The rare but reassuring instance of a large turnout of youngsters in Chennai at Hindustani vocal recitals organised under the aegis of the National Centre for the Performing Arts recently also raised some broader issues of relevance that go far beyond this annual year-end music season in the city. Aficionados and patrons often mildly agonise over meagre attendance at concerts. They may well be right. They may want to draw comfort in the fact that classical music is no longer an exclusive preoccupation of the classes. Whether that was always the case in this country is itself arguable. For the roots of the Carnatic and Hindustani styles of music go back to the bhakti tradition, the movement from below that swept across the length and breadth of pre-colonial India. In our times, Indian cinema, corporate sponsorships, the democratic process, and the search for cultural identities under globalisation have contributed to preserving this broad continuity. The year-end music season is unprecedented in its mix of numbers, variety, depth and range of classical music and dance, and the pattern of performances by top artistes, lecture-demonstrations, discussions and debates among musicologists pioneered by The Music Academy has kept the music and dance tradition not only alive but also refreshed and enriched it over the years.
The common refrain among teenagers and young adults is that this genre of singing belongs to a bygone era, qualified somewhat when the names of celebrity musicians are associated with a particular tradition of singing. The pioneering work of the pan-Indian Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY) stands out for this reason. To be sure, there are a good many performing musicians — vocalists and instrumentalists alike — from among the younger generations. The point rather is that there is not enough of a following for classical music among non-musician youth today. With the result, youngsters are noticeably missing when it comes to simply taking time out to listen to others perform on stage. The enthusiasm of children who exhibit their talent on reality television shows also deserves mention. But here again, the inculcation of a taste for the arts means a good deal more than the mere acquisition of technical knowledge and craftsmanship. It obtains in the discovery of the subliminal powers of music. The entrapments of an instrumentalist approach to life may not be the most conducive to this end in the fine arts. Indian classical music is, above all, a product of the composite culture of this land. To lay emphasis on the distinctness of different styles of singing may not be inappropriate, but that should not be at the expense of recognising the shared foundations and intermingling of different traditions.
