Eyeworld

97 EW IN OTHER NEWS June 2017 professions, religious beliefs, and ethnicities. "It's incredibly diverse, and although each of us has grown up with a different style of music, we have embraced the common cultural and musical thread between us," he said. This idea of finding commonali- ty among band members carries over to the way that Dr. Singh conducts his ophthalmology practice and interacts with patients. "When I see patients, I try to find a commonality between myself and the patient," he said. This is important when trying to figure out how to educate them on their condition, he added. Dr. Singh considers himself lucky to have been involved in Funkadesi for the past 20 years and to have played at a variety of concerts and venues. In 2013, the band opened for Prince, and they've played with Los Lobos, Chaka Khan, and more. He's played concerts in Jamaica, Canada, and all throughout by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer Surgeon shares his experiences as a keyboard player in band that plays a variety of world music F or Inder Paul Singh, MD, Kenosha, Wisconsin, his passion for music has become more than a hobby over the years. In addition to practicing ophthalmology, he's a member of the successful band Funkadesi. Dr. Singh spoke with EyeWorld about how he got involved with the band, their experiences together, and some of their recent efforts to promote cultural diversity. Dr. Singh said he's always been a musician, and as a child, he sang vocals and played a variety of in- struments, including the keyboard, guitar, bass, and drums. He was in- terested in many musical genres, like pop rock, singer-songwriter, dance, Traveling the world for both music and ophthalmology Funkadesi has been together for more than 20 years. Source: Inder Paul Singh, MD and a variety of other styles, includ- ing Indian classical music. Funkadesi celebrated its 20th anniversary just last year. It start- ed back in 1996 and consists of 10 members, Dr. Singh said. Although he's the only physician in the band, Dr. Singh noted there are a variety of members in the band, including some full-time musicians and some who have other day jobs. Dr. Singh got involved with Funkadesi through a friend, who knew the leader, Rahul Sharma. Mr. Sharma, also the bass player, was trying to create a platform to allow musicians to go beyond the idea of "world music." He had the idea of bringing people together from all over the world with different musical backgrounds, and cele- brating the cultural foundations of these various styles of music. After seeing the band play in Chicago, Dr. Singh was impressed by the band's ability to create "one unified sound" through a mix of many music styles. Noting that the band didn't have a keyboard player, he gave them his phone number and expressed his interest in getting involved. Despite this, he was still surprised when Mr. Sharma contacted him early the following morning to see if he would be interested in joining them for a rehearsal. After spending time jamming together and eventually playing a few gigs, Dr. Singh official- ly became a part of the band. Over the last 20 years, Dr. Singh said the band has grown, and the members have become his family. "We've gone through so many ups and downs, both as a band and indi- vidually. We have been each other's ethical and moral sounding boards, and support in times of health and financial crises. What the band has taught me after all this time is the ability to find the commonality in all of us," he said. The group includes people in their 30s to 70s, with different educations, cultures, socioeconomic circumstances, continued on page 98

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)