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The season:
 It is that time of the year again. Yes, it is ‘Maargazhi Madness’ in Madras. Although Maargazhi is still a couple of weeks away, music is knocking on the door in Chennai, the Mecca of Carnatic music. Every year the “season” keeps advancing, enveloping the months of November and January. All the musicians who have been travelling outside the country have arrived back home and get ready for the December season. The Indian-Americans and NRIs too will be invading in full force - those who want to delight themselves in the variety of concerts as well as those who give concerts. Every year the crop of NRI musicians who give concerts and/or accompany the main artistes in Chennai keeps growing. There is even one sabha which caters to NRI talent exclusively during the month of January.
In a sense the December season is like a wedding. The whole city of Chennai wears a festive mood. Everybody has been looking forward to it. The thirty plus major sabhas in Chennai gear into action, many of them making their plans for months in advance. They have to worry about accommodating their favourite musicians in appropriate time slots. Many times there will be conflicts in scheduling the musicians in different sabhas and dates. There will be lots of frayed nerves in the committees. Just as in any other endeavour there will be broken promises and bitter feelings. Among organisers many minions toil in the backrooms while the heavyweights assume preeminence during the season.
There are so many satellite organisations that participate too - the online outfits which serve the music and dance community, the culinary contractors who cater to the palate vying to exceed those who cater to the auditory sense, the retail outlets which sell recorded music, and the sari and jewellery shops which gear into action to sell their ware during the busy season. The NRI gang raids the stores in the city grabbing everything in sight to take back home as memorabilia.
What is in store?
In the not too distant past, some people wrote the obituary of Carnatic music. They concluded that interest in Carnatic music is on the wane as western pop music and Bollywood/Kollywood style music were grabbing the attention of youngsters. It appears that verdict is somewhat premature. There is enthusiasm among today’s youngsters both in south India and abroad to learn Carnatic music seriously. One could not call it a groundswell but all the same the renaissance is evident, especially in North America. The children learn from the music teachers scattered across the US supplementing it with visits to Chennai during the summer every year to learn from the doyens.
Despite all the exuberance that prevails in the music community, Carnatic music cannot be said to have come out of its cocoon and take off like a butterfly. One of the principal reasons for the current enthusiasm is the support that exists in the US. Thanks to a unified organisation called CMANA in New Jersey, a veritable bevy of musicians from south India visit the United States every Spring and Fall and give concerts in 20 to 30 cities all over the US. The remuneration for the visiting musicians is significant and monetary considerations do have a role in fostering entry into the profession by those who consider music as a career.
Correspondingly the musicians have a great responsibility in terms of excelling in each concert they give, keeping the tradition, and providing the highest quality music at each location. In fact, a significant fraction of the audience in US cities is quite knowledgeable on the raagams and their nuances. As such the musicians, as guardians of their chosen profession, have a burden to carry and should continue to excel. They have to be aware that they are subject to the marketplace factors of supply and demand. It would also foster better relationships if the visiting musicians summon local talent for accompaniments.
 Mylapore,
TNagar, and TiruvallikkeNi may constitute the epicentre of Carnatic music but many places in the US such as Chicago, New Jersey, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Silicon Valley, Washington, Houston and Canadian cities such as Montreal, and Toronto, which have significant south Indian population, are picking up a secondary role in support of Carnatic music. As in India the various music societies that conduct these concerts are not wealthy by any means. The membership in these organisations is less than 5 per cent of Indian families. With such meagre support it is a tough going down the road. There is no way to recruit more members unless they are interested themselves. Some innovative methodology is needed here to increase support.
In baseball lingo there is a saying, “If you build they’ll come”. It is also true with respect to music. It is certainly true with respect to Indian temples in US cities. The earlier generation of Indians built a lot of temples in various cities in the US which are being used by the growing ethnic Indian population now to identify themselves with their religion and culture. Likewise, the music organisations are also building up to serve the future generations. However, at this point it is still a struggle for survival.
The music critics do have a significant role to play in the growth of the field. Justified criticisms keep the musicians on their toes. Proper pronunciation and adherence to the lyrical content are as important as adherence to musicality. There aren’t any music critics (a la Chennai’s Subbudu) in the US who write reviews of concerts like those in Chennai although quite a few in the audience are very knowledgeable. Although it is true that music knows no language, Carnatic music relies on lyrics to express devotion or other emotions and herein comes the language part. The concerts should include some serious compositions in Thamizh, and Kannada in addition to Telugu and Sanskrit. The emotive aspects are better appreciated in the language one understands. Grassroots support from a wider linguistic audience is needed to sustain the development.
The organisers too have a role to play — that is less of a role! They should remain invisible, give an abridged speech in terms of introduction - not more than 3 minutes. The printed flyer can give the rest of the information. One statement that annoys this writer is when the person who introduces the artiste says, “so and so began his/her music training at the tender age of 3”. I wonder if there is anybody who started giving concerts when they were in the womb!!
Of late there are rumblings in Chennai reflective of a subtle antagonism exhibited against NRI musicians, especially the younger ones. Some Cheannaiites express their displeasure that undue attention is bestowed on the NRI musicians. The NRIs living on foreign soil try hard and reach the stage that is traditionally the domain of those who grow up in the native soil. This writer is not asking for special favours for the NRI musicians. Just give them the chance. They want to prove themselves in the land that originated Carnatic music. They still have to measure up and mediocrity shall not be tolerated.
 Finally a word of praise is in order for the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. They are now in their 29th year. Cleveland beat out bigger metropolises and established itself as the premier location outside of Chennai in promoting Carnatic music. However, that organisation is operating on a budget that is teetering on the deficit side. There is only so much appeal that can be sent to the faithful for support. Perhaps they can hang banners of corporate products along the peripheral walls of the auditorium in exchange for monetary support. It is a fond hope of this writer that some of the software millionaires of Indian origin will bestow endowments to support music in various cities in the US.
Sethuraman Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com
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The future of Carnatic music in the US
