I was reading a recent debate on music reviews. A leading Carnatic musician was berating the quality of reviews in response to musicians being called “thin-skinned” by the editor of a leading newspaper in Chennai. The editor defended his clan with his arguments. Very soon, music reviews are going to be relics of the past. In Mumbai they already are. Not that I miss them too much either.
During the days when Mumbai newspapers carried reviews, they were eagerly awaited by the person who performed and a handful of close circuit friends and foes. Perhaps a few other stray readers also read these reviews. They most usually were pieces of standardised writings. I have witnessed unethical editors, unscrupulous writers and ignorant critics. Slowly the review phenomenon faded into oblivion. There was a phase when papers did not carry anything related to serious art. But then there were fewer newspapers. Today, art receives attention differently, even if not always through reviews.
In Chennai of course, it’s a different story given the huge market for music and dance over there. For years, the famous Subbudu Mama dominated the South Indian music review scene. He loved skyrocketing artistes to fame or dethroning them completely. He had his tongue-in-cheek approach and made himself well read over the years, especially with his witty style of writing both in Tamil and in English. So much so, that banners would proclaim ‘Beware ! Subbudu arrives!
Reviews are still a rage in the South. During the famed December Music Season in Chennai, special supplements come up with music reviews. In today’s time, I consider this gesture as a fine homage to the arts and to a festival that brims with so much energy and so many artistes. It is commendable that such print space is gifted to concerts.
On the flip side, hordes of reviewers crop up during the Season and vanish thereafter. Whether fly-by-night reviewers or the seasoned ones, reviews are usually a loyal listing of the compositions presented in the concert. This report is decorated with a standard set of phrases meant to reveal the writer’s subjective opinion. While the musical acumen of the reviewers can be debated upon endlessly, their writing styles are also food for thought. Performances rarely ‘begin’, they only ‘commence’.
Sometimes I struggle to understand when I read about ‘chockful of sahityas bunched in terse clusters’. This vies for attention with ‘injecting tonal fervour’ into the ‘felicitous compositions of Tyagaraja’ that were ‘embroidered with a slew of swaras’ in order to have a cutcheri that ‘revealed solid endowments’. Why can’t they just simplify and write spontaneously, without ‘etching’ and ‘bedecking’ their ‘robust renderings’ and ‘traversing octaves with insouciant ease’?
Now, I am simply breathless after all this jugglery and lexical gymnastics. You read two reviews and you know the third one by heart. In any case, you have to spend more than a few minutes, decoding the complexities of such writings.
A few weeks ago, I attended a concert by a well known Carnatic singer. The overflowing crowds swayed, smiled, shook their heads in appreciation. Some slept, waking up to the applause or to a familiar song. The proverbial ‘sing along’ rasika still exists. Since time immemorial, audience behavior has remained much the same. The concert began with an age-old Varnam. Minutes later, two ladies rushed in and sat beside me, apologetic of coming in late, although I asked for no explanation. Once settled and breath regained, one of them leaned towards me and asked in right earnest. “What songs did she sing before this one? I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Carnatic concerts usually began with the Varnam, lest I sounded pompous. I simply told her it was just the beginning and she was happy not to have missed much.
I have never really been a fan of reviews although I have been on both sides of reviews. In any case, inspired by Lovelace’s metaphor in his famed To Althea from Prison, I would say, “Reviews do not a concert make, nor opinions a stage.”
Still, a well written, balanced review would serve the purpose of educating the reader, disseminating information and raising awareness. Thankfully, media space is still available for the arts in renewed avatars. This column is testimony to the fact.

Dr. Vasumathi Badrinathan is an eminent Carnatic vocalist based in Mumbai.
She can be contacted on vasu@vasumathi.net