THE CONCERT EXPERIENCE

As an artist I have always wondered about this – the concert or Kutcheri experience. It could mean so many things to so many people.

It would of course, depend largely on your perception of different factors. I thought this time of the year is a good time to give this subject some thought.Let me look at it from an artist’s perspective first – I am perhaps better qualified to present this point of view. One begins with planning the concert – who is the organizer, where is the venue, when is the concert—morning or evening, what kind of an audience may expected, etc.

Based on these factors, one plans out tentatively the list of songs to be presented. The selection is automatically more streamlined if it is to be a thematic concert.The proper scheduling of songs for a concert, I think, is more important and more difficult than to perhaps even perform it! One has to keep in mind the various raga combinations, tala varieties, composers, tempo of the songs, language…….so many factors! After all this, it often happens that the audience seems to be in a differently receptive mood and the performer has to improvise and sing items not originally planned! So, a performer has always to be in a state of preparedness and alert. These are however, necessary but not sufficient conditions.

The basic factors underlying all this—voice in good shape, good manodharma, performance in tune with manodharma, good understanding and response from accompanists, etc. And above all, a good audio system…. A poor audio system can ruin a perfectly good concert.And now, lets look at it from a rasika’s point of view. You are looking forward to a good performance and have set aside time and effort to attend the day’s programme.

Your day has to proceed smoothly for you to be in an amiable mood that evening. You perhaps are in a mood for Kalyani but the artist may be offering Sankarabharanam. You may not be particularly inclined to this raga at this point. Maybe you heard Sankarabharanam in the last two kutcheries that you attended. You may be preoccupied about picking up your child from tuition on your way back from the concert. You may be concerned about buying vegetables for the next day, again on your way back. The point I am trying to make is that—it is not the artists’ performance alone that makes for a concert experience, it is the perception of the rasikas that actually defines it.

Is there a geographic identification of tastes? I think it is so, to an extent. When you travel at fairly regular intervals to certain regions, you can identify certain common tastes. Chennai is the Mecca of Carnatic music and has an abundance of talented Vidwans and Vidushis living here.

When one is constantly exposed to concerts of high standard, ones tastes and expectations also rise higher. It is but natural that the audience in Chennai has very evolved tastes and does not readily accept an artist unconditionally. One has to prove oneself in many concerts to get the stamp of approval from the connoisseurs here. This is also perhaps why, when an artist is accepted well in Chennai, he/ she is accepted almost everywhere else. Tastes also quite catholic in Chennai – Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama Sastri, Purandara Dasa, Annamacharya, Papanasam Sivan, Sant Tukaram—are all accorded their due place and importance.


In Andhra Pradesh, the audiences are enthusiastic about concerts and look forward to enjoying good telugu sahitya that they can follow. Annamayya, Bhadrachala Ramadas, Thyagaraja lead the way while the songs of other composers follow closely. Good melody is given priority here.

Kerala is a state that really enjoys good rhythm. Their own music is rich in Laya—the Chenda players can effortlessly create magic with their laya combinations. The singers from Kerala are endowed naturally with mellifluous voices. The younger generation here is very active musically. Concerts are usually for a minimum of 3- 3 ½ hours with a Ragam Thanam Pallavi almost a must. In the temple festival concerts, you will find very unassuming people, even villagers, meticulously keeping time—whether it is misra or sankirna nadai!

Karnataka listeners provide a mix of the above. They enjoy elaborate pallivis as much as bhava laden Dasara padas. Here too concerts are for 3-4 hour duration.
Places in the North have their own ways of enjoying concerts. They have to wait for some organization to arrange a series that will feature their favourite artists. The audience usually comprises people from all the four southern states and the presentation has to be geared to suit this.

For foreign audiences, it is a totally different experience. For us, their audio and lighting systems are a dream come true! You can blissfully concentrate on your singing with no other worries. They come to listen to a music that is new to them. They listen with utmost attention and interest. They do nothing to distract the performer. No one comes in or goes out when the programme is on.

They react only to the melody and rhythm and not the lyrics. They have no preconceived ideas about the artist or the music. So it is easy to be uninhibited while performing. This goes a long way towards bringing out the best in an artist. Our style is very complex for uninitiated ears. So one has to follow the minimalist approach there. It is an important task because the world should recognize what a treasure house Carnatic Music is. It is not enough that we keep blowing our own trumpets. We have to make the world acknowledge the supremacy of carnatic music and its concepts.

It is indeed an awesome experience to be a concert performer and to make a mark in the midst of all these factors is nothing short of being remarkable.