With virtual concerts becoming the norm during the pandemic, and given the reach of the digital medium, vocalist Sakethraman thinks it is a good time to help millennials connect with Carnatic music.
‘Crossover with Saketh,’ a web series launched recently by him, is an attempt to make classical music enjoyable even to the uninitiated.
“My guru, the legendary Lalgudi Jayaraman, used to say, ‘Musicians have created Next Gen musicians, now rasikas have to create Next Gen rasikas’.”
And ‘Crossover’ is Saketharaman’s way of understanding his guru’s vision and create an awareness about classical music’s beauty and appeal.
Audience connect
While a song like ‘Alai Payude’ with a Carnatic base reworked to suit the film music genre is well-received by listeners, listening to an entire Carnatic concert is still a challenge for the layman, says Saketharaman. “Fans enjoy listening to film music. They do not know the technical and other details involved in composing a song.”
“I thought of launching a web series with just these aspects in mind, he says. In the first episode, Saketharaman recalls how in Paris once, he was completely surprised by the largely non-Indian audience clapping at the right moments during his concert. He concludes the episode by introducing the idea of crossing over.
“As a fan on social media commented, ‘Crossover’ is a non-linear way of taking Carnatic music to the masses. There are no technicalities — parent raga, arohanam or avarohanam — discussed,” says Saketharaman.
Start fresh
While there have been many programmes earlier talking about film songs based on Carnatic music, which would begin with a brief introduction to ragas, ‘Crossover’ begins by talking about all things culture and then moves on to classical music.
In the episode that focuses on padam, Saketharaman sings ‘Unnai Kanadhu’ from Viswaroopam , a sringara rasa song where Radha expresses her longing for Krishna. Next, he sings a Swati Tirunal padam in Malayalam to make viewers understand the concept of Carnatic music.
In the ‘Virutham’ episode, Saketharaman sings of woman power.
‘Inbathai karuvakkinal penn...’ is a prelude to the film song ‘Kalloori Salai’ from Kaadhal Desam ). This kind of a prelude to a song is what we call ‘Virutham’ in Carnatic music, he explains.
Such a prelude may have no rhythmic accompaniment or even meter or tala. He then sings a virutham, ‘Dhanam tharum, kalvi tharum’ in the same raga, Anandabhairavi.
He feels encouraged by people’s queries about the concepts he takes up in each episode. “For instance, a rasika asked, ‘Is the prelude to ‘Khwaja mere Khwaja’ a virutham.’ Another asked, ‘Is the song ‘Mettu Podu’ from Duet in Anandabhairavi raga?’
“The purpose is not to dilute Carnatic music but to expand the audience base and to make people aware of its nuances. The beauty of Carnatic music is that it is extremely enjoyable in its pure form,” says Saketharaman.
