Unnikrishnan concert on 1 May, 2010 for CAIFA, Chicago

[cmlover]

MMI had physical problems in his later life which led to the slurrings. VKV may know the full details. That however is no excuse for others to claim that they could also 'lisp' sahityams unless there is a musical reason. In fact vaggeyakaras are very careful in designing the sahityams that can be fully sung properly unlike the verses of poets that hve been set to music by others..

[cacm]

Beileve me MMI had INIMAGINble& unbelieveable setabacks in his health but he still managed to produce PERFECT MUSIC if you knew how to concentrate. ANY ONE can listen to his recordings. Actually as a researcher in INFORMATION THEORY I can say that MVI COULD
COMMUNICATE PERFECTLY WHEN HIS VOCAL CHORDS PRODUCED ZERO! LGJ MADE SURE AUDIENCE KNEW WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO SING...SIMILARLY WHEN MDR explained what Papanasam Sivan was trying to sing IT WAS AN EYE OPENER & BLEW MY SENSES!SUCH GENIUSES I WAS LUCKY TO INTERACT WITH...
What geniuses they were! I was lucky LGJ &MDR were KIND ENOUGH TO
EXPLAIN...UNBELIEVABLY INSPIRING to say the least....VKV

[bhavarasa]

to be very honest, hearing people complain about unni's diction is beginning to be as annoying as his diction itself.
evidently his keeping his mouth the way he does is a part of his music. you are going into it with the knowledge that he is going to sing that way. expecting it to be any different this time is like hoping that *this* time you read the book, romeo and juliet will get married and live happily ever after.

perhaps i am more tolerant, or perhaps my ears and brain are not hearing the way those who are critical of unni's music do. but seriously... people who are critical... i can't help wonder if you are unable to hear the mazhalai voice of a child lisp a thiruppugazh or sing it with an overly american accent and appreciate it for what it is. or if you would listen to higgins' krishna nee begane and say his accent makes it impossible for you to listen?

if you cannot listen to unni because of his diction, i do not agree that it makes you better than those who can listen.
if you cannot listen to unni because his audience base requests songs that are tiresome to listen to again and again, i am more sympathetic.
if you can get past all of that and find something in his music that resonates inside you, i will call you a kindred spirit.

To be honest, this is the first Unni kutcheri I've attended in a very long time. I'd argue that his "style" of singing is very different from back in the 90s. I believe that he is singing with a more closed mouth now than before. Rest assured, I won't be attending one anytime soon. This is not a comment on his stature as a musician, just my personal preference. But at the end of the day, that's what everyone's comment is, isn't it - personal opinions and preferences?

[arunsri]

Some of the comments of mine may not be agreeable to many.

Unnikrishnan honestly does not care about Carnatic music lyrics. The way he sang kA vA vA in the mArgazhi mahAutsavam in 2009 Dec is a testomony to the fact that lyrics mean nothing to him. He sang it as gagaagaa vAvA. For those who do not get what I mean, please check out the You Tube video. I had meant to post about the mutilation of words by him at that time, but restrained myself. But somewhere one has to call spade a spade.

One of the first things that a student in music is told is to sing open / full throatedly. . I am sure his Gurus would have told him. Dr. Ramanathan is on eof the most open throated musician that you can hear.

Unni does exactly the opposite. It has become worse over the years. Nowadays with resources like Internet, books etc, getting the correct sahityam - both words, as well as split, pronounciation is so easy. when in doubt, is not a problem at all to find teh answer. But it is just the 'chalta hai' attitude that works even here. Unfortunately people like him and many popular ones have become role models for many younsters to emulate. His repertoire has stagnated (rather frozen) - How long can you sing tulasi dala, mAyAteeta, vADEra, ADamODi, intasukhya, shobillu, banTurIti, rAmachandram bhAvayAmi again and again. Listening to it gets boring, I wonder how he does not get bored singing the same. Any stundet with 4-5 years solid training in music (serious) can sing these and more.

And, what does he want to prove by singing mAyAmAlavagauLa and pantuvarALi back to back cocnert after concert? These are all eye catching approaches. When substance is lacking, one has to catch / grab attention by such means. Merely having a gadget in the ear to indicate he cares about shruti means nothing if he cannot sing properly. As a student of music, we are told kELvi gnAnam is very important. When my wife teaches music, she gives a list of musicians that her students should NOT listen to. One of them is Unni.

I sincerely hope that such 'musicians' stop calling what they sings as Carnatic Music. They can call it Semi Classical or whatever. It will be the greatest service that they can do to music.

Since this topic is on Unni, he is being names. You can replace him with many others, I am sure many of us know whom we refer to here.

For some mediocre programmes in the name of Carnatic Music, you can watch Kalaingar TV at 5:30 PM - Monday to Friday - where anything passes as CM. Quality of the music is like the quality of the channel. If what actor Vijay's mother sings is Carnatic Music, then CM (R.I.P)

[semmu86]

arunsri, nice post. But I think we have to stop worrying about this issue, as nothing can be done to improve upon the pathetic state of CM right now. I think its best to ignore all this and stay home in the company of SSI,MDR,KVN etc.. Worrying about all this only takes a toll on us. There is nothing wrong with some people being fools with respect to the fans of some musicians.

[kssr]

[quote="arunsri"] she gives a list of musicians that her students should NOT listen to. One of them is Unni.quote]
Arunsri hasn't obviously listened to Unni in recent times. Unni is improving especially with his "classical" content. Not too bad, after all. Good fan following. We should admit all that without personal bias, I beg. He may not be the best but he will not lead CM to RIP. We should take his version as another flavour of CM. If we do not like someone's singing, don't listen to it. Let those who like it enjoy it !:$

[kssr]

as nothing can be done to improve upon the pathetic state of CM right now.

I beg to disagree about the state of CM. There has never been a more vibrant, effervescent period with all round growth in quantity and quality of CM coming from all over the globe. A lot of youngsters are showing up with very great talent. Within the next 10 years we will have another crop of top quality musicians. Learning thro'skype, getting sahitya and recordings on internet have made many factors of learning very easy today. Students were struggling to get even basic information in yester years. Needless to emphasise that ultimately good musicians can be produced only by dedicated gurus with hardworking shishyas. Today's gurus are also more professional, unlike the whimsical ones of the past gurukulam system.

You can see a jovial write up in Sanjay Subrahmanyan's blog about how each generation thinks that their musical heroes are the best. However in my (objective!!) opinion, the real golden age of CM is just round the corner. Watch and Catch it.

Eternal Optimist!!

[arunsri]

kssr: Margazhi Maha Utsavam of 2009 is as new as it gets I think. I have listened to Unni at CMANA in 2001, he was quite good. Of late, this singing with closed mouth, mangling the lyrics etc has become too much. Bombay Jayashri makes a mess of kA vA vA too. If you cannot sing it, just leave it. Why mangle it? There are other songs in Varali that you can sing. If not, just do not sing Varali. There are the Vaasantis, Madhuvantis and Karnaranjanis for you.... which are relatively easy on the effort front and far more janaranjakam, bringing you more applause.

Please note that I never said Unni is leading CM to its grave.... The lady - Vijay's mother and the likes who sing and call it CM are the culprits. Young impressionable minds think that CM is just that - what they see on TV in 30 mins... for lack of better exposure. Few ladies learn from people like her, then go and teach few others and that is how the rot sets in. I have seen people - children and adults - "recite" swaras - rather than sing, no gamakams etc. Their singing resembles discrete swaras as played on the keyboard. No raga bhavam etc. There are a few who think their shruti is "Mayamalavagaula". They have been taught without a shruti... when asked, the lady teacher said - 'adu ellam varum' - all those things will come. How will it come? Will it jump from the heavens? Or will the student get gnyAna about shruti when seated under a bodhi tree?

CM has very talented and sincere artistes at present - Sowmya, TMK, Vijay Siva, Malladi etc, to name a few... but for every such serious artiste - there are few who dilute music to no end... and unfortunately, there is market for everything.!

[prashant]

Or will the student get gnyAna about shruti when seated under a bodhi tree?

No. Reason: there is no plug point under a bodhi tree to plug in a Raagini. Also, if given a tambura, the student will look for the AC input slot in the instrument.

[kssr]

Arunsri: I fully understand your sentiment. But nothing to worry. In every field -not only CM- a gradation of quality exists. Even in office. For every good performer there are hordes of mediocres. That is what makes the good one shine.

Also in CM, for every one good student/ guru there are hundreds of ordinary ones. But from your passion it is obvious that your wife is a good guru and her students will naturally be well groomed. CM has a great future in their hands.

[mahakavi]

>>For some mediocre programmes in the name of Carnatic Music, you can watch Kalaingar TV at 5:30 PM - Monday to Friday - where anything passes as CM. Quality of the music is like the quality of the channel. If what actor Vijay's mother sings is Carnatic Music, then CM (R.I.P)<<

Well, isn't that a means to take the music to the masses???

>>unfortunately, there is market for everything.!<<
True. It is true in every field of human endeavor. Sports teams, story writers (look at the proliferation of magazines), craftsmen, repairmen, movie makers, TV programs, stock market advisors---you name it-- the fields are polulated with plenty of mediocre talent (if you can call it that). But when there is demand (say cricket lovers) everybody will step in bat (pardon the pun!).

Time and again I hear people saying the the musicians of yesteryears were the best. Nostalgia is sweet---isn't it? But if you have a chance to go back in time and listen to those musicians in real time you may have a different story to tell. It is like our childhood memories. Do we remember all the bad things that happened?

Having said that, to paraphrase Dickens, these are the best of times and these are the worst of times. In the CM field there is plenty of interest from the younger generation---a few of them very good (best of times) and a lot of interest from lots of others (perhaps economic prosperity of the parents nudging the youngsters into that field). There is so much crowding too for the stage. There is a proliferation of sabhas too. Many times the "connections" to the powers-that-be bring mediocre talent to the stage (kalaignar tv anyone??). There is only so much real cream. If you want to dole out more you have got to mix it with gunk.

Those of us who are discriminating enough to listen to the performances of only the top talent have to be very choosy. Sometimes we may fall into traps. The best thing we could do is to pick ourselves up and watch out for the next trap. That is because lots of people reach far beyond their grasp. We have to avoid them.