CHENNAI: Musicians are often associated with sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. But for friends of Handel Jim, one of Chennai’s most loved bass guitarists who passed away in a bike accident last year, the message is clearly different. Says Shema Mariya, his junior in college and one-third of girl band Colour Chaos, “A helmet could have saved his life. Now all of us wear helmets.” This includes a large section of the city’s western music circuit -- close to 25 people across various bands that Handel played for. And everybody they meet, on stage or off, is encouraged to do the same. In fact, Shema recalls, “Just a few months ago I lost my helmet, and before I could make any excuses, a friend replaced it for me.”City music lovers can wear their helmets when they head to a concert in tribute of Handel that will be held at 5.30 pm on Saturday at Musee Musicals, Mount Road. “We’ve had other tribute shows in the past with the ‘Handel Acoustic Experience’,” says Vinay Ramakrishnan, who played with him in Public Issue, “but this concert will mark a whole year since his death on April 6.” Playing at the concert will be Public Issue, Liquid Measure, Blind Image and a special line-up of musicians who have played with Handel over the years who call themselves ‘Jam 4 Jim’ (J4J).Asked whether this band will become a regular feature in Chennai’s music circuit, J4J member Siddharth Kumar, who played with Handel in Hindi-rock act Udaan, pauses for a moment, “I think it’s best we leave it an annual affair.” He continues, “After all, we want to maintain the sanctity of his memory.”All sentiment aside, most musicians remember Handel for his vibrant living of life. “For everything he would say, ‘Kyamon di enjoi’,” laughs Christopher Stanley, friend and ex-band mate. One of the fondest memories of Handel comes from a music competition at CMC Vellore. “Halfway through the set we suddenly stopped hearing the bass guitar,” close friend David Simon reminisces. He smiles, “Our man had actually dozed off. When we woke him up at the end of the set, it became quite the standing joke. Typical Handel.” This is why when David composed a song in memory of Handel, who was all of 23 years old when he died, he decided there would be no soft sad notes. Instead he states, “It’s pumping hard rock, a testimony celebrating his life and all the good times we had.” For all the ‘orthodox’ folks who didn’t quite understand his easygoing laid-back style this composition, available as a constant reminder online, is aptly titled, Can you ‘Handel’ this?
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