During the past music season, in one of the morning sessions of the Music Academy, there was a panel discussion on Katcheri Dharmam. Kutcheri paddhathi and kutcheri format are usually discussed, but not so ‘kutcheri dharmam.’
The root of the word dharmam is ‘dhru,’ which means ‘to hold.’ In other words, dharmam is the principle, which holds the world together. Extending this to music, can we say that kutcheri dharmam is what holds a concert together ? The Oxford Dictionary on Indian Music makes this a little more explicit and defines ‘kutcheri dharmam’ as an unwritten code of conduct governing musicians, organisers, patrons and the audience.
The first basic moral requirement for a musician is to acquire enough proficiency to come on to the stage on merits and not try to make it prematurely through influence or sponsorship. Two other requirements are punctuality and courtesy. Among the musician team on the stage, there has to be understanding and cooperation to make the concert a success. There should be no attempt at one-up-man-ship or any assertion of seniority or any kind of superiority.
Factor of virtuosity
In the past, some vocalists singing a pallavi used to keep the thalam and eduppu secret by hiding their hand under their angavastram. Fortunately, this pernicious practice has disappeared and today’s musicians openly demonstrate the talam to their accompanists. Virtuosity — vocal or instrumental — is not an end in itself but a means to an end, the end being the enhancement and embellishment of raga swarupa and not impressing the audience by flaunting one’s skill or converting a concert into a musical circus. Lalgudi is a supreme example of instrumental virtuosity being subordinated to the needs of raga swarupa and never to boost one’s image.
A common happening in Carnatic music concerts is the accompanists wanting their speaker volume to be so high that the vocalist’s voice is drowned. One is reminded of the days when there was only one mike on the stage and no accompanist complained! Also, the main artist should give adequate chance to the accompanists to display their proficiency.
Where the main musician brings his own team of accompanists and is paid a lump sum remuneration, he should be fair in his distribution of remuneration to the accompanists. GNB was famous for being liberal in such matters and was praised for it by no less a person than Palghat Mani.
The format
Should concert format form part of kutcheri dharmam? Ariyakudi changed the earlier format and this holds the field today more by general acceptance than by fiat. T.M. Krishna feels that any format constrains creativity and that the musician should be free to sing whatever he feels like at the moment. Format is just a convenience and a convention and by itself it neither promotes nor inhibits creativity. It does not, therefore, form part of kutcheri dharmam.
However, in a Carnatic concert, the music should be in the Carnatic paddhathi. Unlike as in the past, concerts now have tavil or tabla as accompaniments, but again like format, this does not form part of dharmam. It is the style of rendering that primarily determines paddathi.
As regards the audience, kutcheri dharmam may require strict punctuality and courtesy from the audience in the form occupying their seats on dot and not leaving the hall during the concert, especially during tani avartanam, but these are difficult to enforce and may have to be lived with.
The organisers have a duty to provide the hall with good musical and physical infrastructure and also to select musicians based purely on merit and not influence or sponsorship. Sponsorship could be in the form of general financial assistance and not in favour of specific musicians.
The writer is a retired IAS officer
