They love Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. They love Purandara Daasar and Thyagarajar kritis equally well. Young music students in the city see no contradiction in this. They see Carnatic music as not just a traditional art form but also a strong foundation for achieving technical perfection to handle any forms of music.
With so many music festivals, concerts and new academies springing up, the Carnatic music scene in the city has never looked brighter. And the youngsters wish there were more kutcheris and better concert halls. Some of them began learning music at an early age to make their parents happy but gradually fell in love with the art form. Like Shreya Sridhar, who initially joined music classes because her parents urged her to do so. “But now I learn out of my own interest,” she says. Her mother Asha Sridhar says that the reality television shows have made Carnatic music glamorous.
Asha and her daughter were at the recently held Purandara Daasar Krithi Music Competition, organised by Karnataka Association.
The auditorium at Tatabad resounded with music. Mythili, Aparna and Lakshmi, a group of college students, sang Devaki Nandana, a Purandara Daasar kriti in raag Desh. Eyes closed and spines erect, they rendered the brigas and swaras.
Bombay Jayashri, Sikkil Gurucharan and Nithyasree Mahadevan are the favourites with these young singers. “We feel a deep connect to Carnatic music; something which other forms of music cannot offer,” said 22-year-old Sneha, a student of architecture.
Around 200 students participated in the event. “Every year, the number of participants goes up. People from as far as Gobichettippalayam and Tirupur have registered for the contest, this year,” says C R Suryanarayan, the secretary of the association. The association also organises intensive workshops that train the participants in diction and pronunciation.
Judges Usha Narayanswamy and Chandrika Vittel were the judges. Usha and Chandrika have dedicated their entire lives to music. “Singing is as natural for us as cooking or gardening. It is a passion and not a source of income,” said Usha.
Chandrika said the same and added that she was also a fan of Elton John and Celine Dion. She said, “Music has one language. Why should we create boundaries?”
For 12-year-old Poorvaja Subramanian, the stories behind the songs is what gives her added bhava when she sings a kriti. Asha Sridhar and her husband decided to shift to Coimbatore from Tirupur, so that their daughter can have a better exposure to Carnatic music by going to kutcheris.
“The concert scene here might not be as lively as it is in Chennai. But it is surely picking up,” she said.
Ranjini Subramanian, Purvaja’s mother felt the need to have more concerts in the city.
“In the last few years, we had the opportunity to listen to artists such as Sikkil Gurucharan and Nithyasree Mahadevan. More artists must come to the city. Only then can the young ones enrich their talent.”
Events such as the Purandara Daasar Krithi Music Competition also gave rise to issues such as the role of schools in motivating children to take up Carnatic music. And the need to free Carnatic music from prejudices.
As Ayshwarya Mohan a professional and a music student said, “Many good performers are not able to make a mark in the high profile concert circuits because of lack of visibility. Often family name and background plays a big role in that. Carnatic music must be freed of these chains. Barriers of caste and class must vanish; the stage must be open to all.”
