Madurai Mani Iyer was one of the greatest vocalists the world has produced. His music also influenced me deeply.
Here is an article I had written to celebrate the legend's Centenary for The Hindu...
01 March, 2021
The greatest emerging global threat today
(Note: This article deliberately refrains from mentioning individuals, political parties or social groups or specific events in any country or region and only aims to address the issue from a macro perspective.)
01 September, 2020
Popularity vs Progress: Reality Check
Popularity is an important initial (certainly not the final) step in the lives of students and aspirants passionate about contributing widely and effectively. Personal success in the eyes of many can certainly enable one to make a positive impact on so many lives, if used unselfishly. Of course, numerous people have contributed substantially before or even without getting popular.
However it has been long understood by thinkers that popularity is a multi-edged sword.
Organic vs Organized popularity
It would be ideal to work passionately without an agenda to gain popularity and yet become popular because of innate or justly earned excellence. There is nothing wrong with being flooded by fame though one needs to still take care to stay above it and not get drowned by it. However, history has shown that only 1/1000 manage this and current trends seem to take it to almost 1/10000 what with preoccupation to obsession with micro-stardom in social media measured by Likes or Views - which by themselves are not unhealthy, if one can manage to strive constantly towards one's long term goals with clear-headedness. But this is a tall ask.
But organised popularity in the Social Media context has grown to a mega-level subject where synthetic success is able to occupy the same time-space as real class, albeit for such ridiculously brief periods - at times merely a few minutes - until the next "Like/View" sensation ousts it from its Trending Top-spot. Students must take care to not let popularity become an addiction that defies detoxification.
Responsibilities and risks of Popularity
Popularity is a responsibility towards oneself and others. If this is not taken seriously as such, it can result in substantial under-achievement at best and a complete loss of direction in most cases. But those who do take this responsibility seriously accomplish a lot in real terms.
But a popular person can influence and inspire numerous people even without specifically setting out to do much for others - as legends have illustrated across eras and arenas. But with serious intent, a popular person so inclined can catalyze a lot of good outcomes.
Popularity can be a tool that can empower one to popularise rare things of beauty or things of rare beauty; or create a whole system of values that can raise standards all around. Take the case of sitar maestro Pt Ravi Shankar whose popularity not only enabled him to influence his chosen Hindustani classical but also had a positive impact on Jazz, Rock, Pop and World Music.
However it has been long understood by thinkers that popularity is a multi-edged sword.
Organic vs Organized popularity
It would be ideal to work passionately without an agenda to gain popularity and yet become popular because of innate or justly earned excellence. There is nothing wrong with being flooded by fame though one needs to still take care to stay above it and not get drowned by it. However, history has shown that only 1/1000 manage this and current trends seem to take it to almost 1/10000 what with preoccupation to obsession with micro-stardom in social media measured by Likes or Views - which by themselves are not unhealthy, if one can manage to strive constantly towards one's long term goals with clear-headedness. But this is a tall ask.
But organised popularity in the Social Media context has grown to a mega-level subject where synthetic success is able to occupy the same time-space as real class, albeit for such ridiculously brief periods - at times merely a few minutes - until the next "Like/View" sensation ousts it from its Trending Top-spot. Students must take care to not let popularity become an addiction that defies detoxification.
Responsibilities and risks of Popularity
Popularity is a responsibility towards oneself and others. If this is not taken seriously as such, it can result in substantial under-achievement at best and a complete loss of direction in most cases. But those who do take this responsibility seriously accomplish a lot in real terms.
Music is no exception to this and the field is replete with musicians who popularised rare exquisite compositions or concepts that may otherwise have never been appreciated, had they been brought to light by people not as popular. That said, artists must take care to not cease travelling inwards for excellence all the time, despite the ensnaring - and enslaving - nature of popularity, if they wish to progress. They must constantly be aware of the fact that popularity is only a plateau that often prevents those perched on it from looking at peaks simply because the worldview down below is so enchanting. One can easily stagnate or even slide down without realizing it.
Popularity is a whirlpool that can suck one deep under unless one has the skill set and the mind set to avoid its pitfalls even while being fascinated by its inexorably compelling beauty.
Popularity is like a credit card that gives one loads of perks - as long as one has the ability to be saving more than the cost of maintaining it through constantly re-inventing oneself through introspection with a positive approach.
Popularity as a shaping tool
Popularity is a whirlpool that can suck one deep under unless one has the skill set and the mind set to avoid its pitfalls even while being fascinated by its inexorably compelling beauty.
Popularity is like a credit card that gives one loads of perks - as long as one has the ability to be saving more than the cost of maintaining it through constantly re-inventing oneself through introspection with a positive approach.
Popularity as a shaping tool
Specifically the quality of popularity has the power to shape an individual's life graph. Popularity can become a trap that can bog down a person intent to just maintaining status quo. For a musician, popularity among general listeners forces the musician to live upto their expectations by choosing clichéd songs or ragas or phrases within them, even if the artist wants to explore greater depths or scale greater heights. So also for dancers and many others in the art world.
Does it mean that one has to be scared of popularity or one should consciously avoid popularity? Absolutely not. If one can remember that the popularity of all the hottest stars that lived, that are living and those yet to arrive combined is dwarfed by the enormity of the field they pursue, one will be able to accept popularity with grace and humility and yet keep striving to better oneself all the time. This awareness and approach will act as a teflon shield against the sticky negative effects of popularity.
All the above holds good for those who court notoriety as well. Abuse of popularity is perhaps more dangerous than abuse of power, which of course is uncondonable. While abuse of power will hurt those directly under the sphere of influence of the powerful individual, abuse of popularity can have even more far reaching consequences.
Does it mean that one has to be scared of popularity or one should consciously avoid popularity? Absolutely not. If one can remember that the popularity of all the hottest stars that lived, that are living and those yet to arrive combined is dwarfed by the enormity of the field they pursue, one will be able to accept popularity with grace and humility and yet keep striving to better oneself all the time. This awareness and approach will act as a teflon shield against the sticky negative effects of popularity.
Abuse of popularity
History as well as news teach us how not only monuments but also sentiments of millions can be irreparably desecrated when those enjoying political or social following mislead the public through misinformation and misrepresentations or incite them to disruption or even destruction. No less significant is the billions of hours cumulatively wasted by millions of misled people who end up chasing false or frivolous causes (for years at times) losing out on opportunities of personal or constructive social development.
To sum up, one need not shy away from popularity but one must ensure that one stays grounded, positive - and honest - at all times and one must guard from getting popularity drunk as much as one is cautioned from getting power drunk.
To sum up, one need not shy away from popularity but one must ensure that one stays grounded, positive - and honest - at all times and one must guard from getting popularity drunk as much as one is cautioned from getting power drunk.
31 August, 2020
Deccan Chronicle: Carnatic Music and Communal Harmony
Background: A few years ago, attempts were made in some quarters to sully the reputation of the legendary singer and philanthropist Dr M S Subbulakshmi, whom millions hold in the highest esteem. This rebuttal of mine in early Dec 2017 in Deccan Chronicle appeared the very next day of another such posthumous attack on her in the same publication.
In 2015-17, I was the only artist who stood up to pen such articles in the mainstream media or speak strongly in public to against attempts to disrupt Indian music and culture by manufacturing caste divisions or tarnish the memories of great artists and composers.
Though most of my colleagues commended me for doing this, they chose to not speak out in public at that time, which was a systemic failure of the entire field, leading to wrong narratives taking roots in the general public consciousness.
Ironically, the very institution - Music Academy Madras - that was radically opposed to such dastardly attempts made a 180 degree turn around Nov 2018 but came out the closet in 2024 by announcing its highest award to the prime mover of the same.
I stood by my principles and returned the same Sangita Kalanidhi Award which I had received in 2017.
29 August, 2015
Sampoorna Bhashanga Mela Concept
The concept I have postulated is more an intellectual exercise with theoretical validity, aimed to give a codified structure to what is often attempted in contemporary orchestral/operatic/fusion/film forays with "a Carnatic base". This is also of interest to scholars of Hindustani music, especially those familiar with the basic 10 That’s as well as Western Music Theorists and ethnomusicologists. My postulate also offers a mathematical extension to such forays since many new combinations can be tried more systematically by futuristic composers interested in venturing into this territory.
Carnatic Indian Classical music, renowned as much for its exciting aesthetics as for its scientific and precise approach, made tremendous strides both theoretically and practically after the 72 parent-raga (melakarta) system was postulated and developed several hundred years ago by Govinda Dikshitar, Venkatamakhin and others. Prominent classical composers including the Tyagaraja, Muttuswami Dikshitar, Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi and others embraced the system and created attractive pieces which bestowed musical immortality upon this already brilliant concept, which is one of the greatest musical strides ever taken by man.
Recent developments
Though a couple of extensions have been proposed in recent times to the grand 72 mela system, only the 36 dvi-madhyama melas (using both varieties of Ma instead of Pa) by Tanjore S Kalyanaraman briefly made it to the stage since the proponent was a noted performer and composer who created pieces in each of the 36 scales.
Of the 5184 mela system of Prof Sambamurthy (which is really ascent of every mela with descent of every mela 72x72), 5183 are only in theory books. The only one seen in concerts is Manji (S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S - S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S) which existed in folk and classical centuries before the mathematical formula was postulated by the professor. However, both retained only 7 notes in a straight sequence. (Bhairavi is of course more popular in this category though it is technically supposed to use a zig-zag SGRGM. In practice, it also uses straight phrases like NSRGM, RGM etc.)
188 sampoorna bhashanga ragas
A bhashanga raga is one that uses notes not native to the scale. Since foreign notes is an automatic disqualification for a raga to be considered a parent raga (mela) like the 72, I have not used the term mela for what I proposed on 3 Sept, 2013 (as per my notes). I merely called them sampoorna bhashanga ragas.
This is a system of 188 ragas which use one or a maximum of two foreign notes in ascent or descent (Arohana/Avarohana) or in both. In some ways, this merely extends the vivadi concept already seen in 40 ragas out of the 72 mela system. In a manner of speaking, these 40 are also bhashanga since they use 2 varieties of R/G/D/N but vocalise it as a sharp 2nd/6th (Ri/Da) or as a double flat of the 3rd/7th (Ga and Ni). Again the 72 have only 7 notes.
The sampoorna bhashanga raga system introduces foreign notes to these 72 which means that it will have 8 or 9 notes.
Details
Carnatic Indian Classical music, renowned as much for its exciting aesthetics as for its scientific and precise approach, made tremendous strides both theoretically and practically after the 72 parent-raga (melakarta) system was postulated and developed several hundred years ago by Govinda Dikshitar, Venkatamakhin and others. Prominent classical composers including the Tyagaraja, Muttuswami Dikshitar, Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi and others embraced the system and created attractive pieces which bestowed musical immortality upon this already brilliant concept, which is one of the greatest musical strides ever taken by man.
Recent developments
Though a couple of extensions have been proposed in recent times to the grand 72 mela system, only the 36 dvi-madhyama melas (using both varieties of Ma instead of Pa) by Tanjore S Kalyanaraman briefly made it to the stage since the proponent was a noted performer and composer who created pieces in each of the 36 scales.
Of the 5184 mela system of Prof Sambamurthy (which is really ascent of every mela with descent of every mela 72x72), 5183 are only in theory books. The only one seen in concerts is Manji (S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S - S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S) which existed in folk and classical centuries before the mathematical formula was postulated by the professor. However, both retained only 7 notes in a straight sequence. (Bhairavi is of course more popular in this category though it is technically supposed to use a zig-zag SGRGM. In practice, it also uses straight phrases like NSRGM, RGM etc.)
188 sampoorna bhashanga ragas
A bhashanga raga is one that uses notes not native to the scale. Since foreign notes is an automatic disqualification for a raga to be considered a parent raga (mela) like the 72, I have not used the term mela for what I proposed on 3 Sept, 2013 (as per my notes). I merely called them sampoorna bhashanga ragas.
This is a system of 188 ragas which use one or a maximum of two foreign notes in ascent or descent (Arohana/Avarohana) or in both. In some ways, this merely extends the vivadi concept already seen in 40 ragas out of the 72 mela system. In a manner of speaking, these 40 are also bhashanga since they use 2 varieties of R/G/D/N but vocalise it as a sharp 2nd/6th (Ri/Da) or as a double flat of the 3rd/7th (Ga and Ni). Again the 72 have only 7 notes.
The sampoorna bhashanga raga system introduces foreign notes to these 72 which means that it will have 8 or 9 notes.
Details
- To understand and codify it easily, let us divide the notes into two tetra chords SRGM and PDNS.
- A maximum of one foreign note is introduced in each tetra chord.
- This means that a raga can have one foreign note in either SRGM or PDNS or in both SRGM and PDNS, allowing it a maximum of two foreign notes in all.
- Anything more than one foreign note per tetra chord will make it even more boring and weird!
- The foreign note can occur in either ascent (arohanam) or descent (avarohanam) or both.
- The 188 ragas I have proposed do not have any zig-zag (vakra) phrases like say, Bhairavi - which uses SGRGM.
- This is not intended so much to extend Carnatic frontiers, which I firmly believe has tremendous beauty and scope as is.
The calculation: I have only given below the broad classification here. Please see image file for details.
(a) One foreign note in SRGM with PDNS having usual 6 varieties = 14x6 = 84.
(b) One foreign note in PDNS with SRGM having 6 varieties each with M1 and M2 = 12x4 = 48
(c) One foreign note in both SRGM and PDNS is obviously 14x4 = 56
Grand Total = 84+48+56 = 188
To reiterate, most of these are no more than melodic formulas. They will not fit in with core Carnatic aesthetics. Of these, probably a handful could be interesting in Carnatic-Hindustani jugalbandhis since the latter system is much more liberal about foreign notes (perhaps not surprising since it was deeply impacted by foreign (Persian) concepts for several centuries since the 1300s).
It would also be appropriate to clarify that the 188 sampoorna bhashanga raga system is in no way related to my concept of melharmony whose primary spirit is to project melodic-harmonic systems' existing and established values and aesthetics rather than extending them.
==================================
PS: I thank Mr Ram Athreya for pointing out a calculation redundancy in my original list.
==================================
PS: I thank Mr Ram Athreya for pointing out a calculation redundancy in my original list.
14 July, 2015
One more formula for Squares of Integers
Even though I have left formal math behind several years ago (though somewhat later than it had left me behind!), I have always had a fascination for numbers, some of which has been applied in original musical concepts I have popularised over the years including Seamless Korvais.
This topic is completely off the music charts as it attempts to chart a different course in pure math in a fairly populated area - Squaring numbers. Doubtless there are several time-tested and elegant approaches to this including the most well known algebraic formula of (a+b)^2 and others based on pattern recognition. I found another approach staring me in the face this afternoon, literally in my half-sleep state.
I roused myself to action and tested the concept. It seems to hold good from negative infinity to positive infinity and I decided to not get too greedy and ask for more but share it with heads wiser than mine in the field. So here goes (in fairly simplistic, rather than formal terms)...
Explanations and examples: (I have uploaded an image file as the Blog formatting didn't seem to have options for exponents):
It can be tried out for any number.
I look forward to critical feedback from experts and enthusiasts!
This topic is completely off the music charts as it attempts to chart a different course in pure math in a fairly populated area - Squaring numbers. Doubtless there are several time-tested and elegant approaches to this including the most well known algebraic formula of (a+b)^2 and others based on pattern recognition. I found another approach staring me in the face this afternoon, literally in my half-sleep state.
I roused myself to action and tested the concept. It seems to hold good from negative infinity to positive infinity and I decided to not get too greedy and ask for more but share it with heads wiser than mine in the field. So here goes (in fairly simplistic, rather than formal terms)...
Explanations and examples: (I have uploaded an image file as the Blog formatting didn't seem to have options for exponents):
It can be tried out for any number.
- Algebraic formula vs RK formula: While the algebraic formula is very elegant, my approach - which could be viewed as its (distant) cousin - may prove easier in the case of certain numbers.
- Other short-cuts vs the RK formula: Most of these are based on simple though multi-layered operations on number patterns. But they need different approaches for different numbers which means one needs to remember different short-cuts based on the final digit and/or the number of digits of the original number.
- Uses one consistent approach across the board
- Eliminates one whole level of multiplication
- Introduces the underscore _ symbol which can find use across the math world.
I look forward to critical feedback from experts and enthusiasts!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Selective Moral Discomforts and Outrages of Convenience against Tyagaraja
As someone who has been passionate from early teens about making Carnatic Music socially broad based and initiated pioneering steps for the ...
-
Today (Nov 5) happens to be the legendary Smt T Brinda's 96th birthday. As someone who was fortunate to learn from her for nearly a dec...
-
Background: A few years ago, attempts were made in some quarters to sully the reputation of the legendary singer and philanthropist Dr M... -
As someone who has been passionate from early teens about making Carnatic Music socially broad based and initiated pioneering steps for the ...
