 The human bridge
 He is an IT man. But he wears several other hats too: music director, music teacher, musician, singer and producer of music albums. Kannikeswaran, popularly known as Kanniks, a consultant in data warehousing in the US, tries to bridge Indian music and Western music through musicals and dance dramas. His greatest victory is that the productions appeal not just to Indians but also Americans.
Here is what emerged when we chatted with him during a recent visit to
Chennai:
Q You are a student of IT. How did you get interested in music?
A I started learning Carnatic music when I was in school. I also learnt to play the violin. When I was studying in the IIT, I got interested in the guitar and started learning to play that too. At the same time, I would participate in the light music troupe programmes.
When I came to the US for higher studies, my interest in music grew. Listening to film music made me even more eager. Since I could listen to Western music also, my interest in that genre of music also swelled. I learnt Western music. Slowly, I learnt to compose music. Now I teach 'Indian Music - Theory and History' in the music college of Cincinnati University.
Q When did you start the choir group?
A My first album, 'Thiruvarangam', was released in 1991-92. We sang in a new format the Pasurams of
Nalayira Divyaprabhandam. We won a lot of acclaim for it.
Egged on by this experience, my friends who were interested in music and I started a choir group in Cincinnati. We started with the idea of teaching music. We trained the singers to sing boldly for the drama productions we planned. There were merely 20 people when I began the theatre group in 1992.
Q Tell us about your productions.
 A I think it was in 1994 that we presented 'Basant', the first big musical theatre production. This theme of spring was presented in ballet style and folk dances with the help of American dance directors. This was our first big production and it was well received.
Our next production was in 1996 and was called 'The Blue Jewel'. We did this in collaboration with a church in Cincinnati. The theme of the production was environment. We presented Western music with Indian dimensions. In all, 30 people from the church sang with us. It took us four years to produce the programme. Since it got rave reviews, we conducted it again in 1997 and 1999.
Q How was your latest production 'Shanti' received?
A It was a bigger production than our other two musicals. You could say 'Shanti' was like an oratorio. It had music, a social message and came with a philosophical background. Totally, there were 140 people of which 90 were Indians and 50, Americans.
At first we sent e-mails to people about the production - especially to Americans. I was fortunate to have the help of Catherine Roma. I composed the music and she conducted the orchestra.
We were fortunate that the great Hindustani singer Lakshmi Shankar was the lead singer in the programme. She got in touch with some people and they also agreed to join us.
Our first rehearsal was in February 2004. We had expected that about 50 people would join us. We were surprised that 80 people turned up for the rehearsal. Americans tend to get immersed in any new form or adventure. So, we arranged to teach them how to pronounce Hindi words. There was no problem with their music - we just needed to give them the notation.
It was interesting to note how two groups of people from two different cultures learn the same song. We need the drone of the tambura for all our music, but for them it was an unbearable disturbance. This was a different experience for us.
When it came to the costume, we decided that be it Indians or Americans, everyone should wear the same colour saree. The men were dressed in black, like Westerners. My wife bought the sarees from Chennai. The American women were taught how to drape the saree. All these were interesting experiences.
They came to sing and struck up friendship with each other. More importantly, it helped them understand our culture.
The theme of 'Shanti' was peace. Whatever be our religion, we are part of this world. Sometimes problems crop up between us due to our religious differences. What is peace? What happens when peace is lost? This is what 'Shanti' is all about.
Along with the music, we had seven projectors in the auditorium to show our temple towers and sculptures. The success of the programme was that Americans exclaimed that they had a new glimpse of what India was about!
Q What was the inspiration for your
launching the website templenet.com?
A Two things set me thinking. One was that Americans cherish their history. They have converted into monuments
places that are more than 100-150 years old. But we have temples that are more than 1,000 years old and nobody knows about them. Ask any American about Egypt and he would say it is the land of the pyramids. But ask about India and they can only talk about the poverty there or the latest offshoring business. These things set me thinking. So, I launched the website in 1996 to spread information about our culture and its antiquity.
I was in India for about 11 months in 1997-98. I travelled widely and gathered a lot of information. I expanded the website after returning to the US. Now it is more than eight years old. Everyday, more than 3,000 people visit the site that has more than
2000 web pages.
Q What does your latest production, 'Chitram - A Portrait of India', convey?
A The Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, asked us if we could produce a programme that would introduce Americans to India. They wanted it to be entertaining and informative. That was how 'Chitram' was born.
We have shown Indian architecture, painting, dance, technology, pluralism, progressive thinking and the 5,000-year-old continuous history that cannot be found anywhere else, through music and dance. There are 20 dancers in the group. We have also used multimedia to good effect. There are many more places where we have to stage this musical.
Q What are the albums that you have produced and what are the awards that you have won?
 A Apart from 'Thiruvarangam', I have produced 'Sabari', 'Basant', 'Kandha', and 'Ayyappan' through AVM Productions. I am now involved in producing a music schedule for Raga Vidya training. I am panning to bring out two albums every year.
About awards, in 1998, I was named for the Governor's award for arts.
In 2003, I was awarded the Individual Artist's Fellowship by the Ohio Arts Council.
In 2004, I was given a grant for my 'Shanti' production by the Ohio Arts Council.
Moreover, I got funding for such productions from the Cincinnati Fine Arts Fund.
In 1996, the city of Cincinnati made a grant for creating 'The Blue Jewel'.
Q What were your important productions in India?
A I had the opportunity to work in 1997-98 with Darpana Institute of Fine Arts that is run by Mallika Sarabhai in Ahmedabad. We created a fusion of Rajasthani folk music and Western music. Mallika Sarabhai did the dance choreography for the programme which was called 'Jeevan Taal'. It was well received there.
At the same time, I produced a dance-drama called, 'Adavallanin Ainthu Sabaigal', on Lord Nataraja's dance halls in Chidamabaram, Thiruvalangadu, Madurai, Kutralam and Tirunelveli. They are known as
Kanakasabhai, Vellisabhai, Rathinasabhai, Chitirasabhai and Thamirasabhai. I did research on these for the dance drama. Kalaimamani Saraswathy Chandresan did the choreography for this piece. The arangetram was performed at the Perur dance festival.
Q What are you planning ahead?
A I am constantly trying to educate Americans about India and its culture and correct their perception about India. I have held Cultural Diversity Workshops in companies that employ Americans predominantly.
I also hope to bring out in book form the information contained in Templenet.
Another dream is to popularise our culture and thinking with the next generation of Indians living in America.
There are differences
between Carnatic and Hindustani music now. They are basically the same and this basic music is Raga Vidya. People of both streams of music appreciate the way I handle this music. I have conducted Raga Vidya workshops in Cincinnati and Allentown, Pennsylvania. Indian children learning Western music have welcomed such workshops. My greatest wish is to reach out to more of our students in schools in the US.
KTSri
Translated by S Chitra
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