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MADRAS MUSIC MELA 2001 |
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MUSINGS ON THE MUSIC SEASON - A ROUND UP - by Kadambari |
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It’s been a
cool 3-4 weeks, since the December Music Festival took over the city of
Chennai from its routine humdrum existence. Cool, in terms of weather, and
the attitude that prevail among rasikas of late! The Carnatic music lover
has undergone a change in his choice-profile. He/she is more open, more
relaxed and more sublime. And this has been reflected in the response for
Kutcheris as well. Today, Sastriya
sangeetam alone wont
do – it is the ‘feel good small songs’, without the elaborate
alapanas and swaras that rule! A style followed by even Dr. K J Yesudas,
senior vocalist and a box office hit. This year saw
Yesudas change his modus operandi! From singing those popular devotional
numbers in the second half of his kutcheri interspersed with his famous Tukkada-s,
he got into the classically inclined Ragam Tanam Pallavi. This might have
resulted in a little lull in terms of consistent crowds pouring in for all
of his concerts. The rasikas probably didn’t take his foray into pure
Carnatic singing too well but his melodious voice still makes people
arrive on time for his concerts! The undeniable fact remains that it was K
J Yesudas, who set the trend of proving that Carnatic singers can shine in
the playback zone and vice versa - a trend that is so foolproof and sure
that youngsters like P Unnikrishnan and Nithyasree are treading the same
path. A R Rahman and
the television serial Chitti has
done what no Carnatic song could do for any singer. It has made Nithyasree
the undoubted numero uno of this season. The mad rush to see her
sing - even though the rasika knows she’s not going to break into ‘Kanninmani’ (Chitti’s
title song) - must be seen to be believed! The same goes for Unnikrishnan
too - with his innumerable film songs in almost all south Indian
languages, Unni can definitely take the mantle from his prolific
predecessor Yesudas! Bombay Jayasree and her ‘Vaseegara’
are as inseparable as ragam and talam! She comes in a close third and
stays. For all these number games, the supreme proof of womanpower can be
seen in any concert of Sudha Raghunathan (she had 11 concerts this year as
against 6 of last year), where crowds throng in large numbers to hear her
resonant voice and to see what she’s wearing (this is true of all women
who attend her concerts or see her on any TV channel!). Sowmya’s Narada
Gana Sabha kutcheri evoked large crowds as well and the response
thereafter was unanimously positive. Among artistes from other cities who have made a mark in
Chennai, Aruna Sairam takes the lead, with her abhang-s and the by-now
popular Ottukkadu Ventaka Kavi Kalinganartanam Tillana with its hisses and
ooh-s. However, the connoisseurs haven’t taken kindly to the stylistic
changes she has made. The young entrants who are making their presence felt,
Abhishek Raghuram stands apart with his musical maturity both in execution
and conception. Gayatri Venkataraghavan and Sumitra Vasudev are making
waves this season. One hopes they will live up to the existing hype. This season also saw a number of vocal duos. Though the
popular opinion is that most duets lose the elements of spontaenity, the
audiences love the combined effect generated by two voices. Amongst
popular duos, the Bombay Sisters (Saroja-Lalita), Hyderabad Brothers and
Priya Sisters have the ability to pull in crowds with just their name on
the cards. Ranjani and Gayatri, who started as violin duos, have now
firmly established themselves as a pair to reckon with even in the vocal
arena. While the Malladi Brothers have garnered a special place for
themselves, K N Shashikiran and P Ganesh are here to stay. The Mambalam
sisters have maintained their performance standards. T V Sankaranarayanan and Sanjay Subramanyam can be paired off as the senior and sub-senior partners for giving unadulterated Carnatic sangeetam to the tradition bound rasika! Though many of Sanjay’s die-hard fans were more than a little disappointed with his performance this season, his concerts at Narada Gana Sabha and Music Academy were received well. T M Krishna’s Academy concert was much awaited by the old and the young and received mixed reactions. But the surprise waiting was for veteran vocalist K V Narayanswamy, whose performance was well attended, despite his health conditions. Unnikrishnan’s postponement of his Academy concert to New Year’s Eve, owing to bad health, was only met with a long sigh from the rasikas, who now believe that most of the singers must be ailing from similar throat conditions, due to the increasingly cold Chennai climate! Vijay Siva replaced Unni that day, at the Academy and one must appreciate his courage in agreeing to a sudden advancement in schedule, an Academy performance notwithstanding! And one must not forget to add T N Seshagopalan, whose performance levels this year, according to popular opinion, did not meet his long years of steady ratings. As far as
instrumental concerts go, its our own dear Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, who
rules the roost, with his audience-friendly approach and the
‘Listener’s choice’ style. Chitravina Ravikiran’s Academy concert
was the talk of the town, with “his
art taking you to new levels of musical ecstasy” (quote-unquote an
elated rasika). Veteran violinist T N Krishnan’s Academy concert was
highly rated as well. While leading instrumentalists like Mandolin
Srinivas, Kadri Gopalnath (Saxophone), Shashank (Fute), E Gayatri (Vina)
and Ganesh-Kumaresh (Violin duet) stay stable, Jayanthi Kumaresh on the
Vina, brought a refreshing effect to the instrumental scene! From all this data, it’s a clear sign that the woman
performers, who have given the men a run for their money, rule this
season. For it is Nithyasree, Sudha Ragunathan and Bombay Jayasree who
have the rasikas simply eating out of their hands (apart from the time the
audience spends in eating out at the canteens!) In all this a lot of doubts and
wonder-whys do crop up. ·
The fact that last years season saw a lot more of NRIs/NIRs
(our coinage for Non-Indian Rasikas!) as compared to this years turnout is
a case in point. Is it the post-September 11 effect? Or is it due to the
fall in the quality of concerts, even though the quantity has been plenty?
The audience in Chennai now comprises mostly people from across Tamilnadu
only. The rest of India (Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta etc) seems to have turned
a blind eye to this season.
·
The Sabhas are house-full for all the prominent names. And
for those really talented but not so popular names, the audience is still
wary! This is an intrinsic battle, which the Carnatic music field
has to fight out, for popularity does not in anyway equal great talent!
While a few connoisseurs of Carnatic music do feel so, the majority is
still cooling their heels outside, waiting for their favorite musical
stars to appear!
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Posted on December 31, 2001 |
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