Vidwan Saketharaman and Pattimandram speaker Bharathi Bhaksar presented a lec-dem at Sri Parathasarathy Swami Sabha on the topic – The path of Bhakti in Music.

Saketharaman opened the conversation sighting couple of disturbing developments in the concert scene.  He made no insinuation to anyone and spoke with a genuine concern.  The first one was the Dikshitar’s Rangapura Vihara being played in a pub accompanied by dancing.  The second was the popular vidwan’s attire on the stage, who was seen wearing a kurta alone and covering his lap just with a shawl – presumably he was wearing shorts!  He said that while every musician craves to take the music to wider audience and has full freedom to do so, it is important to be aware of the means and the path taken to achieve it.  “There is enough scope within the prescribed boundaries of Carnatic music for all to experiment” he said but without sacrificing its longstanding tradition.  He also said that the past masters, over the years have done all kinds of experiments and any new experimentation that we attempt today is really not new. “Different games are played with different rules and they cannot be mixed up.  Hitting the ball beyond the boundary line in the game of Cricket is acceptable but not in Tennis”, he said.  Breaking the established norms for the sake of innovation may be a fashionable thing to do but true innovation must be rooted in the fundamentals of this art form.  

He mentioned three E-s as the main purpose of singing and listening to Carnatic music - Entertainment, Education and Elevation.  The entertainment side of the performances though important, education and elevation too are integral part the Carnatic music concerts. Listening to a new kriti or raga could be considered as the education for rasikas.  The elevation happens when the rasika, the musicians on the stage, the lyrics, the melody and everything else get merged into one unexplainable moment resulting in an overwhelming Anandam.  It is Svanubhavam, the term often used to describe pinnacle of good music and that spiritual elevation can come only if the music is rendered with bhakti.  All great composers’ ultimate aim was to lift everyone to that level of experiencing the highest bliss.  Saketharaman was clear in saying that the entire duration of the concert cannot be spiritually elevating to both the performer and the rasikas.  It might last only for a split second - Oru Kshanam as we say in Tamil - and that is what everyone should be striving for.        

Bharathi Bhaskar briefly touched upon the evolution of the Carnatic music and its history.  She said that it did face challenges at various times and each time it revived and reshaped itself and bhakti alone was the focus at every point of its development.  She spoke more on the responsibilities of rasikas. She hailed the efforts and the dedication of the artists and said that the rasikas are extremely fortunate that they can enjoy the same level of divine experience as that of the performer by mere listening.  The rasikas, she said, in turn have to show nothing but respect to the composers and the musicians. She reiterated the views expressed by Saketharaman and said that the all the great composers used music as a vehicle for spreading bhakti amongst the people for achieving the greater purpose of one’s birth.

In conclusion, I would like to put forward the following two questions to all those connected with Carnatic music and interested in preserving its glorious traditions.

·       Dikshitar and Tyagraja have not patented their creations.  Does that give us the liberty to sing their compositions in whichever way we like? 

·     There is a dress code followed by all professionals like lawyers, doctors, nurses and even elected legislative members.  We heap praise on the dress code and the decorum followed in Western classical concerts.   Why can’t it be followed in Carnatic music concerts?  We seem to have no hesitation whatsoever to walk into a concert hall wearing shorts or sit on the stage wearing colourful dhotis, to put it euphemistically!  

These can only be attributed to poor attitude and utter disregard to our culture and traditions.

 by

A R S Mani