These thoughts have been crowding my mind ever since I attended a concert featuring an upcoming youngster, with a good friend. On the way back home we both remarked how demanding we are as rasikas and therefore are not easily pleased even when the musicians seem to put in a very sincere attempt.
The icon shown above is the (welded?) mural on the wall of Madras Music Academy. That hoary institution symbolizes power and influence in Carnatic music and getting their Sangeetha Kalanidhi award is commonly taken to be the peak of a musician's journey to success. I think the thousands of music concerts held every December in Madras, or Chennai if you prefer, demonstrate how Carnatic music is actively appreciated in our land. The musicians work very hard in the season and make or break their reputations. The enthusiasm of the musicians or rasikas is the same whether they are old or young. By the way rasika is the Sanskrit word for a listener=audience=appreciator=aesthete in Indian art. Rasa means originally juice and implies the aesthetic mood in performing arts. Rasika is the one who enjoys the art form, in a live or broadcast or recorded performance.
Now why do I think we rasikas are too demanding in Carnatic music? I merely give a summary list because I could go on ad infinitum on each point:
- We like good, robust, pleasant voices. We want a full range of three octaves. We want the singer to perform with full throated ease, but with the perfect sruthi alignment of a pitch pipe.
- We want good diction. Our music is made up 80% of compositions of "saint composers". We want the musician to enunciate all the words, especially in our own languages, to perfection. By the way we expect a minimum of three or four languages to be covered in a concert. The more versatile performers today cover Telugu, Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and if possible Hindi.
- We want everything in the right measure. We don't want hour-long alapanas, we don't want concerts packed with 25 numbers delivered at break-neck speed.
- We want the performers to be well groomed and well presented. We prefer them to look like gods and goddesses. Or at least like well-groomed cine stars in mythological extravaganzas of the '50s and '60s.
- We want good accompaniments. The violinist should show anticipation, innovation, moderation, subordination, restoration (when the main performer is off-colour) and good preparation. We don't care if the vocalist is spinning a googly. We want the violinist to bat like a Tendulkar facing Warne. At the same time we don't want the main vocalist to have nightmares like Warne did thinking of Tendulkar.
- We want sonorous, soft, soothing, superlative mridangam. We want a good tani, full of fireworks, but it should be short and sweet. And the mridangam artiste should not grimace if we walk off for a short break during the tani. He can be sure we will be back to applaud at the end.
- We actually don't care for ghatam or khanjira etc. except for some delightful skirmishes during the tani. The ghatam makes an impact when the artiste launches it into the air at the end of the tani.
- We want good mikes. The mike should not be too loud, for heaven's sake.
- We want no mosquitoes or screeching chairs. We don't mind loud banners selling bank FDs and stainless utensils or even divine pooja materials. But we don't want speeches.
- We want the concert to start before we walk in (this is a common practice for Carnatic rasikas) and still want prime seats. We may exercise the right to walk off any time. By the way, please note we prefer free concerts.
- We will bring children, and some of them will do home work, some will sleep, and sometimes some will make loud sounds. All like baby Krishna.
- We like to sing a bit during our favourite songs. We will keep (or destroy) the tala. It is not for nothing that I have passed a Diploma in music.
- We hold the right to constantly compare the present performers to our old favourites, whom we refer to by initials only like MMI, SSI, GNB, BMK, DKP, MLV, MSS, MDR, KVN, LGJ, TNK, MSG, VVS, PMI, UKS.....
