Singers The Bala Boys on buying a one-way ticket to Chennai, the diaspora and working with a twin

Twins Sriram and Ganesh Bala who sing covers of popular Tamil Songs.
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj

The Bala Boyz — Sriram and Ganesh Bala are only 42 Instagram posts old. However, their social media has managed to grab the attention of 318 thousand followers and several celebrities including Rashmika Mandana and GV Prakash in the nine months they have been putting up content.

This set of singing twins from Singapore who has grown popular by singing covers of famous songs (mostly Tamil) are in Chennai after their stint in Los Angeles. The duo say they bought a one-way ticket to India and will not leave until they have performed for the people who have supported them.

“There is only so much you can do online. We are here to meet the makers of music who inspire us. We also want to be emboldened by the culture here and perform for our fans who have said kind words and showered us with love,” says Ganesh.

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The decision to come to Chennai has been a culmination of events since their childhood. Ganesh and Sriram say that they have been learning music since they were seven.

“Classical music — Carnatic and Hindustani have always been part of our household. As children, we would go to classes every weekend. By the time we turned 15, we began listening to Carnatic vocalist Abhishek Raghuram and liked hearing his expressions and voice. It was all very interesting. Over summer holidays, we began training with him here and also took classes over Skype,” Ganesh says.

Going global

This musical education laid their foundation for their scholarship to Berklee College of Music. Ganesh and Sriram say that they started posting content online for fun. Soon, people began liking and reacting to their work with kind comments. “People said that we had a therapeutic effect on them. It then became more than just a fun activity,” asserts Ganesh .

They regularly receive requests from their followers and say that they are inspired by composers like AR Rahman, Anirudh Ravichander, Harris Jayaraj, Thaman, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Ilaiyaraaja.

With the Tamil diaspora making more regional content online, Sriram says that more people are proudly claiming their heritage. “Earlier, people were not wearing their culture on their sleeve but that is changing now. People are celebrating their differences and are going universal,” he remarks. .

How is it working with a sibling? Ganesh believes that they share great chemistry and can anticipate each other’s reaction. “We can always bounce ideas off each other,” Sriram adds. .

The duo says that their time in Chennai is going to be dedicated towards performing shows. Their most recent one, a private event at Radio Room, drew a packed audience. Which is exactly what they hoped for as the twins are looking to meet people organically instead of using apps to ensure that connections that grow. And while they have not had much time to explore the city, they say they are enjoying having pongal and sambar for breakfast everyday.