Rocking the Carnatic music boat

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Indian music is undergoing a sea change of sorts. From seasoned veterans to up-and-coming talented fledglings, everyone seems to be thinking out of the box, unmindful of adhering to age-old tra ditions. The latest among these trends is the adding of a new-age twist to the sacred genre of Carnatic music.

While any reincarnation of these classical compositions, revered down the ages, have been frowned upon by purists, the current generation of musicians have not only reinvented these songs to pique the interest of today’s youngsters, but also evoked a newfound respect for the Carnatic genre itself.
But is it a sacrilege to tamper with the ancient laws of ragas and swaras, by reincarnating them with a touch of rock, jazz or soul? Of course not, say today’s composers, vocalists and independent artistes. Good music is good music — does it really need to be set to a conventional standard? Do you tap your feet or move your head to a song you like only after you’ve identified what genre it’s from?
Aigiri Nandini is a popular prayer sung by Padma Shri Aruna Sairam, celebrating Goddess Durga. The traditional prayer, Mahishasura Mardini Stotram, leads to Bulleh Shah’s Love Kalaam re-rendered in a delightful, progressive rock groove by composer Ram Sampath in a Coke Studio composition. Bringing his own twist to it, Ram made it a dark number, infused with heavy metal.

“We are the only culture that worships goddesses but our newspapers are full of horror stories of crimes against women. My attempt was to bring the attention back to feminine energy and celebrate it. I collaborated with Carnatic exponent Aruna Sairam, folk singer Bhanwari Devi, Jazz vocalist Samantha Edwards, Hard Kaur, who I think is our desi hip hop pioneer, my muse, Sona Mohapatra and many other brilliant musicians,” Ram says.
On Bollywood music becoming a lot more edgy and experimental, with a mix of genres, including Carnatic music, he quips, “We have the bravest of producers who are daring to take that risk. If they didn’t have the guts, we musicians couldn’t do anything.”
Vocalist Mahesh Vinayakram agrees whole-heartedly with Ram. “We are in the 21st century and can’t afford to be ignorant about latest trends. Of course, one needs to ensure that there is no compromise on tradition. This kind of endeavour is the best way to link the old with the new. It is an inherent instinct that we respond most to something familiar to us. So if we have to present something unfamiliar to the younger generation, we have to present it in a way that they can relate to it.”
He recently collaborated with Nitin Sawhney on a track, called Vachan, a rock number that blends, in perfect proportions, with the Carnatic vocal style.
Even A.R. Rahman recently worked with Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan to put a contemporary twist to Aao Balma, a completely classical number. Tamil playback singer Suchitra Karthik is thrilled that such beautiful compositions have been taken out of their sacrosanct cocoons and given amazing interpretations. “I truly believe music is beyond religion and cannot be confined to a set of rules. When I attempted semi-classical, which in itself raised many eyebrows, we purposefully paired Bharathiyar songs. The response we are getting on such works is a clear indicator that this approach reaches a lot more people, thanks to its soul being intact and the effort being sincere.”
Harish Sivaramakrishnan, of the award-winning contemporary Carnatic rock band, Agam, is no stranger to classical music in a contemporary scenario. However, he feels that Carnatic music’s prominence is still so great that it doesn’t need any ‘revival’ of sorts. “The genre is so organically breathtaking, so awe-inspiring that we, as musicians, are just honoured to be associated with it. I don’t believe in the concept of tradition, really. Who set these so-called unbreakable laws that they can’t be changed? What is contemporary today will be tradition tomorrow!”
Some, like Indo-Canadian diva, Shweta Subram, known for her ethnic collaborations with worldwide acts like The Piano Guys, Shankar Tucker and others, feels this is primarily targeted at the youth. “It’s great that the old Carnatic classics are being given a new avatar. At least people will pay attention to Carnatic music this way. As musicians, we should always be open to experimenting with and appreciating different genres of music. This helps us grow as artistes. I am working on a rendition of the legendary song, Kurai ondrum illai, marai murthi kana, giving it an electro-Carnatic groove,” she smiles.
Singer Karthik feels it is an awesome change for music as it is giving way to new avenues and dimensions for non-film music as well as independent music producers. “It is drawing a wide range of listeners as the scope of these genres is vast. Our traditional pieces reflect the very essence of Indian culture. It is important that it is passed on to the youth of today in a format that encourages them to appreciate it. Certainly, Carnatic music offers great scope for experimentation. It is incredibly rich and complex, it has the potential for good harmonies,” he says. He recently worked on the composition, Mahaganapatim, with violinist Viji Krishnan in an edgy contemporary set-up with Keith Peters on the bass guitar, J. Vaidyanathan on the mridangam and a fantastic orchestra.
This trend also has its share of detractors, like Sudha Ragunathan, who says, “I feel one shouldn’t tamper with Carnatic songs that have been around for hundreds of years. A collaboration or a fusion is okay. The singer should retain the original composition and tune of the song. Why not come out with new melodies? Why tamper with the old? I’m okay with experimenting but the classical flavour needs to be retained.”
Yet others feel that there’s nothing new about this! Composer Leslie Lewis has the final word, “Anything that is new and appealing to the present generation always attracts larger crowds. When Kishore Kumar sang Jhumroo, many might have questioned what that kind of music was, but that’s what made him popular to that generation. Similarly, when Elvis Presley hit the audience with his rock ‘n’ roll it was a new thing, and now rock has become harder and stronger. Culture is dynamic and so must the presentations by performers be. So long as the cultural content and its aesthetic appeal remain, fusion is the name of the game today!”

Inputs by Jagyaseni Chatterjee