Yes, Arasi Madam, word of mouth does help many times.. Also, I (sivakami) am a 50-yr old lady..
About vidushis and vidwans of other states remaining un-popular.. It is an issue, for which the reasons appear to be multi-factorial.. The organizers (atleast here at Hyd) say only some concerts( such as those of the so called popular artistes) are crowd-pullers, while others are not (avaa kucheri ellam vechal koottam varadhu saar!). I must also add that, despite the extra-very-heavy expenditure involved to have these high-profile concerts, extra-ordinary specific demands (of some artistes) right from pick-up/ dropping at airports, accommodation, local hospitality and so on, the organizers are compelled to arrange only such programs. They literally run from pillar to post to make ends meet, to arrange everything. Still, this keeps continuing.. Thus even the local-good artistes are ignored. There are so many, such as the senior Malladi Bros Suribabu garu & Narayana sarma garu, Vishnubhatla sisters, Kota Achi Babu garu (Clarinet), to name a few more..Recently I happened to hear one Smt. Sangeetha Kala ( from hyd), so vibrant and full of energy and bhavam.. It seems she normally performs along with her sister (cant recollect the name!) and they are known as “Sangeetha Sisters”.. Some of them are tied-up due to family and other commitments and hence donot venture out of their place of residence very much..
Out of the several instances which has truly bothered me, I wish to write about two events, particularly.
(I must warn that whatever is given below is whatever I saw and heard, and I have nothing against anyone personally). In 2009, there was a concert- series here at Secunderabad in May, organized by the Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple committee. The 14-yr old Abilash Giriprasad was fixed for a monday, the day after Smt. Aruna Sairam’s kucheri on sunday. I went to listen to Abilash(only), and found some audience scattered here and there (totaling to 30-40). While introducing the young artistes on stage (all between 14-16 years of age), Sri. Seshadri , a committee member was lamenting about the thin attendance. He said “yesterday inspite of the unusual heavy rains, this open air venue (> 400 -500 seats) was so full, even with people standing, holding umbrellas and not stirring out till the mangalam was sung. Whereas, today you see how it is; when are we going to learn to encourage young-upcoming talent etc., “. However, Abilash sang very well that day, even after that.
Similarly, last year, in November, a company from Nellore came all the way to Hyd to celebrate a 2-day music festival, wherein they had arranged concerts of two leading vocalists from Chennai. When a local sabha-secretary gave us the nicely-laminated-invitation card and insisted that we should turn in large numbers, we found that the programmes were going to take place in 5-star hotel, instead of the usual venues such as Ravindra Bharathi. Although it was not a ticketed event, many of us had to travel long distances to the other side of the city. There was also mention about some “High Tea” preceding the concert. When we entered the venue, we were welcomed warmly (like it is done in weddings and all..) and ushered to the dining area. There was a vast spread of many snack-items, cut-fruits and sweetmeats, coffee/tea etc., After gobbling as much as one could, we all went into the concert hall( I think it was the banquet hall!). There was elaborate flower decorations, a nice big stage, as well as two massive screens on either side flanking the stage. After the customary speeches and introductions in chaste telugu (to a predominantly tamil-audience), once the kucheri began, they started the display (close-up view) of the artistes on the massive screens. Audience sitting at the back also could enjoy the zoom–view, as if seated on a front row. There were also CC-TV display in the waiting area (reception) and the dining area. Some people were awe-struck by the grandeur. When the artistes were performing, rasikas were mesmerized. Looking at that, someone nearby was murmuring, “yeah, yeah , the artistes have to maintain this standard for sure, as the remuneration is in 6-digits.. not just paltry few thousands you know..” Then towards the end of the concert the anchor announced that everyone was invited for a nice, hot dinner (on that winter night) and must not leave without eating. When some of us were trying leave, without eating, the ushers were trying to coax us not to leave. This happened on both the days. I think the concerts were telecast live on some channel. At the end of this mega-arrangement- event, I was perplexed whether so much extravagance was necessary to promote Carnatic music, singing Thyagarajas kritis like “ Nidhi chaala sukhama”.. That too ignoring the local artistes.. Someone else(who had patiently sat and calculated the likely expenditure for the 2-day event in that 5-star hotel) later was saying, “ithanai selavu panni ketta kucheriye vekkarudhukku, 10-15 local/upcoming artistes kucheri arrange panni irukkalam” i.e instead of spending so much for repeat-concerts, they could have arranged 10-15 concerts of local/upcoming artistes..
What does this all mean… really donot know which is the cause, the organizers or rasikas or the others?, and which is the effect? I am still not able to fathom..
I am also wondering how our fellow-rasikas might tear-me up for writing all the above…
