Lackluster intro to Keyboard Sathya at Chicago Thyagaraja Ut

akila_gan · Post by **akila_gan** » 28 May 2009, 22:44

People who introduce artists at concerts should give a little thought beforehand as to what they are going to say about the artists. They should portray the artists well and provide relevant information about them to the audience. The introduction to Keyboard Sathya and team at the CTU last weekend left a lot to be desired. After introducing the artists, it seemed like the organizer felt compelled to introduce Sathya's father. So he said "Mothers feed a child's appetite, while fathers feed their intellect..." only to be booed by the audience including me. Mr. KrishnaBabu (Sathya's father) salvaged the situation by saying that the fact in Sathya's case is that his mother was his inspiration and responsible for his success as a singer. He also added that his responsibility has always been and will be (atleast in the near future) to carry his keyboard. This was received very well by the audience who responded with a thunderous applause. I believe that such a chauvinistic statement by the organizer at the CTU was totally misplaced in this generation where both parents are educated and perfectly capable of feeding the intellect of their child.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 28 May 2009, 23:01

>"Mothers feed a child's appetite, while fathers feed their intellect..."

How offensive! Men can cook too!!

Just kidding. Yes, that is insensitive to say that in this day and age. It is just not necessary to say anything along
those lines. I don't think the organizers meant to be offensive
but just not alert to the fact that such sayings are anachronisms! ( not that it was true in any era ).

Very glad to hear that Satya's concert went well.

akila_gan · Post by **akila_gan** » 28 May 2009, 23:15

Yes, men can cook too! It was offensive to both men and women.

Unfortunately i had to catch a flight and listened to just the first song before rushing out. But their concert at Raleigh was excellent!

suma · Post by **suma** » 28 May 2009, 23:24

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 29 May 2009, 01:14

The organizers who get their one or two minutes of exposure to the audience may put their own foot in their mouth if they are not prepared for well considered speech.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 May 2009, 02:33

It is natural to get offended with such a statement, especially if you are a woman. As VK and VKRaman say, I don't think it was intentional. Just came out of his mouth inadvertantly, I think. Satya's father saved the day. He and Satya's mother have to be appreciated for the way in which they have been nurturing his talent.
Add to the curse of holding the mike in your hand--unintentional blabber along with suddenly getting to be a concert-time eating ogre!

suma · Post by **suma** » 29 May 2009, 04:05

srinivasrgvn · Post by **srinivasrgvn** » 29 May 2009, 07:25

I have to say, Satya is really talented.
Playing RTPs at this age is itself an achievement! But, he plays RTPs in relatively tougher ragas like sumanEsaranjani, kApi, brindAvani, etc.
That is an effort that has to be appreciated. When today's singers are always following the ghana rAga group, this youngster is presenting improvisation in less-scope ragas!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 May 2009, 07:41

Suma,
I hope you are not age- biased. I am afraid there are many of us on the forum who are seniors. and we believe we are as old as we think we are . By the way, seventy is not that old:)

srinivasrgvn · Post by **srinivasrgvn** » 29 May 2009, 07:48

Yeah, a great grandma of mine lived till 103 years! 70 is possibly too young!

suma · Post by **suma** » 29 May 2009, 08:02

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 29 May 2009, 08:49

svr,
Possibly, probably, may be, may be not...

vganesh · Post by **vganesh** » 29 May 2009, 17:07

May be the organiser is a great Tamizh scholar

There is one poem remember 'Eenru purantharuthal enthali kadane, Sanron Aakuthal thanthiku kadane ' ; and goes on... and the transalation goes as a mother saying "Giving birth is my duty; making him a scholar is father's duty' ..... All in the game. Fathers sometime cook better than mothers :p

koyaliya · Post by **koyaliya** » 30 May 2009, 02:54

the word 'appetite' does not necessarily imply a need for food. one can also have an appetite for life, bhakthi, love or ananda.
not saying this was the announcer's implication, but if he were to justify his words, that's what he ought to say

then again... that might have the fathers in the auditorium booing...

erode14 · Post by **erode14** » 30 May 2009, 11:48

if you look at the books for 1rst standard, some years ago, there will be drawings explaining appa goes to office, amma cooks, thatha reads news paper, patti is paakku idichufying, anna rides a cycle, akka does kOlam (even now many women are caught in kOlangaL!), thambi playing with an aeroplane, thangai plays with soppu...

great that our people continue to do this in US too...

ragam-talam · Post by **ragam-talam** » 30 May 2009, 15:20

While the words chosen for the said intro may not have been that apt, I suppose one can give some allowance for seniors.

In my opinion, the intro phrase 'now sit back and relax' that is mentioned by most - especially the younger ones - is quite jarring. The ubiquity of this expression makes it even more offensive.

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 30 May 2009, 15:54

erode14

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 30 May 2009, 19:02

kOlangal - you bet several families adicted to watching cruelties to women both in U.S and India

erode14 · Post by **erode14** » 30 May 2009, 19:50

VK RAMAN wrote:kOlangal - you bet several families adicted to watching cruelties to women both in U.S and India

This is a practice which has been existing for centuries, I think...

One patti of mine, she is no more now, visited madras 15 years ago. She told women in her age group loved to watch a particular film which included mAmiyAr kodumai scenes, when she was young. She said she saw the same film for many times.

"we would go there... watch the scenes in which the MIL would torture her DIL... after those scenes get over, we would leave"

I asked her why she eagerly watched that particular episodes.

"I don't know... I watched... I called the names that MIL whenever I watched the movie"

???

suma · Post by **suma** » 31 May 2009, 01:50

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 31 May 2009, 10:13

Suma,
Wasn't it a bit of a sweeping statement about men and women in America, basing it on your babysitter's household?

Always_Evolving · Post by **Always_Evolving** » 31 May 2009, 10:41

erode14 wrote:if you look at the books for 1rst standard, some years ago, there will be drawings explaining appa goes to office, amma cooks, thatha reads news paper, patti is paakku idichufying, anna rides a cycle, akka does kOlam (even now many women are caught in kOlangaL!), thambi playing with an aeroplane, thangai plays with soppu...

great that our people continue to do this in US too...

My carefully crafted stories for our pre-schooler usually have thatha in the kitchen cooking, paati in office, amma reading newspaper... you get the drift

Not that she's in the least buying it!

arasi wrote: Wasn't it a bit of a sweeping statement about men and women in America, basing it on your babysitter's household?

Ditto that!

suma · Post by **suma** » 31 May 2009, 18:36

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 31 May 2009, 18:44

Yes, it absolutely is a sweeping statement, Suma. You may fancy yourself as a cultural anthropologist, but the most you can say is that in the US, more men cook day-to-day than in India. You cannot say anything stronger than that.

appu · Post by **appu** » 31 May 2009, 22:06

Hello mri_fan, Welcome back after a long hiatus. This site was getting a little boring without your caustic wisdom. And Suma, remember in Bambi, what Thumper said "When you cannot say something nice, do not say anything at all."

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 May 2009, 23:19

appu: I do not know why you quote that here, I did not sense that Suma was saying anything bad about anyone. In fact, she was the one who provided the right perspective on the statements made by the organizer. That should have led to the end of the discussion here about gender based stereotypes.

mri_fan, point well made and it would have been better if you had spared the sarcasm personally directed at individuals.

To be fair to Satya, it will be good if we have a separate thread with focus on Satya's concert itself.

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 01 Jun 2009, 00:29

It is amazing how a simple statement can lead to straying into areas that are inflamatory

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Jun 2009, 02:21

V Kokilam,*
You are right. Satya's good performance and his father's grace don't deserve a highjacked thread.

Suma,
I was not being rude either. It was just an observation, not criticism. Anyway, I still feel that the speaker did not mean to be insensitive either. At least I am hoping it wasn't so!

VKRaman,
Yes, it often happens that we all tend to get carried away. It is only human. Even in serious seminars of a scholastic kind, you will find a few quips, to lighten things up. We are after all a 'friendly' forum...

* When you and VKRaman posted one after the other, I added the kokilam to tell between the two of you!

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 01 Jun 2009, 05:54

v.kokilam, as you said, there has to be a separate thread
'Sathya's concert at CTU'. This thread, as the title suggests, is only about the
Ll intro to his concert!.