As we move through another month of the global pandemic, over 1.3 billion people in our country are under lockdown hoping to curb the spread of the COVID 19 virus. We have all retreated into isolation, many grappling with uncertainty and stress, wondering what is in store next! Is this going to be our new ‘normal’? Will we have a Marghazhi season this year? Will our children grow up in environmental instability for the next few years?
While we wrestle with these questions and look to each other for answers, it is also important that we don’t forget the fact that even in such a necessary period of social distancing and isolation, we still need each other. It feels so surreal to look back and reflect on the difference that one month of our lives can make. Just one month ago, I was in Kerala, performing in Kottayam and the neighbouring town. Could I have envisioned that all of my plans moving forward would disappear within four weeks? I should have completed singing in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana on April 12 and moved into Detroit for a master class on the 18th and 19th.
None of us could have predicted then where we were headed…we could not have known then just how much our minds, bodies and souls would crave for normalcy again. These unprecedented times call for us to take stock of what we have and who we are as individuals and as a collective. What do we need to do right now to take care of ourselves so that, in turn, we may be able to care for others? How can we use this time wisely to plant the seeds that will yield fruit later?
At this time, it should be our greatest commitment to stay strong physically and mentally so that our family, friends and community may also stay healthy — not just physically and mentally but emotionally as well. This is also the time to focus our efforts on giving — to those who need our support and are not as privileged and fortunate.
We must revisit the big plans we make for ourselves and our lives. Those weren’t a guarantee anyway! We must learn to cherish the smallest and sweetest moments we are blessed with. For me, that was being on a conference call with 10 participants from the U.S. and India, some of whom I was supposed to be with at this time before my trip to the U.S. was cancelled. Small pleasures – to still be able to do those very things, albeit in a more humble way! I also cook to my heart’s content, write, read, dig into the treasure trove of forgotten compositions and much more!
We must take a vow that we treat these small fleeting opportunities as precious moments that give us the gift we need, to lead our lives in the best manner right now, with a whole lot of new lessons learnt!
Unique period
This kind of a hiatus – being physically away from what I love doing most, I have had only during the time when my two children Kaushik and Malavika were born. In 2015, I abstained by choice, to recover from the acid reflux health issue, but then I was really not so tied down. This is a very unique period of standstill imposed with no warning. Such is life and its unpredictability.
I have just covered facets of myself which I might never have, had I been just on my own journey without this locked down ‘stay at home’ phase. Truly! So much introspection, so much gratitude and so much thinking differently to stay tuned to reality! Finding solutions is indeed the ‘key’ to the lock(down) that has opened new vistas! I also wondered how the situation would have impacted my colleagues and other members in the fraternity and what their thought process could be.
This made me connect with a few of them and what I heard was interesting. Amritha Murali, who has been a part of my concert project at Government schools, looks at the lockdown period very philosophically. She says, “I feel we often get into this complacent space of thinking that we are in control of everything in life. The lockdown re-iterates my belief that we can't take anything for granted in this world.” “One small invisible virus has put the entire world under duress, with lives lost, livelihoods lost, and so much more.”
RK Shriramkumar
R.K. Shriram Kumar, who has accompanied me in so many concerts, and my guru MLV Amma as well, echoes her sentiments. “It has actually triggered the mind, body and soul to introspect on many things — to understand, approach, recognise and analyse many things that we take for granted.” Bharat Sundar adds, “The lockdown has certainly given some space for musicians to think and introspect, something which hardly ever happens as we are constantly travelling. If this time is used really well in learning and reinventing one’s music, the future is definitely going to be more vibrant.”
S. Sowmya
Sowmya, however, does not feel that it has brought about any great change in her lifestyle except for the fact that she remains indoors and safe, certainly missing the concerts though!
Amritha Murali
So how are they utilising this abundance of time, apart from the introspection aspect? Says Amritha: “The first few days were a little unsettling. But then things soon fell into place and I could do all of these — yoga, voice exercises, practice without an agenda, learning, refreshing some old songs, teaching, reading, sketching, domestic chores, trying my hand at baking, listening to old recordings, sudoku, crossword and watching movies.” Whew! An exhaustive list but she could do all of them — that’s really making the most of it, I would say!
Shriram Kumar’s daily routine has not really changed much. He continues his religious activities in more detail. He allots more time for music practice, keeps in touch with his students over phone, revising old compositions for them — because there is more time, the mind gets more creative in teaching as well, he says! I couldn’t agree more on that.
Bharat Sundar
For Bharat Sundar, cooking has always been a passion. He cooks almost every day, trying out new dishes too. Procrastinating on two things — cleaning the house and arranging his books, finally got done! To an extent that he was able to catalogue his entire collection of books. So, now we know where to browse for good collections next!
So how do they all feel about social distancing in the context of concerts?
Sowmya expresses: “The current pandemic will definitely affect the concert scene. Hopefully hygiene will take precedence — cleaner carpets, green rooms and restrooms — a different sort of space at the concert venues.” Amritha adds, “It is extremely difficult to find the perfect solution for physical distancing in such a huge country.” Shriram Kumar looks at a larger perspective: “Uncertainty is the biggest hurdle we have to cross. Until the curve flattens and the chain is broken, it will be an unanswered question on everyone's mind about hosting and attending concerts. Financial support from corporates may take a while to pick up, the result being that it may take longer for many organisations to start hosting concerts. Offshore concerts will be a question mark.”
When it comes to audience mindsets, Bharat Sundar does not foresee any change. “Virtual concerts may not last for long. The personal connect is being missed by us here. We are all used to a certain ambience while performing. We miss our accompanying artistes as well, the only respite being that one can avoid travel.” And then he concludes: “Virtual concerts are like bread. You can use it to survive a drought situation but certainly cannot live on it. As Indians, we need rice!” A good comparison I would say.
All of them sign off on the same note — saluting the medical and para-medical staff, the police, the field workers, the volunteers and organisations, the good Samaritans and the silent heroes for their unstinted support in overcoming this situation that we are all in.
So, the music world, like every other industry misses the normalcy. Let us hope that the pandemic releases the world from its clutches soon and may our City resound with music, dance and discourses as ever before!
