Jai Shri Ram

Shri Ramanavami Music Festival

Reflections

5th of April 2017 heralds the arrival of one more Ramanavami musical season.  It is a month long musical feast for all lovers of music throughout the Southern parts of our country. On this occasion, in this humble blog of mine, I have tried to reflect the moods and thoughts of many seniors like me who have been silent witnesses to this journey of devotion and music since long. 

Decades ago when I was in my teens, my uncle Shri  Krishnamurthy took me to a music concert at ‘Bidaram Krishna Mandira, Mysuru’. It was the occasion of Ramanavami music festival and musician of the day was Shri.T.N.Krishnan on a violin-solo.  Who says ‘Krishnas’ have got nothing to do during Ramanavami?

That brings to our mind the memories of the more illustrious Krishna..... Nalvadi krishnaraja Wodeyar(1884 - 1940),  the Maharaja of Mysuru. In fact Ramanavami Music Festival in Mysuru region owes its origin to this great King who himself was a musician.  Thanks to the patronage of benevolent Kings like him, annual Ramanavami Music festivals all over Southern India are jubilee hits even today!

In any musical event who is more important?  Musicians or the audience?  Learned ones may say that both are important.  While I too am of the same opinion, being a part of the latter group, I am slightly biased towards the audience.  While musicians get the benefit of fame, name and money, dedicated patrons of music nourish music without any benefit for self.  And without them to whom shall our musicians sing? Therefore this blog of mine is dedicated to the audience of music.

Carnatic music, the main menu of Ramanavami festival has got a class of audience of its own.  ‘Sa Pa Sa’ call of music itself is enough to draw them to the concerts.  How passionately they make their way to the venue of the concert in time, more often to occupy the vantage seats held for them by their ‘annual musical friends’ is a treat to watch. These music loving birds have their own way of occupying the same seats with same neighbors which they used to occupy during previous years.

Demarcation in the audience spectrum may not be ditsinct.  Still well informed ones usually occupy the  front rows, next in line would be the fairly-informed ones, and the causal ones certainly prefer rear seats. Well informed ones are totally absorbed in the music concert since beginning.  They know the caliber of the artists and their expectations are very high. They understand the nuances of music and follow raga, thala and bhava to perfection.  Even to the musicians performing on the day, their nod of appreciation matters the most!


Fairly-informed ones can’t be pushed over, because they are the ones in good numbers and can pack the hall respectfully. They are equally serious and follow ragas and krithis keenly, may be their ‘tala gnana’ may be slightly less, which is not a bar in enjoying music.  Often in this group, whispering enlightenments to their neighbors can be heard about the identification of ragas and krithis. Often they confuse between closely resembling ragas which may lead to small arguments. Some of them even may try to play ‘talam’  (beats) often leading to the nods of disapproval from the more learned ones.  This group will be very active in producing spontaneous claps at the conclusion of the ‘krithi’ making the hall lively and reverberating.  Hats-off to them!  Their musical knowledge is mostly self-acquired  and limited but are ever ready to walk that extra mile to patronize music.

Casual ones are a category apart.  They form a wide range…..starting from casual evening outers to faithful husbands of music loving wives to newly weds to even love birds who have discovered a musical route to keep their ‘affairs’ afloat!  Being in rear seats they have freedom to move about and even move out to have paani-puri-chats.  They may get back or even get out of the concerts. Thanks even to them because they allow music to take a chance on them!  Who knows?  A couple of years down the lane a few of them may develop more serious interest in music.

And then comes the turn of ‘thani avarthanam’, the tala vaadya solo presentation…….nobody on the earth can prevent the sizable exodus of audience from the concert. Call it the apathy for tala solo, or the time for relaxing, or the time for mid-time review of the concert, or the time to catch the city buses, or the fear of bursting rains and thunders………..people walking out have their own priorities.  More often I feel this is a good case for study on audience behavior.

Reflecting more on crowds, often I wonder how people gather in huge numbers for western and film music concerts?  Audience for classical music is always limited and has never crossed the boundaries of some committed groups.  Are our learned classical musicians  responsible for this phenomenon?  Have they not bothered to take classical music to untouched category of audience?  Are not music managers and patrons of music too responsible in accomplishing this noble task? One silver lining observed recently in this regard is the increase in number of younger people among the audience.

How can reflections on Ramanavami music be complete without remembering our great musician Gurus?  Purandara Dasa, Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dixitar were all God-sent messengers to spread the fragrance of music to this mundane world.   Great artists like M.S.Subbulakshmi, M.L.Vasantha Kumari, Chembai, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Yesudas and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan have laid a strong foundation to the mansion of classical music in the minds of the connoisseurs. The new generation of musicians like Abhishek Raghuram, Shashank and Jayanthi Kumaresh are worthy successors for this great tradition.  And I am sure this musical journey continues for ever with the blessings of Lord Rama.