ramarama's Dec 12 concert attendance will be FREE of ticket

[ramarama]

For personal and other reasons, which i am not at a liberty to reveal, I will only be attending free music concerts during the 2012 season. Hopefully this will allow some very good musicians ignored by the sabhas in the top paid slots to receive the benefit of my attendance, vigorous head-shaking and tch-tch-ing, and strategic audience-clap-leading at meaningful pauses in the concert. I will announce the concert attendance schedules and times and meal-planning strategy once the schedules are out and the caterers are announced.

[Nick H]

Congratulations on your courageous decision, ramarama.

Will the fact that you are not paying leave you feeling quite free of conforming with normal audience behaviour norms? We need to know this, when making the important decision as to whether or not to sit near you.

receive the benefit of my attendance, vigorous head-shaking and tch-tch-ing, and strategic audience-clap-leading at meaningful pauses in the concert.

How about putting talam noisily on the thigh? Or... perhaps you feel that this should only be included in the paid-kutcheri package?


8) ]

By the way, I think mine will be unticketed too ... but not for any altruistic reasons of wish to serve musicians or fellow rasikas. Just ... my years of free Chennai concerts have left me thoroughly spoilt! :$

[padavarnam]

Hilarious one, Ramarama!

[kittappa]

Most of the old timers attending concerts in the 1980s and 90s did so without buying tickets, even for ticketed performances. It was possible to bribe a volunteer with sweet-kAram-kApi and have him usher you in. Such people were heroes then and were looked up to by the others who were unfortunate enough to buy tickets and then after a bad concert, cry foul. They couldn't even quit the concert midway for two reasons. One, the futile hope of listening to something valuable at least towards the end of the concert or, worse, because they had paid for it and therefore didn't want to 'waste' their money. The clever free gatecrashers were happy to walk in and out as they pleased especially during tani and have a coffee or a smoke. Some brought what RaviSri would refer to as their canteens, containing their favourite beverages, carry them inside, especially to the balcony of the Music Academy. Nowadays these things are not possible because of various things. One can pay for concerts if we are sure of the musician's calibre that he/she will deliver to our satisfaction.

On a serious note, when Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan once came to Madras to give a concert, he found that the organisers were selling tickets. He was angry and promptly cancelling that concert he arranged a concert of his at a friends place making sure that all those who wanted to attend could do so freely.

[PUNARVASU]

Nick H wrote:
How about putting talam noisily on the thigh? Or... perhaps you feel that this should only be included in the paid-kutcheri package?

I am reminded of a joke. my father .veeyens used to tell us. It seems, my sisters son, when he was three wanted a toy which used to shake its head sideways and up and down.His parents did not get him that. But after some time a similar toy came as a free gift with another item they bought,and they gave it to him.Poor child, he tried to make the toy move its head,but it would not. He went to his parents and said it seems;
If you had BOUGHT IT, it would have moved its head.
The way my father used to say this joke, we used to laugh so much and he ENJOYED repeating it any no. of times!

[varsha]

Most of the old timers attending concerts in the 1980s and 90s did so without buying tickets

We could not buy tickets for concerts at Academy simply because they were unavailable - only the last two rows being allotted for tickets . So there was a generation of gate crashers which had mastered the art of entering , to its finest detail .
The trick involved bribing the volunteer who manned the door and also looking respectable enough while entering as a group with a half concealed ticket with one of us , the gate crashers . Care was taken to ensure TTVasu was not lurking around . Walking up and down at the bottom of the staircase and picking a time when there was no one else climbing / entering , was recommended . Once inside , there was never any chance of being caught . Theoretically somebody would get a doubt only on a day when all the members appeared for the concert .And someone took a head count .

On an odd day , a member would specifically insist that he would like to sit on the seat allotted to him , forcing us to move around . But generally members who saw someone else sitting on their allotted seats would think that we would be sitting there for a better view . And would not bother us . It was part of the dignity of Surroundings.
I joined this group as a youngster when the rest were in their 40s / 50s - Some of them oglers who remembered ,here , a Mami taking a seat , as a slip of a girl , a decade ago . And there a guy with a broken leg ,who was fit the previous season .etc etc .
On new Years eve , it was my duty to hand over the collective gift (on behalf of all of us ) to the said volunteer at his home - A bottle of whiskey bought at Parsns Complex for quite a sum. My volunteer lived in KK Nagar - close to where Saravana Bhavan now exists and I must have repeated this chore for three or four years .
Coming to think of it now , we probably paid more than the price of a ticket -
But then that was my first brush with Academy . Oh ! to be seen there , in the season . To rub shoulders with the high and mighty . Tickets were such a mundane matter ,fit for lowly mortals.

[ramarama]

Thanks, Nick for the wonderful suggestion. I'm receptive to ideas about flouting concert attendance norms. Thigh slapping is the norm, so I will attempt slapping a neighbouring rasika's thigh, and when particularly moved by the rhythmic possibilities of a kriti (or more likely, when I can't tell which of two talas some song is in), perhaps keep two different talas on the two different neighbouring thighs on the two sides.

Thanks also to kittappa and Varsha for the ideas on attending ticketed concets "free of ticket." Having said that, it's been my experience in about 99% of the housefull concerts I've tried too late to get a ticket to, that if you are willing to hang around until the concert starts, and to pester the organizer with a starved, hungry-for-art look, and to brazenly ask tons of ticketed rasikas if they can spare a ticket for a hungry rasika, then at least one ticket will materialize by concert start time - often for free even. And more often than not, it will be a ticket in a great viewing spot as it is often the patron/sponsor seats that go vacant. The only discomfiting part might be having dressed up for the cheapest seats, and now having to share space with heavily perfumed kanjeevaram-ed or extra-long kurta-ed fellow patrons. But then the lights will dim (at least for dance concerts) and no one's going to notice that anymore.

[Nick H]

Punarvasu, thank you for the memory of your father and his sweet joke.

varsha, thank you for your memories and recollections of life at the sharp end!

ramarama, We came home from a concert last night to find the house in darkness and the fault light on the inverter. No light, no fan, no AC and I spent most of the night being an amateur electrician unsuccessfully trying to find the fault --- a dangerous one, as it was putting live current on the neutral. Anyway, our friend from the EB came this morning and traced th fault to a short at the pole. Although we have power again, I was fed up and had not smiled until I read your post!

I think your ideas are wonderful. I am sure they will be particular appreciated if one or both of your neighbours are female and stern-looking --- and if your talam is irregularly offbeat. Do not attempt talam on the arm of a plastic chair whilst wearing a heavy ring: this innovation has already been innovated, and would be waste of your creativity. You might, perhaps, come up with some new and imaginative places for wild and enthusiastic applause? Perhaps after each thiermanum played by the mridangist, thus destroying the beginning of the next line to be sung by the artist?

Anyway, your imagination is way ahead of mine on this: I'm sure you will easily outdo my suggestions.

[kittappa]

I think this is an appropriate thread for this article written for sangeetham.com by Burma Sankaran, father of Sanjay Subramanian. With your permission taken for granted RaviSri, the 'Deadly Duo' descibed by Sankaran is none other than Ravi and Sridhar (RaviSri)
.............

CHARACTERS AT THE ACADEMY
12th Dec. 2001
Listening to Carnatic music, wandering around the music halls, and mingling with the artists and organizers used to be an addiction with me. It still remains today, but is not so apparent on account of the phenomenal increase in sabhas during the season. There are more concerts and more canteens, but I am missing the larger than life characters who used to adorn the foyers of the music halls. May be they still are there, but in the hustle and bustle of the modern season, I have no time to recognise them, nor do they have time to register their presence.

In the days gone by , the foyer of the Music Academy used to be full of characters, each with his own fabric of speciality but the common thread of the love for Carnatic music running through all of them. Let us take look at some of them.

The VIP's VIP
You would always find this gentleman near the VIP entrance of the academy, in a spotless white dhoti, a silk kurta, bright eyed and red lipped with the inevitable gold chain and betel box. He knew almost all the artists personally and professed to know all those who passed beyond the pearly gates. Whenever a VIP from the govt circles or industry got down from his car, our friend would be the first to greet him and shake his hands. The VIP would merely nod his head and move on. Our friend would beam widely as if to advertise his importance. I used to wonder ," Does he really know the VIP?" I braved myself and asked him. All I got was a look of contempt and a glance towards some at his side as if to say, "You please explain to this man. I have no patience with such ignorant people". Till date I have not known whether he knew the VIP.

He had a fund of anecdotes pertaining to the music world. There was always a small crowd walking beside him, waiting for pearls to drop. His stories would be terribly funny,but often could not be told in polite company.He would always be busy, appear important and claim to be influential in music circles. It took a while for me to know that much of his influence was reflected than actually his own.

One day a senior musician was looking for a lift. Our friend rushed in and said, " Mama I will drop you." The musician well aware of our friend's partiality towards the amber fluid replied, "It is only 9.00 in the morning. IrundAlum bhayama irukkuDa. nAn naDandE pOrEn." (I am still afraid of going with him. I would rather walk)

The executive connoisseur
This person would always grace the academy, before the office hours, during the luncheon break, and after the office hours. He held an important position in a private firm. His love for Carnatic music was so great that he would always be at a crossroads in fulfilling his obligations to the office as well as listening to music. You could find him, when not listening to a programme, standing in the car park under the shade of a tree with a few earnest looking persons. For him his personal idol was the be all and end all of Carnatic music. Every piece rendered in the Academy hall would be compared with his idol's rendering of the same. He would sing a few snatches of how the maestro would have sung it and arrive at the inevitable conclusion about the present concert. Not that he disliked the present crop. He did not have enough time to listen to them and evaluate objectively. He accepted a few, rejected the majority, but always with a patronizing remark," What can you expect? They sing what they know." He was of the firm opinion that top quality Carnatic music had to be sung to near empty halls and anyone who drew a sizable crowd should be bad. Well that was his opinion. I am entitled to mine.

The Deadly Duo
You would never see them alone. They would always walk the corridors as a pair. Not in the least like Laurel and Hardy, but nearly so. They never talked much in public. They offered their comments to only a select few. I have been a privy to many such comments. The comments at times would be so caustic, that if the musician overheard them he may have either stopped singing or bodily harmed the Duo. If one missed out on a pithy phrase the other was sure to supplement. Music for them was divine. It was to be sung only by gods, or as a special concession by their idols .They had learnt a lot from them. I do not know whether it was music or the art of sarcasm. Being a duo it was no wonder they liked the music of another duo only. They swore by the music of their idols. The rest simply did not count. The present crop of musicians barring a precious few were there only to fill in the slots. But their love for Carnatic music was so great that, they had to come, they had to listen, they had to comment and they had to go back frustrated. Nobody seemed to have told them that music was for enjoyment. They did like a few musicians but would prefer to hear them at home rather than at the concert hall. They felt that they belonged to where the music should be - outside the concert hall. Despite running away from the maddening crowd of the city and settling down in a quiet village music draws them to the city ever so often and adds to their frustration. I fervently hope that the day will come when they will enjoy the music.

The jolly Lawyer
As opposed to the deadly duo he thoroughly enjoys Carnatic music. For him music and all things related to it - the season, the canteen, the chit chat are meant to be enjoyed fully. He is a busy man throughout the year and these few days offer him a break from the routine. He makes the best use of it. For him everybody sings well. If a concert is bad may be the artist had an off day. He is more to be pitied then censured for the bad performance. The jolly lawyer will always be on time for the concert, sit through nearly the full time, applaud boisterously, come out and congratulate the artist sincerely. His philosophy with reference to music is very simple. These artists after all have put in so much of effort and try hard to please the audience, so why not be pleased about their music? Why criticism should be offered at all? He hates the critics who write reviews in the papers." Did you read the paper today? " he would say." In yesterday's concert the critic says that the artist was not aligned to sruti at one place in Mukhari. What if, I say? The man has sung his heart out for two hours and you want to write about that one place in Mukhari?It is like eating a fabulous meal and complaining in the end that the Pachidi did not have enough salt. I am going to file a writ in the high court and ban all reviews." His only regret is that the music season does not coincide with the court holidays.

There are a lot more. But I miss them now. The foyers of the music halls are no longer the same without these characters. They have become yet another victim of modernization of music.
Burma Sankaran