HM concerts versus CM concerts

[mahakavi]

I am reproducing below an article which appeared in mycarnatic.org a while ago.
Are Hindustani Music concerts packaged better than Carnatic Music concerts?
Posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 3:09 am by admin

I have always noticed that the ambience of a Hindustani Music concert versus that of a Carnatic concert is much different. From my experience, the concert venues in a Hindustani Concert, especially in the US are much more acoustically sound and more professional looking. There are definitely exceptions to this, but generally I notice this is the case. However, recently I attended a Hindustani Concert in Los Angeles where the hall used was a very small and unimpressive venue for an outstanding artist, Ashwini Bhide. Although the hall was not up to par, the banners and lighting were so impeccable, that the lack of a proper hall did not seem like such a big deal. The ambience from the lighting made such a huge difference. However, when I attend a Carnatic concert here in LA with the same sort of venue, there was just something lacking. The lighting was very dull, the banner in the back was bland. These small things go a long way in the presentation of a concert.

I also notice that people are much more willing to spend money to attend a Hindustani concert and that there rarely is a free Hindustani Concert. While in Carnatic concerts, most are free of charge and when they are not, people will either not attend at all or try their best to avoid paying. People are willing to spend for a Hindustani Concert and even five to ten times as much more for a rock concert. Hindustani Music is presented more professionally and you rarely see a concert being presented for free. And also in the US, non-indian people are more aware of instruments like the Sitar, Tabla, etc, and some have not even heard of Carnatic music! In the Hindustani concert I attended last week in LA, more than half the audience was non-Indian; I rarely see that happen in a Carnatic concert. Why is that? Are they advertising better? How do we get this non Indian community as interested in Carnatic music as they are in Hindustani Music?

Another big difference is the crowds behavior in a concert. It was complete silence and appreciation and interaction between audience and musician at the Hindustani Concert. People openly showed appreciation and gave full undivided attention to the main artist. But at a Carnatic concert you hear people talking, chairs banging as people get up and leave in the middle. People standing outside and not many people fully paying attention through out the whole concert. It seems as if people get very bored easily. Even though I think the musical content of the carnatic concert is much more appealing and entertaining, why is i as if our crowd is bored half way through the concert and has to get up to take a break during a thani?

And my response to the above article:
It is not that CM rasikas are bored or inattentive. It is somewhat native to the culture. First, many times the artistes do not arrive on time. Even if they do the audience arrive very leisurely. The large part of the audience feels that it is a social function rather than a concert. Second, when it comes to paying, the southern (CM) community is not that keen on paying high price. That is because in the past there have been kutcheries which were free. The so-called high earners among South Indians (in the US) either do not appreciate Carnatic music (to patronize with huge donations) or they don’t have time to attend the concerts (work and making money come first for them, perhaps). The musicians too ( a majority of them) expect to earn less than than their HM counterparts because (1) the sheer number of HM rasikas outweighs CM rasikas and (2) there are perhaps fewer performers in HM compared to CM. CM rasikas (although smaller in number)also tend to want and attend more concerts. Accordingly the budget they have has to be proportionately diluted among the several concerts with the result they don’t want to pay more than a certain amount per concert.

Most of the HM concerts are instrumental (mainly sitar, santoor, tabla and some vocal) which from Ravishankar days got western audience. Thus in order to cater to that group the HM concerts followed the pattern set by western classical music concerts—starting on time, nobody leaving during the concert, and formal applause through formal introduction etc. CM cocnerts, by contrast, are more informal. The other major factor is that most of the CM concerts are vocal and sAhitya-based (even in instrumental concerts) which makes it difficult for the western audience to follow.

The last straw (the so-called weakest link)—-are you ready?— is that CM rasikas are fractured along linguistic lines. However strongly one might remonstrate that music’s language is universal, people pay attention to the musician’s regional domicile with the result the attendance suffers on that point alone.

[Nick H]

Good points in both the quoted passage and in your response, although I think that much of your first paragraph (and perhaps the rest too!) of your piece simply continues various themes, not of what is wrong with carnatic music, but of what is wrong with CM audiences in some parts of the world.

There is nothing wrong with a comfortable, well -appointed hall, especially one with a good sound system, but I do not think that either type of music needs any sort of theatrical presentation.

[prashanth12]

not of what is wrong with carnatic music, but of what is wrong with CM audiences in some parts of the world.

bingo...

I am in Toronto and have attended many concerts here...... For the most part these complaints are absent...concerts generally start punctually...nobody walking in and out during performances...

note, most of the audience are SL tamils.

[Nick H]

Some of the same is true in London. The time-keeping is a bit rough, but otherwise, the audiences are attentive and quiet, and, again, mostly SL Tamils. The London HM concerts I've attended, on the other hand, are truly metropolitan, and even majority non-Indian. For some of the Indians there, on the other hand, especially the ones in the most expensive clothes, they do seem to be more about seeing and being seen, and if a VIP is present, there will be clustering --- but it will be before/interval/after; nobody will run up and down during the music

I'd say that the majority of Chennai concerts start on time, although much of the audience may arrive within the first half hour. There may be some unavoidable practical disassociation between usual concert times and working hours here? it is also true that the vast majority of us go to concerts to quietly enjoy the music, and it is the few exceptions in the crowd who stand out.

[mankuthimma]

HM Vs CM
Such a lovely subject for analysis. Every ten years , I end up changing my views on this

We used to have these pulls and pushes at home in my younger days . It was Dad's call to put things in perspective for us . And on one such occasion , he made us get down from the train a couple of stations before our scheduled Hometown stop .
And we walked cross country - to reach home . And he gave us the comparisons .
CM was so much like a Train journey .
So many aspects were well thought out and worked out - well before the performance .
The rail Tracks would ensure a fair accuracy of where one would end up . Give and take a few metres on the platform.
The journey would pass through such familiar landscape . Each and everytime .Familiar to the regular traveller and yet each journey would have those untold surprises. Like that pathway quickly disappearing under a bridge , or a faint light glowing in the distance. in the dark.
Distances between stations would increase and decrease just as the size of the Main Submain etc krithis would proportionately increase upto the half way mark and then start tapering down.
There would be a phase in a journey when everyone is made aware of the power of locomotion . That phase where the driver would be touching his limits
And so with the concerts . That phase where everyone falls into a respectful background and the main artist hold sway.

The tough looking examiner would tell us of the Carnatic penchant for running it by the book .
Those receipt books with vintage carbon paper written with the skill of a notation writer.

The sound of the gangman at a remote stop , would remind us of the knocking on the mridangam to keep it in tune.

The successful completion of a long trip by rail would keep us thanking the large numbers of personalities that would have
worked tirelessly to make it possible .Right from the first chap who wore blisters on his hands while laying that track.
Ah ! Those t hose rails . Which glistened with each passing of the train ! Like the Krithis .Which keep getting embellished.
And
With one final look at the passing train which should have carried us , he would get us walking across the fields .
All four directions beckoning ( read the seven notes ) .
A few tracks on the field , showing the way some one had taken before . Stars far high , beckoning us to take a different path , while trying to reach the same destination . Too far to be of immediate Use in this particular journey . Yet useful in turning our senses , magical .
Ever seen a HM artists eyes ... Craving for feedback . We would be searching for signs that we too were on the right track . Some navigational aid.. This .
Would this journey be surely a safe one . ? Was there ever a working method of labelling a raga essay by the name of the artist?
Would two essays in a given raga , by the same artist be the same ? Not quite . There could be as many Malkaunses as anyone would wish to sing . Each one would have an identity of its own.
And he would conclude .
Ah !
CM - That Music where one can be technically correct and still Aesthetically wrong.
HM - That Music where such a thing was impossible. There could never be a Hm concert which was aesthetically defective.

**********

This is not an evaluation of the two methods , since I am not worthy of such an assignment . This is just a recapitulation of my own journeys in this grey zone . Views are entirely personal .

http://www.mediafire.com/?lmbqu3dl9b5jyri

a beautiful track of HM . recording is poor at places . but definitely a treasure for a lifetime .
Ni Re Ga ... what magic hides within Yaman . In those notes !!!!!!!

[lifeisasong2]

I think some of it boils down to acoustics. I live in London and attend both CM and HM concerts. CM singers can tend to shout into their mikes, or demand further amplicifation when it is not needed, and sing at venues where the acoustics are very poor. Neither do they bother with tamburas (real ones), which I think makes a huge difference. That said, I do see larger numbers of non-Indians attending CM concerts thanks to the efforts of groups behind efforts like the Darbar festival.

Edited to add: Not that singing at venues with bad acoustics is always a bad thing-I like the way CM concerts are organised everywhere by rasikas-it shows love and appreciation for the music.

[Nick H]

Ahhh... those London halls... those sound systems that were doing wedding discos yesterday and will be again tomorrow... yes, I remember it well.