Dear rasikas and artistes,
I consider this time to be the golden age for CM musicians (let me add: especially women).
In fact the mood is so upbeat also because Indians are excelling in EVERY field - from spelling bee to Google science fair and Multinational CEO positions.
So I want to define a Perfect Ten for a CM musician. Am I inviting trouble? - Yes, but why not?
Coming to Lady Musicians in CM, from those days of the Big Three or Four reigning queens of CM, today the field is vast and filled with many-splendoured stars all around. They are masters of every aspect of CM. And it is instantly obvious to me that God made women with a natural gift for song and melody.
I therefore choose to spell it out using the feminine gender in the Samskrita language below. But this scale should OBVIOUSLY apply equally to men.
So here goes my list of ten qualities, and you can add/subtract/divide/multiply/factor and what not:
त्रिस्थायिगायनपरा गतिभेदकलाधरा
रागरसभक्तिवरा श्रुतिस्मृतिधुरंधरा ।
पदनिरूपणचतुरा बालप्राज्ञमनोहरा
गीतवाद्यसमसुबला इति उत्तमगायिका ॥
Keerthi and others may kindly pardon my Samskrita, But in English the list is as follows:
1. Voice able to deliver in 3 octaves.
2. Laya control up to gati bheda etc.
3. Raga delineation to perfection.
4. Ability to invoke the intended rasa unambiguously.
5. Replete with bhakti which undeniably is a big factor in our music.
6. Shruti alignment always.
7. Ability to sing from memory without notes and tablets lying around.
8. Sahitya presentation without distortion.
9. Music that attracts audiences from toddlers to experts.
10. Ability to play instrument/s as well as sing equally well.
I have set the bar in my opinion rather high. If we like, we can give A+/A/B+/B/C grades for each factor's assessment.
Nobody is perfect, but we can begin to see and assess ourselves and others on some yardsticks like this.
What say!!!????
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