There’s a strain of instrumentation as the rocks on the Puducherry beach appear. Soon, singer Niranjana Ramanan and Bharatanatyam dancer Sudharma Vaithiyanathan come into view and before you can make sense of what’s to come, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar’s ‘Maathe’ is sung. It’s an unusual setting and yet, the presentation draws attention.
“Niranjana and I are childhood friends and, amidst the craziest of schedules, she and her band, Staccato, collaborated with me to make ‘Maathe’ happen one early morning in Puducherry,” recalls Sudharma.
The piece, released by the band in March of 2017, has since garnered over one million views. “Essentially, we wanted to open up Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam to those who aren’t familiar with it. By using the audio-visual space, the emotion behind the piece is conveyed in a more straightforward manner,” Ramanan explains.
Sudharma feels that the experiment worked because of the energy between her and the team.
“There’s a sense of freedom and mutual respect that allowed us all to get into a creative mode,” she says. It’s a sentiment echoed by filmmaker Praveen Padmanabhan.
Connecting with the band’s fans and those already initiated into the world of classical arts, the artistes collaborated again, first on Tyagaraja’s ‘Nee Daya Radha’ a year ago and, recently, on Dayanand Saraswati’s ‘Vandheham Sharadam,’ popularised by Maharajapuram Santhanam.
Minimalism in sound
“We’ve treated each piece differently in terms of musical presentation. For example, ‘Vandheham’ uses a new instrument, the ‘navtar,’ which allows for minimalism in sound,” points out Ramanan.
While women empowerment is a theme that the artistes would like to highlight, they are keen to tap the power of the digital media to connect with listeners from various backgrounds. “While the digital space cannot replace the proscenium stage, it gives us the leverage to connect with new audiences,” adds Sudharma.
Talking about the process of collaboration, the band’s keyboardist and track music producer R.H. Vikram says that the challenge begins when the song is selected and it is time for arrangement. “ It can lend a mood that can inspire the singer, dancer, and the rest of the team,” adds Vikram.
Their goal, he says, remains in allowing the music to reach younger audiences without meddling with the meaning of the lyrics, the ethos of the piece, or the soundscape that the piece originates from. It’s a tall order and yet, with three tracks under their belt, Ramanan says there is so much left to explore. “These arrangements allow us to exploit our creativity and engage in experimentation while paying tribute to great composers. What better combination than this?” asks Sudharma.
The artistes have taken this thought to stage before, with the band performing the auditory aspect with a screen showing the accompanying video to a live audience.
“We hope to make the concept global and entirely live,” Vikram adds enthusiastically. “There’s a level of engagement that live performances bring. And with that, we all have our own space to express our thoughts through song and dance,” he says.
