next two to three hours. Ashna Chandrakar, a law student from
Raipur, who has been attending jams for almost two years explains, “We do not decide on any particular genre. We just play anything and everything. A vocal is going on and then suddenly someone else pops up with another song, which may or may not be entirely different from the previous one. That's how it goes on.” Younkers even get grooving on the beats while some others simply lend their ears to their friends. Most college groups jam once a week, some others jam fortnightly and other busy groups manage to jam monthly. And this latest fancy amongst youngsters has got a thumbs up from psychologists too. According to them jamming it up in colleges has got many advantages. These happy hours set in a mood of entertainment which is very important to stay relieved from stress, which normally builds up due to burden of studies. A good dose of music acts as a stress buster. Apart from that, it fosters a bond between people who share a common interest. In a way, it's a platform for music lovers where they can discuss their ideas and learn a lot from each other. DJ Rafael tells us, “A college jam is not just a hang. It gives a chance to showcase one's own composition and create other different compositions that wouldn't happen if it wasn't a jam session. When one showcases a composition and gets cheers and applauds for the same, it gives him the confidence to move further in the same direction and who knows the next Enrique is from your own college group.” Part time singer Joy Thomas says, “I got all my gigs from going to jam sessions. For groups who really love music, it's a must do thing.” What we make out from all this is that among many others, jamming has definitely become a not-to-miss thing in college life. This happening thing is no less than partying at your fav club on a weekend, might prove even better for music freaks.
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