I remember reading how C N Parkinson ("work expands to fill time") studied the phenomenon of marriages taking place in England before the WW II. He finally concluded that, "whereas it's true that marriages are made in heaven, it's also true that God arranges alliances between men and women who grow up and live within a distance of around 150 miles of each other in England." In other words, the probability pattern is unmistakeable, given the social dimensions of marriage.
While in the shower today, I have come up with a theory on Carnatic music. Everyone buys at best sixteen annas of music in his or her life time. No More. "The sixteen annas theorem" represents how everyone has a self-limiting capacity and only a set range of possibilities for their appreciation and interest in Carnatic music. I am not talking here of people who are tone-deaf; nor those who research or learn music for a 24/7 engagement. I'm taking the example of an Aam Rasika like me who understands CM and can sit with interest and mental engagement through a full concert from soup to nuts, I mean from Varnam to the Mangalam. Of course the menu is stacked a bit differently in Nouveau Musique Karnatique as dished out by TMK or GK and so on. But I don't think my theory is affected by these modifications.
Now what do I mean by sixteen annas? You see, the more we get into the serious world of CM, we find so many oceans of excellence, just as the earth has so many major oceans and seas, all connected of course. You have the Madhyama-kala repertoire of the Thyagaraja school. You have the splendid body of Dikshitar works. You have Shyama Shastri; Padams, Javalis. You have Tamil composers. Swathi Tirunal, Purandaradasa and others, Telugu bhakti compositions, and 20th century work. You have the instrumental speciality genre by itself. You nowadays have also something one can call CM Lite, where every song sounds like a tukkada. And so on. Does an Aam Rasika connect with all this equally?
Does an Aam Rasika progress from one level to another, like with a CBSE syllabus? Is he a world traveller like Megallan sailing from one ocean to the other? Or can we predict how the Aam Rasika's penchant is, for a specific type of music, based on his age and social status? I say no. I find no such hard and fast pattern of preferences. But at the same time, an Aam Rasika has a quantity and variety limit to his Carnatic music appetite, which I call the sixteen annas theorem.
Before you wonder when I will actually explain my theory, here I go:
The first Six Annas of CM is what the Aam Rasika absorbs in the first 12 years of his life. That is his parental and environmental influence. If children at home are taught CM, or person's mother or father sings for a bit, then the type and variety and sub-genre of what he appreciates from his cradle to his gilli dandu phase will constitute the six annas, in fact the biggest chunk of the pie. For example growing up in Bangalore and Mysore, one would be exposed to the fine, solid krithis of Thyagaraja, dasara padas, a few select MD, SS and ST krithis. Krithis like Brochevarevarura, Sri Chamundeshwari, Ra ra Rajivalochana, Nagumommu, would surely be a part of six annas. In fact also many Kalyani, Shankarabharana, Todi, Kharaharapriya songs of Thyagaraja. This example of the Aam Rasika would be less exposed to Tamil songs, or highly complex Sanskrit krithis, for example.
The next three Annas is what the Aam Rasika is attracted to in his 12-30 years period. This is the phase when speed, virtuosity, instrumental fireworks, etc. can catch his attention. If the girl listens to lots of kutcheris of popular lady musicians, with a certain pattern of repertoire, focused on variety and melody rather than heavy compositions, a deep manodharma or technique, the three annas come from there.
That leaves seven annas.
In the serious listening phase of his life, the Aam Rasika will make choices, as a mature and committed listener of CM who follows a type of music or musician, based on a studied appreciation of their individual style and accomplishment. This is more musician-centric and less sub-genre or style-centric. This will make up three annas.
The last four annas are spent on some eclectic tastes, based on non-CM influences like films, big- name bands performing in some Utsavs or cultural festivals, and may even foray into fusion and other genres of music like Hindustani, Qawwali, Sufi etc. But you will be able to see that this is a later, more casual acquaintance, a less important acquired taste.
That means, in summary, here is where we stand:
Six Annas - childhood exposure
Three Annas - Youth appeal
Three Annas - serious acquired taste
Four Annas - eclectic tastes.
So when we can say the Aam Rasika has finally arrived at this full sixteen annas of CM appreciation, we see this kind of a mix. The individual elements in each category may vary by birth, circumstance, upbringing and exposure, but the relative proportions play out like this. And if you sit next to a young 20-odd year old rasika man or woman in a concert next time, you could hazard that he or she has not actually acquired yet the full sixteen annas. He or she may be talking only of the first six or the second three annas. And if someone speaks at length about his favourite musician, "a phenomenon", don't be misled that that this choice represents the full sixteen annas. That is only three annas worth, and may not represent a dominant taste in the big picture.
On the other Hand, it might as well build on the first nine annas. In such a case, the musician having that high appeal will take care of twelve annas of the Aam Rasika's listening taste.
If you look at the all-time greats in CM in the past or the present, you will find that they appeal to the first twelve annas.
That is also the reason I think that CM rasikas will NEVER buy the eclectic fusion stuff beyond a little bit... Some four annas. The vast majority of their listening choices will be the mainstream twelve annas.
Am I making sense?
