Friday, December 04, 2009

A column in Deccan Chronicle from today

A short one though. I was asked to write one for the next five weeks, once a week and I finally did so after thinking a hundred times, refusing saying its not my cup of coffee or perhaps to keep with the mood, my kinda raga. I know that every story is touched but the editor here has taken some sort of a poetic license which is unfortunately not part of who I am. This is the article, which is quite not what I gave in.

A LIGHT chill in the air, newspapers devoting entire supplements to carnatic music and programmes of sabhas and polite enquiries about which kutcheris I plan to attend the season ­ all these signal the arrival of December in Chennai.

My earliest memories of concerts is that of my mother dragging me to the Margazhi season in different sabhas. But I always only ended up embarrassing her by promptly falling asleep at every kutcheri. Whenever she would chide me about my developing groggy eyes the moment we hit the chairs, I would cry out in defence with my pet statement.

"Come on, I am just a little girl." That was when I was four to eight years old.

But sleep was all I could do at concerts. After a point my mom gave up and left me at home which suited me fine since I did not want to spend my Christmas holidays in sabhas when my friends were out playing.

It is strange that someone who was then so stone deaf to music has evolved into not just a singer but also devoted rasika.

And today when I see so many little ones accompanied by their parents, avidly listening to concerts, discussing the ragas in whispers and accompanying the elders with correct thalams, I cannot help recalling how difficult and sleepy I had been at that stage in life.

If this sleepy self can grow up into a performing musician, I am certain that these little stars will hold the flag of carnatic music high and proud in the coming decades.

Every Margazhi this faith gets renewed with greater intensity. Thank you Chennai for that.


For one, I was not the one who went out and played types. Neither did I have a team of friends growing up. The only avocation that I was involved in was learning from my mother, throughout that age and it was anywhere between 5-8 hours of singing a day so that at one point in time, like everyone knows now perhaps, I chucked school after 10th grade, for full time learning. Which I think is the best thing that has happened to me. I am blessed with a visionary mother. For those who gawk at a 4 year old learning music for 5-8 hours a day, don't. Its a very normal thing to do in families with a classical music lineage.

The editor saying that I was "stone deaf" to music makes me smile. I am still not a devoted rasika of the Kutcheri season yet. I still don't go to Carnatic classical concerts. But I am one of the November Fest, the Dance festivals and the theatre fests too. But I do if it were Hindustani classical, dance or a play. Therefore, I am not sure if there are little ones accompanied by their parents really. Listening to a concert for me then was tough. But then there was this time, when there was a Jugalbandhi, of Sri Umayalapuram Sivaraman and Pt Kishan Maharaj and it was just about a couple of days ago, at TEDxChennai, that one of the speakers there, Sharada Ramnathan, who has known me forever told me that I got up and started foot tapping with all the changing rhythms on my chair. She told my mother then that I must pursue music in a very serious way. I was amused when I heard this story cos mom had never mentioned this. Sharada ji told me I had been 4 or something. Some concerts captured my imagination. Most just didn't.

A couple of years ago, I remember listening to Smt Aruna Sairam, Smt Sudha Raghunathan and Sri Unnikrishnan. I enjoyed those.

It remains to be seen whether I am going to be writing something here each time something appears in the DC as 'my' musings.

In the next few days, if not in the DC, I ll tell you why I don't go to Carnatic classical concerts, or rather most of them. Watch this space.


Add on by me, Padmhasini

Chinmayi thinks she was embarrassing me. Actually she didn't. More than being my daughter, she had been the most promising experimental subject for me...rather a guinea pig in my musical experiments.

Those days she was called Padmasini's daughter. I was well known in a certain circle of people. She, as soon as we entered a concert hall, would ask people around, "do you have a paper and a pencil please?" and she would be invariably lucky to get the pair and would write a kind of daily diary or draw people around. Then she will drop of to sleep.

She was a peaceful, very quiet and an obedient girl, never the type to talk back till 17-18. But then sleep was beyond one's control.. isn't it?

According to serious research, the initial hour and a half of sleep is the best period of absorption and makes a better impact than ten hours of active teaching or listening with a conscious effort.

That is precisely the reason why she surprised me several times when forming musical phrases or lines which were not taught by me actually.

There were several first time experiments on her, which proved wonders.

Stone deaf to music? And turning out to be a musical success? I couldn't help smiling when I read those lines. Serious subjects which are exclusive knowledge areas are to be altered or edited consulting the original writer. :)

I am sure the editor of this article in the Deccan Chronicle is not going to like this. We may face some music in retaliation. And we would not have reacted if it is not altering her biographical details.

7 comments:

Arch said...

Chin,

Thanks! I am glad you wrote on it here. Are we even to beleive what is on papers nowdays? how do editions/alterations take place( of course other than the obvioud language based ones) without the owner's approval?

P.S: I dont sing, but thanks to attending concerts- now can listen quite well- very acquired skill.

Arch

Maddy said...

First of all Congrats.You have added another feather "Columnist" in your cap. Let you have enough oppurtunities to prove yourself there too.

I am not surprised with your admission of "this is not what I gave in". Print media or for that matter any media add flavour to the article in their own way.

All the very best once again

Imagination said...

Dear Chinmayi & Padmhasini Ma'am,

Thank you so much for clarifying the misrepresentation in the articles. Seriously, no one is ever going be successful and then be able sustain it, without talent, hard work and perseverance. What is the point in the newspapers giving a impractical and dramatic view of things? At least now we know its not a bad thing to encourage kids to get better than what they already do...

Matangi Mawley said...

:) I have not read the Deccan chronicle.. But sure I would be around here for more such updates.. But in essence, this reminds me, again of my childhood..

My dad being an ardent carnatic music 'rasikaa'- he used to drag me to all 'kutcheris'.. The problem was, none of my friends in school ever attended such concerts.. no one had any taste in music.. so, if i told them, i went to 'kutcheri' they wd laugh or criticize..
my dad, one day, understood this. he desperately wanted to input some 'fine taste' in me. he used to make me listen to film songs.. old ones.. n tell me raaga of it.. example: 'azhaikkathey'(manalane mangayin bhagyam)- hindolam.. i loved that song. I have seen that movie(believe this please!) 87 times! and he used to play only hindolam songs one whole day.
the next time we went to a concert, if the singer sings hindolam- i would tell my dad- this is azhaikkathey raagam.. he would then advice me to use- hindolam.. :) and he used to give me one rupee.. and each time i identified a raaga, it was one rupee.. i could identify most raagaas when i was in 5th std.! :)
he took so much pains to help me appreciate carnatic music.. back then, music lessons were so boring! bt now, i realize hw valuable they were!
though my singing, these days is limited to our bathroom only, I have, at least the knowledge and the ability to appreciate n enjoy good music! i thank my dad for all that!
Thanks for sharing this with us!

PS: I read your 'thayir saadham' post to my dad! he appreciates the way you write too! :) just wanted to share that!

SARAS said...

http://www.dc-epaper.com/DC/DCC/2009/12/05/ArticleHtmls/05_12_2009_002_013.shtml?Mode=0

Maddy said...

Padmasini madam,

Guess its coincidence. Was reading an article (in gulfnews-Friday-Magazine with a mention of this) similar to the one you have mentioned as "serious research".

here is the link

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/science/20sleep.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=sleep&st=cse

பட்டாம்பூச்சி said...

Didn't have a chance to read your column yet :(
Will try to have a look at it for sure though.
All the best.