Some 30 or 40 years ago I was deeply involved in certain pioneering projects of investigative audit concerning the export incentives sanctioned by the Government of India. This called for extensive and unprecedented research into world-wide market conditions and extremely innovative audit techniques.
We had an effective built-in mechanism for filtering out all errors of facts or perception. But even so, there was an occasion when we happened to spot a serious logical flaw in our argument far too late, and had to abandon an entrenched line of thinking at a very advanced stage of investigation. I would have been quite demoralised if my boss, Mr. G.N. Pathak, hadn’t consoled me saying: “He who runs, falls.... Now, just get up and run!”
I’ve never forgotten those words which made it so much easier for me and my team to salvage our morale and get on with our job. And I couldn't help recalling them a couple of weeks ago, when discussing in this column the highly defective quality of sound in most settings where Carnatic music is performed today.(just as it used to be 40 or 50 years ago.)
For, after all, it is because Carnatic music of such excellent quality keeps flowing endlessly that we are tempted to find fault with the quality of its sound in our concert halls and elsewhere! And it’s equally true that what has kept such fine Carnatic music flowing in our music circles throughout the 20th century -- and well into the 21st -- has been the relentless and often thankless efforts of our innumerable Sabhas and other concerned institutions, old and new.
Moreover, let us not overlook the fact that very frequently the distortions in live sound are also caused by mistaken attitudes of the musicians who tend to pull and push the microphones indiscriminately, and let their electronic ‘sruti-boxes’ produce awful noise. At the same time, let us also not forget the fact that many musicians do bravely carry on and manage to produce excellent music even where the sound system -- or sound-mixing by the attending technician --- happens to be defective, which is often true.
Oh yes, without all those dedicated Sabhas and other institutions, where and how will the best musicians perform? And without all those earnest musicians, how will organisations provide fine music? To all of them we owe a sincere vote of thanks before we proceed to examine the reasons for the defects and distortions prevalent in the existing sound systems.
Incidentally, talking about sound systems, it’s an amazing fact that they can be extremely unsatisfactory even in certain scenarios created by some of the most advanced technological marvels in the world. Take, for example, an ultra-modern jumbo jet aircraft, which can take hundreds of passengers half way across the world in a single day. Have you ever found the sound of its public address system or audio entertainment channels satisfactory? I never have!
No wonder looking into this complicated issue with so many cross-currents of ideas is almost like playing a tough game of chess! Are you listening, Anand?
( to be continued )
