Singapore will resonate with Indian classical music for three days next week, thanks to the efforts of Madhuradhwani. A nascent outfit with the laudable aim of connecting the Diaspora through music, Madhuradhwani has been hosting short festivals since 2010.
“What began as GNB Centenary Celebration blossomed into an annual music festival,” says Vanitha Shankar, who is in charge of putting the event together. The response to the event was so good that Madhuradhwani was a natural fall out. Its earlier editions had Sudha Raghunathan, Bombay Jayashri, Sanjay Subrahmanian, M. Balamuralikrishna and T.N. Seshagopalan as participants.
The entire affair hinges on local participation. “Yes, we have local music schools, artists and teachers attending and participating in the conduct of the festival. Students of International schools in Singapore also have evinced interest in this concept,” informs Vanitha, who takes care of publicity and curating the festival.
Local musicians and critics act as advisers for the Madhuradhwani. “The idea is to create a platform for everyone to gather as a community and enjoy the music. This is a great opportunity for the uninitiated to have a taste of Indian music. The audience in the past have especially appreciated the atmosphere and the experience,” she adds. Some day, the festival may expand to include other forms of music too.
This in a way has encouraged Madhuradhwani to think of a theme around which the concerts could be woven. What better subject than Chennai! The different flavours of the city that is the toast of the media at the moment will cross shores too. The organisers tied up with Chennai Ga-Ga for ideas and inputs. Perhaps this principle would be put to use in the future festivals too.
So how are the musicians going to showcase Chennai to Singapore audience? The line-up has interesting variety. Abhishek Raghuram, Gayatri Venkatraghavan and T.M. Krishna will present regular concerts. Gowri Ramnarayan’s ‘Mitra’ (friendship) will be a music-theatre experience. With Gowri as narrator, Bharati Ramasubban will render the songs. ‘Shamrang’ is a jugalbandi by Sanjeev Abhyankar and V. Sankaranarayanan. The duo’s programme for Hamsadhwani won hearts and Madhuradhwani decided to offer the treat to the rasikas attending the festival. The artists aim to blend the two styles in a harmonious stream of melody.
What about the décor? “Well, it will be muted. An artist friend of mine had done a beautiful montage, the digital version of which will act as the backdrop. The lobby, however, will be done up to reflect the theme,” says Vanitha, who thinks it is wonderful that all music lovers unite to make a festival of this scale happen. “Away from home, Indians are eager to lend a helping hand in a grand gesture of solidarity,” she says.
Also she acknowledges the support and encouragement extended by seniors such as SIFAS, Apsaras and Temple of Fine Arts. They help each other on such occasions. “But it is not an absolute cake walk,” observes Vanitha. Finance, for instance, is a challenge. The run-up to the festival, bringing the artists to Singapore and hospitality are all money-centred issues.
“Building up the momentum is, again a huge task. We depend on websites and online network to spread the word. Printing posters and pasting them around the city is not possible besides being prohibitively expensive. Advertising in newspapers costs a fortune too. So the word has to spread and people should come forward to help. And they have to be approached and reminded,” she explains. This time round an added challenge was that the event was being conducted after a break last year.
Many help by chipping in as volunteers. A young girl has helped create the website for Madhuradhwani, a venture that otherwise would have cost money. Even the articles pouring into the festival blog give the event a big boost. “Not all of them are written by experts. We have breezy write-ups by individuals, who talk about their experiences regarding music.” The mood is upbeat and Madhuradhwani is not sparing any effort in doing what it loves most – forming a United Music Front.
