48. FAVOURITES AND PREJUDICES

48. FAVOURITES AND PREJUDICES

from: slideplayer.com

When we talk of favourites, we really admit our prejudice in favour of them! So it often happens that we are not fair in our assessment!

ARE THERE STANDARDS?

In matters like literature, music and arts, it is doubtful whether there can be any objective or absolute norms for assessment. One is influenced by one's  education, cultural background or religious and philosophical conviction. Over the years we cultivate a taste or liking for something. It has long been held that literature should elevate our thinking and ennoble our life and character. It must make us better  human beings. Only that was accepted as good or great literature which stood for at least a century. By that standard, most of our 'best sellers' today would not be considered good or great, even if they are taken as literature! But the modern idea is to reject any idea of a standard or norm in such matters.

There are many of us who like Carnatic music, but stay away from Hindustani music. Those who like classical music do not like light music or film music. Those who like Indian classical music do not like Western Classical. Besides the dislike, we entertain lot of prejudices against them. But really cultured people everywhere try to reach and understand others. 

Indian playing Tanpura, Rajasthan, c.1750.

In the 70s there was a Telugu film called 'Sankarabharanam', which was a smash box office hit . It espoused the cause of Carnatic music. But the main character there, one classical musician Sankar Sastri, once explains to a bunch of youngsters mad after modern Western music (which was not wrong)but who were prejudiced against Carnatic music and ridiculed it (which was wrong), that all music is based on the same basic notes and a true lover of music cannot afford to hate any form!

 Harikesanallur Muthaiya Bhagavatar composed the "Notes" in the raga Sankarabharanam which 
Madurai Mani Iyer made famous by his inimitable style. This  and the 40 pieces that Muthuswami Dikshitar wrote on the lines of European (English) band music but in the Raga Sankarabharanam clearly demonstrate how close the two systems can come!

Great masters rise above all differences, without violating the uniqueness of any one.True knowledge promotes real understanding.

Baroque  musical instruments. This form of  Western music was in vogue from 1600 to about 1760. The violin has been easily adapted to Carnatic music and is today an indispensable part of it!

SAME SWARAS, DIFFERENT MUSIC!

The same logic applies to the equation between Carnatic and Hindustani systems. The swaras are the same, but their exposition and expansion are different. Carnatic music is Sahitya-based, while Hindustani is pure swara based. We can notice the difference when the same raga is played or sung in the two systems. After listening to both forms, I vote for Hindustani for the purity of the raga, and I go with Carnatic for the nobility of Sahitya. Raga is majestic, but sahitya is the soul. Raga without sahitya is like a temple without a murti! I have not found a Carnatic musician who can dwell on a raga like the Hindustani Ustad or Pandit. Take Hamsadhwani which migrated North from us. But see the way Hindustani musicians sing that Raga! Our pandits run through the Sahitya as if they are reciting some mantra!  The raga is hardly covered.Without the sahitya, Carnatic musicians are like wingless birds. And listen to Jaijaivanti in Hindustani, which came to us as Dwijavanti through Dikshitar. Our people can sing 'Akhilandeswari' quite movingly (though not all) but we are no match in delineating the pure Raga! Our Kalyani and Hindustani Yaman may consist of the same swaras on paper, but when sung or played, they assume different aspects, expressing different bhavas! Given such differences in the art forms and our own tastes, how is prejudice justified? It is just a matter of personal liking. Knowledge should lead to humility.

In recent years, Prince Rama Varma is educating us in these aspects and trying to rid us of our blind prejudices.



PURITY IN MUSIC

Many people are prejudiced against film music, considering it to be inferior, impure or even filthy. May be today, this view is rather justified, considering how hollow or shallow the music sounds, devoid of basic emotional strength. There is hardly a singer with an original voice; there is hardly a real instrument used- all sounds are generated electronically. There are no live rehearsals and recording- everything is altered through the computer.And the lyrics are usually vulgar and distasteful. So film music today really does not appeal or make an impact, not withstanding all the hype and commercial promotion. 

For that matter, how pure is the Carnatic music today? Few people know it beyond the concert format, and domination by the Sabhas. And concert kills creativity.

 Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar is said to have fixed the concert pattern. Items have a fixed place in the scheme- which means, really, that the scope of each is limited! 

Over the years, the duration of the concert has shrunk. And in Tamil Nadu especially, the artists take it upon themselves to include some Tamil songs which lack the status of sound Sahitya. I  certainly do not like to listen to one such after listening to the compositions of the great ones. The electronic sruti box has replaced the tambura, they have mridanga made of synthetic materials, the  Veena or the violin is fitted with the contact mic,, etc. So, where is the purity in Carnatic music today?

Where art or literature depends on the market for survival, its standards get diluted. When Cecil B.DeMille was accused of having compromised on the Scripture in filming  The Ten Commandments, he is reported to have retorted that he had one eye on the Bible and the other on the empty seats in the theatre! Such is the lure or logic of lucre! And technology usually supports the slide, as was explained by the French philosopher Jacques Ellul. Marshall McLuhan went further and contended that the medium itself became the message. So, in the modern world, art is for art's sake, technology for its sake, and both for money's sake! We see the wisdom of the old arrangement where a Kalidasa or Kamban could work on his own under royal or lordly patronage, without having to worry about public support for a living.

It used to be said that T.N.Rajaratnam Pillai would render Todi for hours. And Tiger Varadachariar could sing Durbar all night. But they are history now. However, even today, real Carnatic music lives  in the Nadaswaram recitals in the big temple festivals, like in the Car festival at Chidambaram twice a year. It is a real treat  each evening ,for about 10 days. When Nadaswaram is played in the temple atmosphere, we really understand the divinity of music- temple and Nadaswaram are made for each other! Real musicians are those who live for the art, not by it!

PURPOSE OF MUSIC

We have to understand one thing clearly. Real classical music is not for entertainment. For the musician, it is sadhana; for the rasika, it is experience of rasaanubhava. And cinema is a medium of pure entertainment. However, music in cinema can be an effective means of conveying intense emotions,just as the stories can convey a message, and it can be  made a stepping stone for appreciation of the classical format. In the olden days we had the drama troupes in Tamil Nadu which used to tour the state and stage their plays . They were full of songs set to classical and folk tunes, but the Sahitya was light, so people took to them and slowly imbibed a taste for good music. But after the rise of the Dravidian parties, the taste for refined music and  exalted sahitya alike has been killed. The performing musicians [those who live by marketing their music ] depend upon the patronage of the sabhas, the sabhas have to cater to the lowest common denominator to attract crowds, and keep the authorities in good humour- so there is a slide all round. 

TECHNOLOGY IS NOT TO BLAME

Technology alone cannot be blamed. Formerly we had 78 rpm records. Yet listen to S.G.Kittappa,B.S.Raja Iyengar, V.V. Sadagopan. N. C.Vanastakokilam, etc. They packed so much in  those 3 or 6 minutes. Then came the Extended Play and Long Play records. But our musicians did not use the LP format to record long versions of the songs, but packed the old recordings in the new format! When the tapes came, we could record for up to 3 hours non-stop. But we did not use it to record some one raga extensively, but packed too many items, including a tani avartanam!  The same position is now repeated with CDs and DVDs! But look at Hindustani music! They still do not pack so many items in one disk. We have not used technology to fit our genius.The fault lies with us, not in the technology.

Indians used to produce mythological films. But have we produced one like Ben Hur or The Ten Commandments or Quo Vadis or  like Samson and Delilah? The technology was available to us, too!We are imitators, not creators! 

MESSAGE THROUGH MOVIES

The same applies to social cinema too. Great directors use it to convey a message- as in the case of 'It is a Wonderful  Life',  Schindler's List, Road to Perdition, Unforgiven, etc. 

Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, which he produced, directed and acted in. The star of many violent Westerns, he produced this to convey the message that violence is ugly, truth is complicated but is converted into simplistic myths, and that violence does not pay! He waited for a decade to make the film, so that he would be sufficiently mature and realistic for the role!What a way for a star to sign off from Westerns!
This picture is from: netflixlife.com.

[ These are old movies, of course.But such movies continue to be made, though what is considered valuable or relevant differs from society to society, and changes with time.  For a list of 20 such movies made in the last decade,from the Western point of view, see: www.truthdig,com/arts. The list includes such movies/documentaries as:

• The Fog of War, 2003
• Wall-E, 2008
• Enron:The Smartest Guy in the Room,2005
• Why We Fight, 2005
• Syriana, 2005
• Michael Clayton, 2007
• An Inconvenient Truth,2007.

"Outfoxed" ,2004 showed how the newspaper companies controlled by Rupert Murdoch distorted the coverage and reporting in favour of his political views, while pretending to be "fair and balanced". But by this standard, are our leading newspapers like The Hindu or The Times of India , or the English language TV Channels 'fair and balanced'? Are they not leftist, anti-Hindu and anti-establishment? Thus what is considered socially relevant depends on who looks at the issues.I do not necessarily agree with what these films advocate or portray, but I have included them here to show that even commercial cinema can deal with concrete social issues in creative, constructive , even if controversial, ways. ]

  Good stars choose their roles carefully and also their dialogues. We still have middle-aged heroes chasing girls half their age round  the bushes or across continents! We too made purposeful films in the 50s but now it is what will fetch money that goes into a film! In the name of realism, there is too much negativity. In the name of social criticism, there is decrying of all standards and decency. 

DETERIORATION EVERYWHERE

If we look around, this is what we see everywhere today in India.There is a general deterioration all round. We have roads on which we cannot walk, schools which cannot teach,teachers who rape their students, temples where we cannot pray without paying. The corporation has a pipeline to supply water, but we have to have a bore well or get a tanker; the govt has a highways dept which is run with taxpayers' money, but you have to pay toll on the highways; there is a police department, but in most buildings and offices, we have to have our own security; the bank uses your money, but you have to pay to withdraw  your own money  through ATM; there is public transportation, but one has to have one's own to reach any place on time; we have civic bodies, but not civic amenities! Govt. companies supply power, but one should have UPS and voltage stabilizers installed! You go to school to secure attendance, but attend private tuition to learn. Authorities like CBSE cannot even  conduct examinations properly.

And no one relies on the marks or grades awarded by the university; everywhere, they conduct their own tests!

Such deterioration is reflected in all fields and through all media like the newspapers and the electronic, which promote only a particular view- ie, it is prejudiced against other views. 

GREAT ARTISTS STAND ALONE

This means that we have to create parallel arrangements everywhere! In India, the social media on the Internet is emerging as a parallel system. So in cinema too, we have to have a parallel stream! Compulsions of the  market will force the players to the common taste, which is vulgar and swayed by momentary and passing fancies, but real artists are also great persons and they rise above such mean considerations.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee made/directed over 40 films, but not one of them was vulgar or cheap, and each had a message. He showed that education could be made entertaining! And what if we have had only one Hrishi da? One sun is enough to light up the whole earth!

When the tip of the wick is lighted, we say the lamp burns!

The upshot is that we should not shy away from any modern art form or medium out of prejudice, but make use of them in constructive and positive ways. Fashions and trends will fade away, and true quality and character will alone endure.. This is the lesson classical literature and music teach us. And those films and their music of which we still speak after 50/60 years also reinforce this truth.


NOTE:
I  should clarify here that because I talk about points of unity among different systems of music, I should not be understood as being in favour of mixing them up. I am certainly not in favour of "fusion" and other such circuses. Demonstration is one thing but it cannot be made regular. For the same reason, light music should not be introduced in a classical concert. Every aspect and form of music has its own place and that should be respected. 

Carnatic music is basically spiritual  in intent and that should not be touched. One need not agree and for him there are alternatives. But why should such people meddle with the classical form and try to dilute it? Classical art can never become mass-based. Its demands are heavy on both the practitioner and listener , and not every one is up to it. So let us not mix up things.