In November of 2002, two freshmen, Jay Pandit and Sudeep Roy, and two sophomores, Bobby Ghosh and Mehul Trivedi, came together to perform an a cappella act for Stanford’s South Asian cultural show. At the time, they were just a group of friends with a shared love for music. Little did they know that their simple rendition of “Oh! Carol,” an upbeat mix of Hindi, Punjabi, and English, would be the start of Stanford’s newest a cappella ensemble, Raagapella.
Since that first performance, Raagapella has grown tremendously and has expanded its membership to include singers with diverse musical interests and skills. We have performed all over the Bay Area, including many awards banquets, international policy seminars, and culture shows both on campus and at other universities. In November of 2005, we took first place at Anahat, the National South Asian A Cappella Competition held at the University of California, Berkeley. The following month, we released our debut album Raags to Riches to critical acclaim, including two perfect scores from the Recorded A Cappella Review Board. This year, we conducted our first tour, travelling across the West Coast, and performed with composer A.R. Rahman and other stars of Indian film music at the Hollywood Bowl. It's an exciting time for us, and we hope that you have as much fun listening to our music as we do singing it.
As the four founders of Raagapella prepare to leave Stanford, they can be proud of the legacy they leave behind. Although much has changed since the first time they walked on stage, they know that Raagapella remains a group of friends with a shared love for music…and who will NEVER get tired of “Oh! Carol.”
Oh sanu chadh ke na jao sun baliye...