#PeopleOfDonatekart: Meet Unniraj KS

“You know the kind of friendships they show in movies where you do everything together, hardly attend class, and just spend your days laughing and having fun? Ours was just like that! I’m from a small town in Kerala and went to a boys’ school. Needless to say, we created quite the ruckus. We played cricket inside the classroom, got into trouble together, and failed almost every test. And when it came to our finals, we were in it together as well — we all passed! Those days will always stay with me.

When I moved from my hometown to Bangalore. Everything was different. I saw that a lot of them spoke more than 2 languages, and for someone who spoke only Malayalam, college was difficult in the beginning. While I understood what the teachers told me, I couldn’t respond in English. And that has led to many misunderstandings, even me being thrown out of class once!

Luckily, the college band I had joined had people from all over India. They spoke in English, and I picked it up from them. They didn’t mind that I didn’t know English or Hindi or Tamil then though — you see, music has no language. We just knew that we enjoyed jamming together. But thanks to them, within a year, I was fluent in English. And 4 other languages! This is what I love about music, there are no barriers. Back in Kerala, I wanted to start music classes only because my friends were in them. But we couldn’t afford it then. So I borrowed the guitar from my friend and learned on my own. Since then, I can’t go a day without it. Now I’m even learning Carnatic music.

A lot has changed over the years, but one thing remains the same — my bond with my school friends. A lot of them don’t live in India anymore, but they call all the time. And every time we meet, things are still the same. We’ve seen each other’s ups and downs and still remain the best of friends. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

- Unniraj KS, Business Development Associate