Now, ye olde telegrams with a musical twist

Brazenly public and often gimmicky, the legacy of the singing telegram worldwide has been restricted to bad cover versions performed mostly in public by singers dressed in over-the-top costumes, much to the embarrassment of ill-fated recipients.

The scene has been no different in Mumbai, where the singing telegram has mostly had a corporate clientele.

But, in February last year, old time friends Jerry Jose and LS Hunduo gave a wholly original twist to the singing telegram concept with Musical Telegram — a service that gave you an original custom-made song, composed, written and performed (sans comical getup and fanfare) specially for your loved one.

The response however, was surprisingly far from encouraging.

The huge cost involved — besides the live performance, the customer received a CD and a personalised music video — might have been a factor, but Jerry attributes it to a cultural attitude, as well as the eternal Mumbai dilemma - space.

He says, “With a live performance, people get very uncomfortable. And, since a lot of young people live with their families, there is no such private place.”

The logical solution was to cut costs as well as give customers that much-needed privacy. And, one simple move took care of both - Musical Telegram became a strictly online service.

This transformation has seen a lot more willing customers and business is now slowly picking pace. Twenty-nine-year-old Jerry, who’s known Hunduo since their days at Wilson College, is visibly his biggest fan and quasi manager.

He says, “When we were in college, he used to play the guitar and sing. After we met up years later, I was surprised he was still at it. He is an amazing singer and I wanted people to hear his songs. Musical Telegram is just a platform for his talent.”

For Hunduo, writing lyrics inspired by feedback forms is a challenge he enjoys. “The idea of writing songs for someone else fascinates me. I used to write songs for my friends in college.

Now, I do the same thing for people who want to convey their feelings through music,” he explains. Jerry gushes, “This guy is so dynamic. He comes up with tunes overnight. Our only fear is what if someone copies the tune?”

Apart from attaching a confidentiality message to each email carrying one of their personalised songs..., they ultimately choose to trust their client’s good intentions.

“It’s a personal song just for you and the one you love. Why would anyone want to mess with it? Once the song is sent to you, Musical Telegram will not share the song with anyone else,” Jerry says.