Sriram Parasuram:‘Versatility is more about opportunity’

Musician Sriram Parasuram speaks of the diversity he’s explored in the music arena, on respecting rasikas and the need for technique hiding itself.

November 26, 2015 04:22 pm | Updated 07:56 pm IST - Hyderabad:

In conversation with vocalist Sriram Parasuram Photo: R. Ravindran

In conversation with vocalist Sriram Parasuram Photo: R. Ravindran

The radiance in musician Sriram Parasuram’s eyes is something that strikes you instantly, even if he’s unwell after a concert at the Sri Karthikeya Gana Sabha, Hyderabad. He’d still pushed his inner energies to host a three-hour long demonstration on the significance of gamaka in Indian music a day later. Excerpts from a conversation.

Did you consciously develop the versatility that you’ve acquired — over the years, be it as a musicologist or the simultaneous stints as a violinist, vocalist, composer regardless of the form (Carnatic, Hindustani, Ghazal, jazz and pop)is by choice?

If your ability to grasp is high and the opportunity you get to learn is equal, then you land up partaking different aspects. Had I been born in Thirunalveli, the possibility of learning Hindustani doesn't arise. Had I not travelled abroad, the chance of learning western classical violin wouldn't have arisen either. Versatility is the manifestation of the offers that are presented to you. How one uses them is what counts. You may please others on a superficial level or also use it to quench your thirst to learn.

On the other front, Wouldn't you have enjoyed more admiration, had you stuck to only one form, say violin?

You're a musician because you're gifted. The fame, as I wouldn’t deny, is a beautiful by-product. My father instilled in me the value of living for the sake of learning and that it'll enrich you. All that you take in can’t be encashed. The aim is to excel. If I hear Bhimsen Joshi sing, I'd want to be like that some day. I don’t quite know what am I exactly going to do with it. In the case of violin, the technique in European classical enthralled me. At the end of the day, the aim is to excel, popularity and the thirst may not often go hand in hand.

What is the most significant reason for the success of do you think is so monumental about the show you continue to co-host with Anuradha in Doordarshan (‘Ellame Sangeetham Thaan’) over a hundred episodes?

The essence of Indian music, the raga is what binds and puts together Munni Badnaam Hui or a Thyagaraja kriti or any Hindustani composition on the same plate. The recognition of something elemental will find its presence in different rupas. The fact that the show has reached out to the common viewer, even one of our housemaids if I were to say, is the success of that oneness. It has given them that little high of knowing a particular song’s raga and making them feel empowered. We did a series recently on the celebration and the value we attach to motherhood in our music and even on seasons, how an Amrutavarshini is in place or the reason behind the singularity of several elements in Bole re papihara set in a rain-struck cave. The distinctions gradually make way for unity.

How will you then explain go onto justify the space that film music has in the hearts of the rasikas?

Thanks to media largely, classical musicians have reached out to films, be it Unni Krishnan, Sudha Raghunathan and Nithyasree. They ultimately realise nothing gives them a wider audience base than a film song. M S Subbulakshmi, in fact, realised that long back which is one reason we call her visionary. Initially, people turned their noses up at her stint with films, the moment the crowds started swelling, they realised it had become a part of popular culture. Post films, her association with TTD, her renditions of the Vishnu Sahasranamam, bhajans were set in a space far away from pure classical, but one which a common man could very well ingest. The way to reach hearts is through simple yet popular music, not many would say this, but one needs to accept that.

Your stint in films somehow has only been intermittent. How do you explain that?

In the film industry, it's barely 5 percent time that's devoted to actual music making and the rest goes into listening to the story, dealing with the director and the producer, networking and publicity. I didn't like the two years I got to spend there because music wasn't quite the focus. Finally, you end up doing simple nursery rhymes which they want in a catchy form. As a singer, you come, sing and exhibit your skill. However, as a music director, it's not quite rewarding, even though many may not accept it. It's all magajmari .

What have been the changes have you noticed in the way contemporary rasikas are embracing classical music , at least over the last decade?

The inner need for meaningful music, beyond films or populist forms, happens only at the age of 30-35. So the average age of audiences of classical music is relatively higher. That’s because the lyrics start making more sense because of the life experiences, you have more leisure and are away from immediate tensions. Many complain that the younger generation never comes to concerts, but it's always been that way. As of now, we’re swamped by the extensive variety that surrounds us be it food, accessories in a supermarket or everything else. Sans that, we don't feel satiated. The 35+ age group, in music too, wants the faster numbers and not even something that's remotely familiar to what he was exposed a little earlier. As an artiste, it’s a problem with me too, in the case of a kriti or a ragalapana, the lack of leisure has got to me and I'm not able to stay with things for long.

How do you evaluate yourself personally after each performance in the amount of technique and the wholesome nature visible in it?

There are things like what would a listener remember the next morning, where did the notes fall flat, the quality of the sound with the violin and the voice otherwise. As a performer, evaluating yourself is a responsibility. On stage, there’s a dharma to make the total experience, both for yourself and the listener, seem worthwhile. Most of them don't know what's right or wrong, but they come with the trust that he'll give me the quality I trust him to provide. My father used to go to the same man to buy apples as he would pick the best and give it to us. None of us knew how to buy apples. That trust is what I've to honour and can't fool him/her. If I do that too, I’ll only be fooling myself.

What does it take for a musician to give the technique and the bhava, an equally worthy space?

It boils down to choice. Technique can be dazzling, singing breathlessly and in some cases, the vice versa. To breathe in, without sound is technique. To make what you sing seem effortless is good technique. Making something that’s essentially simple seem difficult is deception. Your technique should be as if you’re playing a game and hide itself, like the veterans Voleti and MSS did, so effortless. It’s important you know it, but instead let the music take over.

How important is it to balance the number of unfamiliar compositions in concerts and what are the factors that govern such choices?

Rasikas are not someone who only sit and enjoy music. Their knowledge matures with time. If an artiste keeps doing the same thing, there’s no enrichment. Even if I pick a rare Dikshitar kriti, the crowd shouldn’t be turned off by it. The work should be crisp, beautiful and yet accessible. You can ideally speak a few words on why such compositions are unique, so that a firm connect is established with the listener. Sarangadeva was no less right when he said that a rasika sits in the position of a god through the kelvi gnanam encompasses a wider spectrum of knowledge over time than the artiste himself.

Are reality shows more inclined towards grooming an aspirant singer into a live artist?

Basically, the television isn't interested in you. The nature of the medium is such that, if you help it make money, it'll be your friend. They're not interested in identifying talent and putting you on a map. The shows are basically free software for the organisers. For a television soap otherwise, you need to pay a script-writer, for the dialogues, the director, the expenditure is enormous. Here, the parents itself bring their children. That's the racket, playing with the variables, the classical/semi-classical rounds and many such, guarded by the supposed voice experts. The more drama you're able to generate, the more are the TRPs. It's tough to attach any value to them.

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