You have to know me only for a very short time to realize that I am passionate about Indian classical music, particularly the southern variety, also referred to as the karnatak style. Like all great classical art forms, it provides a mixture of spiritual bliss and sensual pleasure. For me, it is a salve to soothe the wounded soul; a breeze to to lift a soaring imagination.
Of late, the question ringing in my head is whether it is time to add another dose of modernity to this art whose grammar can be traced half a millenium back, and whose melodic genesis is lost somewhere among the hoary antiquities of the Sama Veda. Note that I say 'another' dose - our music has already shown to be very nimble in response to a changing world. The violin that has become such an integral part of a concert ensemble, is a prime example of this adaptability.
The extensive use of poetic composition to enhance the melody and rythm of the music is a unique feature, not shared by many other forms. Karnatak music combines the improvisational sensibilities of jazz, soul and opera with the more regimented majesty of the symphony. The lyrics are an important enabler of this versatility. Experienced rasikas as well as novices still revert to the trick of identifying a raaga by associating it with their favoirite composition in that scale. But, contrary to what some - especially among Hindustani aficionado friends of mine - may believe, the lyrics are more than just mnemonic crutches that make the music accessible to the masses, like an electoral symbol helps an illiterate to cast his vote. The lyrical composition is essential to the DNA of the genre. How many times have we seen a music critic, trying to compliment an instrumental performance, say that his or her violin "speaks".
I risk ruffling a lot of traditionalist feathers here, but I think that a major impediment to the expansion of karnataka sangeetha beyond it's current niche is its overwhelming dependence on religious lyrics. As the music broadens it's reach in a global world, I believe it is time for it's practitioners to also compose using more diverse themes. While prior generations were used to learning and reciting by rote in an unquestioning manner, we see a new confident and assertive generation emerging, who may want to agree with the words before they sing them! The Bhakti movement has had a profound influence in karnatak compositions, an ethos which may not agree with the swashbuckling world-conquering mood in present-day India and the worldwide Indian diaspora. I am not at all advocating that we ignore the inspiring creations based on the theme of man's submission to God that is inherent in the bhakti tradition. All I am saying is that it is time for those in the forefront of today's musical stage to add to this repertoire with compositions on various other themes. I believe it is not an accident that most of the recent innovation in karnatak sangeetha has come in instrumental composition and fusion music. Artistes and composers have been unwilling to come up with fresh lyrical compositions for fear of not measuring up to the greats of old, and rightfully so, since only an inferior product can result if the cultural landscape of the times is not allowed to infuse into the work. There have been some attempts to this effect, though very few and far between. Subramanya Bharathi's songs on romantic themes, for example, occupy a prominent place in the so-called 'thukkada' sections of many concerts, but still he composed almost a century ago. Balamurali, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Ambujam Krishna.... the list of composers from the last quarter century is small indeed.. and I cannot recall a single concert in which their numbers were the centerpiece.
If we are to expand the practicing and listening base for this great art form, then I suggest that we find a way to straddle both 'Ave Maria' and 'O Sole Mio'. We do not want our favourite classical music to become like a classical language, frozen in time and unable to add to its vocabulary. Growing this great musical tradition is the best tribute we can pay to its stalwarts, including one Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, whose birth centenary we celebrate today.
Of late, the question ringing in my head is whether it is time to add another dose of modernity to this art whose grammar can be traced half a millenium back, and whose melodic genesis is lost somewhere among the hoary antiquities of the Sama Veda. Note that I say 'another' dose - our music has already shown to be very nimble in response to a changing world. The violin that has become such an integral part of a concert ensemble, is a prime example of this adaptability.
The extensive use of poetic composition to enhance the melody and rythm of the music is a unique feature, not shared by many other forms. Karnatak music combines the improvisational sensibilities of jazz, soul and opera with the more regimented majesty of the symphony. The lyrics are an important enabler of this versatility. Experienced rasikas as well as novices still revert to the trick of identifying a raaga by associating it with their favoirite composition in that scale. But, contrary to what some - especially among Hindustani aficionado friends of mine - may believe, the lyrics are more than just mnemonic crutches that make the music accessible to the masses, like an electoral symbol helps an illiterate to cast his vote. The lyrical composition is essential to the DNA of the genre. How many times have we seen a music critic, trying to compliment an instrumental performance, say that his or her violin "speaks".
I risk ruffling a lot of traditionalist feathers here, but I think that a major impediment to the expansion of karnataka sangeetha beyond it's current niche is its overwhelming dependence on religious lyrics. As the music broadens it's reach in a global world, I believe it is time for it's practitioners to also compose using more diverse themes. While prior generations were used to learning and reciting by rote in an unquestioning manner, we see a new confident and assertive generation emerging, who may want to agree with the words before they sing them! The Bhakti movement has had a profound influence in karnatak compositions, an ethos which may not agree with the swashbuckling world-conquering mood in present-day India and the worldwide Indian diaspora. I am not at all advocating that we ignore the inspiring creations based on the theme of man's submission to God that is inherent in the bhakti tradition. All I am saying is that it is time for those in the forefront of today's musical stage to add to this repertoire with compositions on various other themes. I believe it is not an accident that most of the recent innovation in karnatak sangeetha has come in instrumental composition and fusion music. Artistes and composers have been unwilling to come up with fresh lyrical compositions for fear of not measuring up to the greats of old, and rightfully so, since only an inferior product can result if the cultural landscape of the times is not allowed to infuse into the work. There have been some attempts to this effect, though very few and far between. Subramanya Bharathi's songs on romantic themes, for example, occupy a prominent place in the so-called 'thukkada' sections of many concerts, but still he composed almost a century ago. Balamurali, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Ambujam Krishna.... the list of composers from the last quarter century is small indeed.. and I cannot recall a single concert in which their numbers were the centerpiece.
If we are to expand the practicing and listening base for this great art form, then I suggest that we find a way to straddle both 'Ave Maria' and 'O Sole Mio'. We do not want our favourite classical music to become like a classical language, frozen in time and unable to add to its vocabulary. Growing this great musical tradition is the best tribute we can pay to its stalwarts, including one Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, whose birth centenary we celebrate today.
