Here is a sane view

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 11 Dec 2008, 14:53

After the controversies over TMK and Malladi's views, here is a much saner response by Sriram Parsuram

"Young classical musicians usually arrive on the stage, confident and well-prepared. But, artistes in the performing arts especially, have to gather experience and mature to continue to do well, I believe. The personal growth of a musician is as important as increasing oneÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s popularity. The danger here is that if you are liked and popular, you might fall into a rut. Carnatic musicians need time to grow as musicians. They need time to increase their repertoire, hone their techniques, contemplate, weed out what they do not need and make choices about what is good for them. I find Bhimsen Joshi better now then when I heard him when he was 40. Unfortunately, the media glare does not afford classical musicians space for personal growth. Art is not for consumption, Tansen and Thyagaraja sang for themselves first and did not see themselves as a performer. If that was the case, we become entertainers like Bollywood actors. Any classical art is meant for oneself first and then the viewer. In todayÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s world, if you are successful, you have very little time to engage yourself. Music has become consumptive, musicians are judged by their billing. That is the only yardstick but that was not the case earlier. We should be aware of this process and emphasise personal growth for musicians."

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 11 Dec 2008, 16:33

Nothing preposterous there!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 11 Dec 2008, 19:15

Nick,
Pet peeves sometimes seek adjectives, especially in titles of threads. Such an adjective was tyranny some time ago, and now it is preposterous. Dastardly too--evoking expressions of Batman and company

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 11 Dec 2008, 19:25

peeves... there's a lovely word.

Lets enjoy ourselves, with dastardly, preposterous peeves!

(I expect that you can do something that sounds even better in Tamil!)

Seriously, this is straightforward statement by a musician. It does not invalidate any other statements!

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 12 Dec 2008, 00:58

How about laggard in music

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 12 Dec 2008, 05:19

A mediocre statement from a mediocre musician which will have a mediocre reception from Rasikas!

Sathej · Post by **Sathej** » 12 Dec 2008, 05:41

Definitely a saner, mature and neat view by Sriram..
Sathej

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 12 Dec 2008, 08:23

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 12 Dec 2008, 08:42

I remember a Nedunuri concert excerpt uploaded here where Sriram Parasuram lends wonderfully sensitive support on the violin for the Bhairavi swarajathi. That sort of aesthetic and accompanying sense cannot equate to mediocrity (though the duets with Anuradha are far worse than mediocre)!

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:04

cmlover wrote:A mediocre statement from a mediocre musician which will have a mediocre reception from Rasikas!

I would guess that such a statement is based on a mediocre amount of exposure to Sri Sriram Parasuram's music.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:05

coolkarni wrote: That does not mean I am a big fan of his jugalbandis ( I simply dislike the crooning which complements his part , but that is a different issue) .

I repeat , he is no mediocre musician.
In fact he is a " rare" breed .

Agree with both the statements above...

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:16

understood!
Indeed my exposure to him is quite limited.
No offense meant.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:30

None meant on my side either, CML Sir.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:43

He is impressive as an accompanist. I have heard him play for top performers several times and find him to be very chaste in his playing. Anooradha is a talented singer too. However, jugalbandhis are a different kettle of fish. We all have different tastes when it comes to appreciating them too. Personally, I prefer instrumental jugalbandhis to vocal ones. Of course, I have heard them sing to packed audience when I have been to a couple of their jugalbandhis.

CML,
I suppose it is another case of the way it all comes across (thanks to the interviewer) which made you wonder about his comments...

appu · Post by **appu** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:43

cmlover, My high school principal once said, Two things never come back a spoken word and a spent arrow. In your case a "written word". Very sad that you would make such a blanket statement that Sriram is a mediocre musician. Far from that. He is absolutely brilliant, both musically and academically. Research before you write

Sathej · Post by **Sathej** » 12 Dec 2008, 09:47

Have heard him as an accompanist predominantly. I personally don't like Jugalbandhis anyway. Chaste is the word. I particularly recall a concert at MFAC a couple of seasons back where he accompanied TMK. Brilliant concert it was. He's a wonderful multi-faceted artiste of a very high order.
Sathej

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 12 Dec 2008, 10:19

rajumds/Shriram Parasuram wrote:In todayÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s world, if you are successful, you have very little time to engage yourself.

I doubt that. It has already been discussed in the TM Krishna thread. Someone claimed that TM Krishna and Sanjay give two to three concerts a day, and Arasi said they don't even give one concert every day in the season. And giving concerts can itself be an activity enriching creativity when done wisely.

Even interviews can actually be a good thing as long as they don't get reduced to "Which is your favourite colour?" In explaining your views to others, you get a clearer idea of your own views. But this shouldn't be allowed to gobble up too much time.

Sathej · Post by **Sathej** » 12 Dec 2008, 14:07

Well, as it is, in today's world, every one of us has little time to spend on ourselves, no time to self introspect, no time to sing for oneself amidst tranquil surroundings and so on. And added to that, popularity for a musician would definitely prove to be a burden as it would take up additional time in several unavoidable ways (other than giving concerts). So it definitely consumes time and puts pressure on meditative self introspection.
Sathej

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 12 Dec 2008, 18:55

We cannot expect every performer to be a MDR.
There was (is) one and only one!

blackadder · Post by **blackadder** » 07 Jan 2009, 15:26

One cannot expect any performer to be anyone else. There is only one of that performer. Let us get out of these dogmas, please!