Sangeetha Patronidhi 2016

[carnaticwriter]

How about some comic relief with discussing an imaginative award - the SP 2016, for a change? After all, patrons of CM protected and developed CM from court to concert halls. Always in the background, they have been giver of awards. So, how about giving the givers

[Rsachi]

Carnaticwriter,
It seems you're not one for peace, quiet and melody. You are all for war, disquiet, and melodrama. But who am I to advise you? If you are really serious about this award, you must do the following:
1. A panel of six SKs and six SK denied musicians.
2. The awards ceremony should be at a place which is NRI-friendly like Alaska or Siberia or Pacific Islands.
3. The criteria should be
# Bragging about knowing musicians intimately (proof of juicy stories)
# Bragging about knowing/fixing sabha politics
# largest bootleg music collection
# claim to have personally "created" a famous musician by mentoring and helping in their career
# ability to criticise any type of CM giving examples how so and so was/is much better.
Age, sex, and other parameters are no bar. But close relatives of musicians are barred.

Hope you will improve on the foregoing and come up with something funny indeed.

[kvchellappa]

Why not broadbase the panel? The awardees of other sabhas also may be taken.
To give it a better time representation, some 'spiritual' awardees also may be taken.

[carnaticwriter]

Carnaticwriter,
It seems you're not one for peace, quiet and melody. You are all for war, disquiet, and melodrama. But who am I to advise you?

I don't really understand the basis of this sudden accusation. A harmless and humorous topic this is, and the intention behind too. I brought this up for a distraction. Perhaps, you are not in a jovial mood. If that's so, it is understandable if you do not participate.

[thaaye]

How about some comic relief with discussing an imaginative award - the SP 2016, for a change? After all, patrons of CM protected and developed CM from court to concert halls. Always in the background, they have been giver of awards. So, how about giving the givers

A refreshing change like a cool lemonade in hot Indian summer. Quite an innovative thought. I liked the word jugglery.

[Rsachi]

Carnaticwriter,
It seems I missed conveying to you my humour. You have conveyed yours quite well. So onward, soldier! As they say

[thaaye]

Now that Rsachi has flagged off the 'race' (something like creating a hurdle and then clearing it), let me begin: the award may be for individuals, organizations and govt art centers - each getting once in three years in rotation.

Adding to Rsachi's criteria, (my-my he seems to have covered almost everything:), how about the patrons' knack of selecting artists whose overenthusiastic parents manage to fill up the hall?

[ramamantra]

Givers have, so they give. In our land of have-nots, why stack-up those bursting on the seams?

[kolenidhi]

My criteria:

1. Who holds memorable cocktail parties
2. Which Sabha has the best toilets and of course, the canteen
3. Which Sabha has audience nodding heads in addition to filling up seats
4. How well patrons patronize mediocre talent beyond what they deserve...

As of now, this is all I can think of

[vgovindan]

Next Sangeetha Deivapithanidhi (God Father)?

[tiruppugazh]

1. Host a 10 day festival
2. Get empty halls for 8 out of the 10 days and talk only about the remaining 2 days.
3. Claim a financial deficit for a longer period than the Indian Government.
4. Reward loyalty with awards.
5. Pay the least possible amount as remuneration to the artistes.
6. Get a few of the loyalists to defend all of the above in this forum.

[kvchellappa]

We may perhaps discuss seriously the great patrons of CM. CM has always grown by patrons and sponsors more than by mass funding.

[carnaticwriter]

We may perhaps discuss seriously the great patrons of CM. CM has always grown by patrons and sponsors more than by mass funding.

Actually that sounds good too. Seniors and other knowledgeable members can probably share their observations and experience.

Let me think...if I put myself in their shoes, I know I'd have to deal with much more than ups and downs of artists I patronize; dealing with middlemen (read sabha secretaries), donations properly channelized and so on. Maybe more challenges. However, I think there's a plus side to it: invitations to meet celebrities backstage, private concerts, events with interviews/conversations in them; continuous update on concert events and other related ones ; close involvement with the music world.

Great patrons of CM I can think off the cuff: Manali Muthukrishna Mudaliar, Nalli, sabhas like MA, Cleveland, etc., govt ones like Tamil isai sangam, ccrt, min of culture, etc., besides erstwhile royal patronage.

[ramamantra]

This will turn out to be an eulogy of corporates or rich individuals. Nowadays non-profits have also joined so corporates can channelize their BM to CM

[kolenidhi]

So little is known of cm patrons, even the 'senior' members don't have anything in their kitty to say

Instead, why not start a funny 'Sangeetha Kolainidhi' award 2016? Like worst Oscar awards or golden kela (Bollywood) awards.

[thaaye]

Seshasayee, TT Vasu, Nalli, Reddy, RT, VVS - http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/can ... 060060.htm

[kvchellappa]

MS comes to my mind first. She has been a patron also by virtue of her performance for MA.
Some govts like Karnataka also patronise.
Lawyers like Yagnaraman and Krishnaswamy have been in the forefront.

[thaaye]

Are individual patrons well-versed with CM or at least familiar with it? Seshasayee is a singer, alright but Nalli says he is not. He just donates like he does with temples and education. RT or TTK - no doubt would be familiar with cm. RT gives a personal touch; scholarships as job income so musicians do not have to do other jobs. Others probably even mentor. Patrons invest in the future of music. Is there any difference in patrons' intensities or activities of Hindustani/western classical as opposed to our own? Do patrons interfere with artists freedom? If McDonald sponsored a festival, it should not insist on artists singing raga hamburger

[carnaticwriter]

In days of yore, were there any white Sahib patrons of Sabha/s? Manali Mudaliar (brown sahib?), the dubash of Pigot was Dikshitar's patron.

'So little is known of cm patrons' - @kolenidhi - True, so doesn't a discussion cull out more info?
@thaaye - thanks ! (for noting the word combo)
@tiruppugazh - don't they apply to sabha secretaries rather than patrons?

[vgovindan]

Royal patrons? I consider this term to be derogatory, in that, it was rAja dharma to protect and nourish arts. This attitude of patronage is what prompted SrI tyAgarAja to compose 'nidhi cAla sukhamA'; and dIkshitar to declare 'hIna mAnava ASrayam tyajAmi'. Haven't we heard 'mOdi'nAma being sung just before the elections? Some rasikas saw nothing wrong in it.

Suffice it to say that these so called patrons are not doing so out of philanthropic ideas. I abhor this philanthropy by these patrons - having earned their wealth by all sorts of evil methods. People will justify this by saying money does not have any colour. But for a musician to be patronised by such persons is a shame for the art he professes - he is just an employee.

If we really mean 'democracy' is rule by people, then it is the responsibility of the people - read rasikas - to sustain the arts because they are the consumers.

[rshankar]

the word combo)

My first thought was of stags and otters!

[kvchellappa]

Without patronage, CM will not be what it is today. The present large patrons collectively are NRIs.
We cannot make a blanket statement that philanthropy is sham.

[kvchellappa]

All professional singers have to sing for money. I read an anecdote that MMI refused to sing nidhi chala because he sang for money.
I know how gate collections cannot make a sabha break even.

[cacm]

All professional singers have to sing for money. I read an anecdote that MMI refused to sing nidhi chala because he sang for money.
I know how gate collections cannot make a sabha break even.

NOT ONLY THAT , when a Sabha arranged MMI'S Concert with Palani his fees were 100rs more & they went to MMI & asked what they shd do? MMI SIMPLY ASKED Do you want a great concert or economics is what counts? MMI TOOK 100rs less himself! Palghat Raghu told me when LGJ& PR were accompanying
GNB in those HISTORIC CONCERTS where GNB USED to say these two are my eyes GNB used to just split the amount he was given....NOT ONLY THE MUSIC, CONCERN FOR LISTENERS & THE ABILITY OF THE SABHAS SEEMED TO MATTER BUT THE CLASS OF NOT JUST THE MUSIC WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT....VKV

[ramamantra]

Without patronage, CM will not be what it is today. The present large patrons collectively are NRIs.
We cannot make a blanket statement that philanthropy is sham.

Or is the present large patrons, the MA clique? I doubt if it is the NRI collective yet.

Whoever it is, like vgovindan says, there is always a hidden ulterior motive with any body that patronizes. In the case of NRIs, they want to catch the cm bus they missed a few decades back and ultimately unseat MA stronghold. MA wants to sustain its power by hook or crook.

I abhor this philanthropy by these patrons - having earned their wealth by all sorts of evil methods. People will justify this by saying money does not have any colour.

The classic BM to CM...

[harahari]

1. Host a 10 day festival
2. Get empty halls for 8 out of the 10 days and talk only about the remaining 2 days.
3. Claim a financial deficit for a longer period than the Indian Government.
4. Reward loyalty with awards.
5. Pay the least possible amount as remuneration to the artistes.
6. Get a few of the loyalists to defend all of the above in this forum.

super tiruppugazh. Loved it. A few members studiously avoiding it

[kolenidhi]

I abhor this philanthropy by these patrons - having earned their wealth by all sorts of evil methods. People will justify this by saying money does not have any colour.

Behind every great fortune is a sin, and has been so for eons. For all you know, your legitimate salary may too be coming from such coffers of some corporate lord with ill-gotten means. So, how does it matter where the wealth comes from...

[vgovindan]

"Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink"

Drinking water - http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... 24#p285324

[kolenidhi]

"Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink"

Drinking water - http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... 24#p285324

Exactly. Vazhrathukku paattu; and paattukku panam (remuneration)