If only mere words could say it all. So there is melody and meter. You could express as well with your vocal chords as with a pen. ‘Speaking Songs’, which had veteran Carnatic percussionist and vocalist T.V. Gopalakrishnan in conversation with Prince Rama Varma, an accomplished classical singer, unravelled the lyricism in literature. The two artistes explained through the works of celebrated composers how imagination and thought precede language, grammar and technique. And that a song is a beautiful culmination of it all.
“When you are happy, you enjoy the music but when you are sad, you understand the lyrics,” laughed Varma quoting musician Frank Ocean.
Talking about the high-on-emotion traditional compositions, Varma said though the navarasas in Indian arts do not include bhakti, it is the leitmotif of every creative expression. Devotion lends meaning to passion, without which nothing could be pursued with honesty, he added. And backed up his interpretation by citing as examples masterpieces of the composers of yore — Swathi Thirunal, Rabindranath Tagore, Basavanna and Akka Mahadevi. “It’s amazing how these works rise above words and phrases to convey the same spirit,” the duo explained, taking turns to render them too.
Varma’s witticism and humorous observations didn’t let the session on music slip into boredom for the many youngsters in the audience.
Drawing a parallel between the contemporary and the classical, he said the Yatis in Muthuswami Dikshithar’s works were quite like the SMS and WhatsApp codes or shortened words. For instance, ‘Thyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam’ makes sense even when you remove words from it — Raja Yoga Vaibhavam, Yoga Vaibhavam, Vaibhavam, Bhavam and Vam. He also referred to many of maestro Balamuralikrishna’s songs that have references to the present social, economic and political situations and yet fit perfectly into the traditional format.
Eighty-two-year-old Gopalakrishnan, recipient of this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi, said how over the years he has enjoyed composing the works of musical legends because of their sensitivity to human feelings and experiences. He concluded the session by rendering a Malayalam poem set to music by him and written by Vallathol Narayana Menon. Which Varma, who hails from the Travancore royal family, termed as ‘Mallu time’.
