Chennai gets a UNESCO tag!

[Rsachi]

http://www.thehindu.com/society/chennai ... 103258.ece



S. Menon writes too well for a journalist, but at the same time creates a kitschy, newsy article with no direction or sense. I am trying to poat this comment on the Hindu website:

We should celebrate this moment in the life of "Chennapatnam" as a golden opportunity to create a wonderful world of cultural and artistic endeavour and aspiration for generations to come. This UNESCO tag is entirely a tribute to artistes who have made Chennai their home and mastered a difficult music and dance tradition without parallel and created even their own "baanis". The time has come to step it up a notch or two and not bicker or create some political agenda-driven puddles of self-promotion and general cry of dismay and confusion and clamour that has beset the national debate on everything from rossa gulla to bullet train. The tag, plus the national mood for concerted development should help Chennai set up and upgrade world-class centres of learning, research, performance spaces and festivals. We have in our midst Sanjay Subramanyan, Ravikiran, Sudha Raghunathan and Rahman. Let them come together to make a modern Ujjain or better, Tirvarur, the birthplace of the Trinity!

[Rsachi]

I recognise Kruthi Bhat and Vijamuri Kamalakiran. Who is the third NRI kid?

[shankarank]

We don't need the UNESCO circus as well as the enlightened who are trying to weigh on it. Let them build their acoustic Mikeless spaces in their college of Journalism and rave of their liberal sojourn of inclusion and diversity!

If the culturally divorced need some space - they can have it can they? If the "The Hindu" believes in all this - stop reviewing concerts! Stop covering anything about music!

These sepoys shooting on behalf of the liberal west are pushed by forces of some invisible hand. Those are already doing crowd sourcing data analysis on Kumbh mela and such. This will invite those same rats!

This is very Indian, chaotic decentralized activity by those who want to organize whatever! Who the hell are you??

[rajeshnat]

Sachi,
By getting UNESCO tag are there any benefits . Is it just a news splash .Does UNESCO give some money to the city?

If Menon had stopped with the crib on leaks and thermocols and given some steps to correct and better yet thrown some bit of money he is doing some thing positive . But ending up with the article and in turn supporting the constant newsmaker -vidwan is again so repetitive

- Rajesh is The writer loves living in Chennai not because it’s a ‘carnatic city’ because it’s a city that some how still organizes concert despite a million obstacles . HE only hopes more air time given to main artist and a better count of quality pakkavadhyams (violinist and mrudangam artist), not bothered about the thermocols,false ceiling and leaky roof.

[shankarank]

https://www.theatlantic.com/internation ... urce=atltw

[Rsachi]

Gents,
The glass is half full.
Half Full: Whether we like it or not, Chennai is special for CM and dance, 3000 concerts, 90% of top performers, and even a vibrant forum like rasikas.org
Half Empty: It has too many nay-sayers and wise guys for its own good.

Let's use this UNESCO tag moment as a motivator to create something excellent. I suggest we work to create
1.a core group of doers who have ideas, authority, and visibility. I have named some. Let them create a 5 year road map.
2. Help every person, organisation and government agency to give resources, facilitation and publicity for this process.
3. Let's create a Top 100 Scholarship pool, and select the talented youngsters to gear up under a training program to be concert ready in 3 years.
4.We create this ongoing "movement" based out of Chennai to be self-sustainable in the next 5 years,

Don't you think if we do all this, it would have been worth the celebration around "the UNESCO tag"?

[vijay.siddharth]

Sachi mama,

I still remember our first meeting, where you expounded on the different ways to complain. According to your matrice, Mr Menon, in my opinion is doing the equivalent of screaming in the air without any purpose or rhyme or reason. While a part of his complaints are legitimate, without propounding a solution, or telling the right person, or couching it in some element of civility, even his most legitimate complaints are rid of utility. In many aspects, he is like the Melam72 of the media, and as Melam72 is dealt with in this forum, it is best to ignore and let the dog bark it out.

Cheers,

Siddhu

[srikant1987]

I'm absolutely disgusted. A "miles to go" tagline is all right, but why go so negative and say "no cause for celebration", etc.?

[sureshvv]

Angry old man. TMK better watch out so he doesn't end up like this.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Of course I'm happy about the recognition.

But l have a (hypothetical) question :

Who would represent Chennai - the Mayor / Chief Minister of TN / the President of Music Academy / a music director from the tinsel world / Secretary of the Confederation of Sabhas- in case the UNESCO decides to felicitate and present in person a memento in honour?

[MaheshS]

Who would represent Chennai

Meh, what an outrageous question. T M Krishna of course. He knows what's the best for everyone and everything.

[vijay.siddharth]

An even more important question- who said culture in Madras was limited to Music and Dance? Don't we have a spectacular array of architecture spanning a millenium? A unique culture of theatre that brings together the best of Western and Eastern dramatic practices? A beautiful, self sustaining ecosystem of art galleries showcasing the work of residents of Madras? A great literary tradition of authors like Chandilyan and Jayamohan and Jayakanthan and 'Cho' Ramasami taking residence in Madras? Directors like Balu Mahendra and K Balachander making movies which changed the very dynamic of our cultures through movies like 'Arangetram' or 'Veedu' or 'Sandhya Ragam'? Madras was, is, and will be, home to amongst the most fecund of artistic minds in the city. That a select few are able to appreciate the fine arts (as is in other countries and cultures) and that our 'infrastructure is crumbling' (case contradicted by Music Academy and Narada Gana Sabha and Krishna Gana Sabha and Vani Mahal and Rasika Ranjani Sabha for music halls) doesn't detract from the fact that the cultural scene in Madras is far more developed than the scenes of a Delhi or a Bombay or even Singapore.

[MaheshS]

An even more important question- who said culture in Madras was limited to Music and Dance?

Exactly, who said that? UNESCO or whatever recognising Chennai's culture for Music & Dance does not negate anything else.

[RSR]

Though, there may be difference of opinion about the message of Mr.Menon's article.. one cannot but admire this racy passage."It is a choreography of dichotomies in which the pious and the credulous, the amateur and the professional, the soul-pure and the techno-contaminated, the enchanting and the prosaic, the captivating and the abhorrent, the connoisseur and the dilettante, the resident and the non-resident — are all blended into a mega symphony of contraries to briefly hold hands, lock together in a tight embrace, and syncopate under the compulsive and charismatic baton of a good conductor called ‘Our Culture’. Of course, you are required to coax out the word ‘culture’ devoid of plosives, in slanted sibilants, with an accompanying lump in the throat.
The modern music season at Chennai is a tourist-business opportunity. What if the halls are already booked but vacant? provided the seats have been paid for" Like the photos of many 'public ' meetings where they show the crowd in the dais , carefully avoiding the 'crowd' in the audience, who cares if any one listens to the kutcheri or not?.. as if they came to listen! It is the special flight from the Mecca of 'liberal' world, making and renewing contacts with 'business' chums, concluding business and other deals and raving about some 'thrilling' moments for years together later. Can we get all these 'thukkadas' if you merely listen to the music in radio? Is not the visual equally important? ( Even in the good old days ... it was an occasion for the audience and performers to show off whatever. , like the video of the talk by the chief guest, the singer getting ready and waiting for the speech to end like the batsman waiting with pads on in the pavilion to see the batsman getting out, , ... Increasingly, it is organized not so much for the local listeners but for the ' diaspora tourists' mostly of a particular community and background . Years are not far off when 'mere locals' are barred entry. either as performers or as audience. What is so great in being a talented musician here as a main profession? It is great if you are only a hobbyist who is a good musician too. Nothing but contempt for a good professional musician unless he is residing in States and has the means to donate ( though he may not).
Heavens wont fall, if one does not attend any 'kutchery'. There are organizations who will create full length video for whatever interests you besides the music. and what is more, one can view it again and again, as Kalki is said to have remarked about gramaphone records of his times. . and about 'Natya' kutchery too. ! Pity the people who are trying to recapture the 1935-1955 ethos. Dead. for ever.

[vijay.siddharth]

RSR mama,

I feel that what you say is extremely pessimistic in nature. If anything, there are more Indian performers than non-indian performers. Moreover, the audience is normally distributed, so unless you are Sanjay or TMK or Aruna Sairam or Ranjani Gayatri, you ARE going to have 100-200 people in the hall. This is reality and expanding Rasika base will maintain the skew.

One more thing- there was NO golden age of 1935-55. Each era has its pluses and minuses. One may argue that jambavans like Madurai Mani Iyer and Maharajapuram and Semmangudi and Brinda Mukta were at their peak then; but don't we have modern day jambavans like Abhishek Raghuram and Sanjay and TMK and Ravikiran today??? Isn't music not only more accepting of influences like HM or pop today? Aren't modern day classics freely available today? Yes, audience may be small, but remember this- CARNATIC MUSIC IS THE ONLY SYSTEM OF CLASSICAL MUSIC WHERE AN AUDIENCE LINES UP FROM 4AM TO BUY TICKETS FOR A CONCERT. Not in HM, which arguably is only surviving due to the patronage of Babus, not Western Classical Music with its various fissiparities; ONLY carnatic music.

Apologies if I was blunt...

Siddhu

[Sachi_R]

Siddharth
Google "Wagner Bayreuth Festival". Tickets are booked years ahead.
In 1978, in Berlin, I wanted to attend the famous Philharmonic. It was November and raining. They have ticket offices in city places (like in Times Square). The lady told me I would have to go queue up and take my luck if there were phone cancellations.
I went and stood in the long line outside in the rain for two hours. Just 30 min before the concert, I was lucky to get in. It was Beethoven's Fifth, conducted by Bohm. It was an unforgettable experience.
Similarly in '90s, I went to a Bolshoi Opera. The theatre was under major renovation, but people came and witnessed a beautiful opera. It was a Tchaikovsky I think. Again stupendous.

Your points about what's great going on now is spot on. I wrote in rasikas some 3 years back how this is the BEST time for Carnatic music.

Thank God someone in UNESCO voted before this self-depracatory article. I shudder to imagine TMK's Nobel acceptance speech.

[Sachi_R]

Wiki:
The festival draws thousands of Wagner fans to Bayreuth every summer. It is very difficult to get tickets, because demand (estimated at 500,000) greatly exceeds supply (58,000 tickets); the waiting time is between five and ten years (or more). The process entails submitting an order form every summer, applicants are usually successful after about ten years. Failure to make an application every year results in being placed at the back of the queue. Although some tickets are allocated by lottery, preference is given to members of the Society of Friends of Bayreuth (financial donors), famous patrons, and to regional and international Wagner societies, which are distributed to their own members through lottery or the willingness to pay a high contribution.

[shankarank]

It is because of Mylaporeans becoming diaspora and engaging back to the culture ( which can be critiqued for its own excesses - I am not denying that) - that even this is possible:

From tweets of TMK!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOrYGDjUMAAxw15.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOqK4G4UIAAqU3z.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOkNrhjUEAAX3Nf.jpg


Some of the diaspora can find their comfort zones - their own orthodox or elite cocoons - and it is amazing the place provides for all of that!

[Sachi_R]

Unbeknownst per chance to Sadanand Menon, TMK tweets point to a run-away spread of classical arts across Chennai. The only other thing as rampant as CM and BN (my coinage= Bharatanatyam) maybe the IT raid cars with stickers mentioning a non-existent wedding.

[shankarabharanam]

Sadanand Menon is reputed journalist and critic who wrote for leading newspapers in the 80s and 90s. He is more of a dance critic and was known to be a good friend of dancer Chandralekha. Being my professor at Asian College of Journalism, we did discuss about all the issues associated with the season. It is not that he hasn't approached the sabhas, but he used to opine that the sabhas have such a narrow outlook that they wouldn't accept any of his suggestions.

I don't agree with all that he says, but I believe the music fraternity needs to come together to do justice to the tag that has been bestowed on the city that gave them the platform to showcase the talents. I believe lot of musicians were part of the committee that approached the central government to make this happen. They along with sabhas need to join hands and lay down certain ground rules for a good concert (not in terms of performance). And even if we narrow it down to the popular sabhas in Chennai, it would be a great deal

[RSR]

Sri.Vijay Sidharth. -> Carnatic music is inseparable from Bakthi movement and approach. . I would even say with Saaktham and Vaishanavam. One cannot be a black-shirt and yet approach CM for mere technical virtuosity. . I do wish the CM tradition lives for ever. but not because of the Chennai music season ( UNESCO recognition or not) but due to real people's music festivals of devotion as in Chembai Music festival. ( kindly read the post today. It gives me optimism).. Tansen festival at Gwalior draws huge crowds and is like the Thyagaraja Utsavam of Thiruvaiyaaru. (However, 'gamakam' points out some unpleasant truths there too) It may be that there has been STEEP deterioration in the cultural level of common people since 1967 in Tamilnad. No silver-lining in horizon. quoting "Ekadasi and music:
Sangita samarpanam on Ekadasi Days started by Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar several years ago in a modest way has grown into a 2 week-long event with Carnatic musicians participating from all over. AIR and Doordarshan coverage have given it a wide reach.
The concerts which used to be held within the temple precincts are now held in the huge Melputhur Auditorium just outside the temple (East nadai) and draws a huge crowd. Prime slots in the evening are reserved for leading vidwans/ vidushis. Kritis of any composers can be sung. Group rendering of Tyagaraja Pancharatna kritis forms an important part of the utsavam.As the period coincides with 'Sabarimala Season', crowds will be large.. Those who intend visiting Guruvayur during the Ekadasi festival - have enough time at hand for Darshan of the Lord and listening to music. " How wonderful!
( Incidentally, it seems that Dikshithar is the only composer from among the Trinity to have sung on Sabarimalai Saastha deity!. How nice it would be if the lakhs of sabarimalai pilgrims from tamilnad learned to sing those kruthis however simply, it is the spirit that matters.
I have been exposed to choicest carnatic music from childhood days. mainly through radio . It is the visuals that I object to. and the projection of 'ego'. The hari naama bajan event by Pandaripuram yathra group in 1946 ( I was 4 years then) is etched in memory. There was ( perhaps , still is, a Sethuram Bajan Mndali ' in Madurai ( near north Masi street mesmerizing music. ). Why not group-singing? How thrilling and heavenly it would be if the musicians and people sing in chorus, the best kruthis of the great composers in CM? What is so improbable? May Guruvaayuur Appan save himself from the Chennai -yankee ghetto invasion. May I request you to address me plainly as RSR? You may not know that this word ('uncle')associated with 'paarppanar' (brahmins) has had an uncomplimentary meaning right from sangam literature days!

[shankarank]

They along with sabhas need to join hands and lay down certain ground rules for a good concert (not in terms of performance). And even if we narrow it down to the popular sabhas in Chennai, it would be a great deal

Well why look to Government for solution? Private sector can construct a mobile Auditorium design , sound proof, fire safety'ed, with a flight cabin like seating, well not hiding the stage! 50 seater would do! Take it to all street corners, block a street with city permission or occupy the space where available in street corner temples!

Provide a five/six channel audio - with noise cancelling headphones for those who want to mix it themselves!

And go flying - our version of Broadway-ing!

if Modular kitchen and living spaces are possible - this type of trailer music should be too!!

Leave our Sabhas alone - with good competition they will find ways to spruce up! With Mac/KFC type music jaunts , they will have to come up with music shows like Cooking channel where cognoscenti rave about aspects of music - pushing their elitism - so high billed concerts can happen in Sabhas!

Dance is an elite art - so it needs a more curated space

At the end of the day Grandma's food will be discovered as golden and people will go back to Villages to get that feel eventually!

[Nick H]

Though, there may be difference of opinion about the message of Mr.Menon's article.. one cannot but admire this racy passage ... ... ...

How can you call a sentence that long "racy?" It is just awful, horrible, terrible writing. Painful. Mind-rending. Bad.

[kvchellappa]

I am sure you ran out of words to describe it, Nick. I will be glad if someone explains what it means in itself and in relation to reality.

[shankarank]

Before bits and pieces of something is taken out and incorporated into some other framework that fits into their paradigm , it is necessary for them to denigrate the source culture and slander it!

This is called the colonial life cycle! This is being put to use with text book precision!

[shankarank]

In a more benign way from the "HMers singing CM" thread , https://youtu.be/6R-gJ5q1GNo - that is a kind of thing we hear even down in some tamizh movies. So something external takes it, but they are respectful though in this case. Well we don't know - they may tell us we are too "gamaky"! Then our own people who never cared for it ( for some of them , it is their own heritage as well) - will take this back , once it is repackaged and sold back, enjoy it, while slandering the source - that co-existed in plain sight for a century.

[vijay.siddharth]

( Incidentally, it seems that Dikshithar is the only composer from among the Trinity to have sung on Sabarimalai Saastha deity!. How nice it would be if the lakhs of sabarimalai pilgrims from tamilnad learned to sing those kruthis however simply, it is the spirit that matters.

RSR,

It is entirely possible that Tyagaraja and/or Syama Sastri may have composed on Ayyappa and the compositions have been lost. Some scholars even say that Hariharaputram is not an actual Dikshitar krithi.

For pilgrims to sing Hariharaputram as they go up the hill, Hariharaputram needs to be boiled down into a very basic composition and packaged in an attractive way so all can absorb the song, a la Sri Yesudas's Harivanashanam.

Cheers

Siddharth

[shankarank]

RSR,

Dikshitar's Sanskrit or sophistication may escape those devotees. But spirit is largely there! Again I am not claiming all of them are some good humans in their lives. Last time in my visit, I happen to stand in Koyambedu vegetable wholesale market. Every commission agent's shop title, had an Ayyappa picture there! And a banner tied across a by lane to the same effect.

That felt like a livelier place to me than Dakshin Chitra in ECR where all the houses of various village styles across TN, Andra and Kerala are showcased with family photographs and such - sponsored by various business houses. The latter is a dead bygone era museum.

Sanskriti lives even if Sanskrit is not there!

What about core tamizh culture where there is not a trace of sanskritic practices? Well My Grandfather lived in such place - with 3 daughters, a Village deep west of madurai - not a Brahmadeya village - as he worked for railways. Two farmer families used to visit him later in madurai for years - actually no land dealings here - just courtesy calls. His own sons - had to learn his worth from these farmers on his death bed - as they narrated how they benefited from low interest loans that he advanced to them during tough times - where interest rates ( like the kandu vATTi) were in geometric scale ( 100 - 300% or so) than in fractional scale. They used to say iranDu vATTi, muNu vaTTi.

Even U.S Hedge funds ( who manage money for Bill Gates and such) were doing this recently for micro-credit in Indian villages @ 38% for Women rearing Buffaloes. I am sure my Grandfather's terms would have been more favorable than that!

In contrast those of his men of a generation prior to him, from his native Tirunelveli who went to do lEvA dEvi into Kerala, the stories were not that inspiring!

[RSR]

Sanskriti need not be associated with the language sanskrit. and sanskriti is not the monopoly of any language.including sanskrit. However, in the Indian context, the Sanskrit language is not felt to be alien in the entire country ( except perhaps in tribal districts and present day tamilnad ). Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu abound in words of sanskrit origin. 'vandhanamu ragunandhanaa'. The greatest danger to all the Indian languages, is the influx of yippie slang and Sanskriti can be found among people of all races, religions and nationalities. except the yippies

[RSR]

Sri.Sidharth, If indeed there are kruthis by Thyagaraja, Shyama Sastri, Swathi ThirunAL, ( likely) on the Sabarimalai Deity, most welcome. . No harm in packaging. All the modern European languages have a history of just around 500 years. They are all local variants of Latin. and Greek. . Good education begins in little chunks. but gradually taken upwards. You might have heard about Sri.Narayana Guru. He taught Sanskrit to all the downtrodden people of Kerala. and a devout advaitin and saivite.
You may find this article , informative.
https://sites.google.com/site/ncvasanth ... hikshithar
"Among the Musical Trinities, Muthuswami Dikshitar is the only composer to have composed one kriti each on Lord Ayyappa of
Sabarimala and Guruvayurappa."
Bye.

[RSR]

Nick@23-> 'racy' refers to speed. ...and 'long' is that of length. A marathon race refers to speed as well as distance. It need not always be a 100 meters dash. Ever read Gibbon? or Burke?

[Nick H]

That writing is just crying for an editor's red pen. It's the sort of thing school kids get bad marks for. At least, it was when English was taught in England.

It is indefensible.

Although... I can see how some members might consider it an example.

[kvchellappa]

Sudha R suggests:
"It is time to invest in institutions that will preserve the legacy of Carnatic music — such as a museum, which will amplify the history of Carnatic music with past legends’ memorabilia, and a world-class school exclusively for music and other fine arts."
Now, there need be no difference of opinion about need for a curator in carnatic music!
http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 479319.ece

Here is another:
"Indian cities rarely make it to the news for anything good, and when that happens, let us celebrate it."
http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 480937.ece

[shankarank]

http://www.karaikudirmani.com/magazine/ ... p_2015.pdf

In this regard, the Tamil Nadu State Government is to be greatly appreciated. At every
one of its festivals,, be it the Mamallapuram dance festival or the various
Pongal festivals, top artistes from all over the country are given an opportunity
to perform, the only criterion is their quality.

Does this apply to Chennai Season happenings or no?

[shankarank]

Sudha R suggests:
such as a museum, with past legends’ memorabilia, and a world-class school exclusively for music and other fine arts."

People are jumping back into Occult - bending backwards!

"Indian cities rarely make it to the news for anything good, and when that happens, let us celebrate it."

So all those heritage walks around colonial buildings have not made any impact looks like! Already with mention of only Chennai composers, Thanjavur is entirely forgotten! Chennai is it's own place now huh? Let all vidvans remove their place name prefixes first!

[vijay.siddharth]

http://www.karaikudirmani.com/magazine/ ... p_2015.pdf

In this regard, the Tamil Nadu State Government is to be greatly appreciated. At every
one of its festivals,, be it the Mamallapuram dance festival or the various
Pongal festivals, top artistes from all over the country are given an opportunity
to perform, the only criterion is their quality.

Does this apply to Chennai Season happenings or no?

Definitely! Only in Madras do we have people at the peak of their careers, stalwarts of the highest order like Sanjay and Ramakrishnanmurthy and Abhishek Raguram and Ranjani Gayatri and Sudha Ragunathan and so many others perform at so many places, often for free! There is a clear distinction between levels of talent and seniority when looking at slot distribution!

Siddharth

[vijay.siddharth]

So all those heritage walks around colonial buildings have not made any impact looks like! Already with mention of only Chennai composers, Thanjavur is entirely forgotten! Chennai is it's own place now huh? Let all vidvans remove their place name prefixes first!

All said and done Thanjavur and Thiruvarur composers like Dikshitar or Tyagaraja or Syama sastri came to prominence due to the position of Madras. The reason why we are able to rasikkafy their brilliance is due to Madras. Having said that, the Tanjoreness or Thiruvarurness of their compositions (lyrics or bhagavathamela influence or whatever) is as important (and indelibly unforgettable) as Madras's impact on their work.

[Sachi_R]

Accept it, with grace: http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 480937.ece

Global proportions: http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 479319.ece

An open letter to Chennai: http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 478739.ece

[shankarank]

http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/m ... 478739.ece

While many (including myself) argue that Chennai is a vast urban culture scape and has a dazzling diversity of traditions and cultural phenomena, there are those who feel that the ‘December season’ is its most defining attribute.

A liberal uproot trying to make sense of contextual claims! There is a section of people, running a section of media , that want to proclaim that December Season is some music festival of Venice. While the latter is caste free society unloading the tourist dollars of the modern world citizen, Chennai is still only host to Mylapore diaspora of a specific community. What a travesty? It does not fit into their paradigms of humanity or humaneness.

It has a dazzling diversity of traditions/cultural phenomena - but what are those? So they are all mostly poor voiceless ones - with no resources to make a stage - only this has voice/prominence. How come as soon as elections are near, stages, mobile speakers, and flags come out of the wood works from no where?. Muppathaman Temple ( the street had that name, before changed to MVS - may be it ought to be changed back yeah?) festival next to KGS - the local councillor/MLA comes out and feeds the entire street. That is not cultural/socio/political for you? Oh it becomes socio-political only when local Church in an American Suburb comes out a week before elections to explain how the world is falling - all tied and suited up!

What about this? http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... s-4911318/
Where is your liberal voice of diversity assurance??

You are just another Lord Risley taking census and ranking castes based on your bias of what ought to be higher and lower! Your friends in the media already discounted this also as shoddy work - thermacoal stage miked by wire twisters! So what is so great??? So we are as sub-altern as anybody else are we?

You pick your straw men and start your subtle subverting attacks! This is not your French republic, just swallow those ideas down your deep throat and burn with your PH-1 acid and then down you colon!

[MaheshS]

Muppathaman Temple ( the street had that name, before changed to MVS - may be it ought to be changed back yeah?)

It was called Griffith Road before, I was there when KSG celebrated it, Semmangudi mama gave a riveting speech IIRC, Lalgudi and Vellore Ramabhadran were also present. Concert after speeches was by Ramachandran or Srinivasan with Nagai Muralidharan and Vellore[?].

[shankarank]

Well I'd say we change it to Muppathamman Koil Street nevertheless! I guess there may be a cross street named the same - lets make it the main as well! I picked my straw man MVS!

I will deny any intervening colonial history!

[shankarank]

In a big institution like BVB - which held the Pallavi Darbar, Sri K.V Prasad was asking for the Mike man to fix the howling - somebody said he went to get his Tea! KVP remarked that somebody should have gotten that for him!! Well good thinking - lets implement those first from within - before we get advised by libtards!

Lets not let a Tea, become a Tea party or a tempest in a teapot - we don't need to read a whole lot of enlightened textbooks to know this!

My grandma used to serve karupaTTI kApi to the farmer lady when she visits us! Even if my Grandpa wouldn't make any sense to them singing the bEgaDa that he sings himself when we are yet to be wake!

[shankarank]

In a music meet around the financial crisis - 2009. A family man whose wife had just lost a job! "you know America is on the decline, this family of four having two vehicles , in a 3 car Garage is unsustainable - America is on the decline - you see Michael Jackson is dead...."

So If so Michael Jackson is America, somehow Carnatic Music doesn't qualify even a Chennai territory!

[Nick H]

They only give these awards to provide rasikas.org fodder. And oh, how they succeed. It gets worse every day.

[RSR]

It was a coincidence that the period of The Trinity was that of the mid-range century of the East India Company. (1800). The Tanjore kingdom had already been brought under control of the 'kumbini', and the Maratha king gave them much security and respect at Thiruvaroor. The same decade saw the heroic fight against the company in all the southern districts, notably in Tirunelveli, Ramnad, Sivagangai, Dindigal. The Madras University founded in 1857, opened up avenues of English Education and lucrative Law. and this saw migration from Cauvery delta to the 'capital' of you know who. The patrons of the trinity were mostly the 'compradour' of the emerging urban center. At that time, Mylapore and Triplicane were just some settlements around the famous temples there. The 'Heritage' began only around 1880's.
"While we celebrate Chennai and its various facets such as the legacy of the British who practically founded the city, writer Jayamohan – through his novel Vellai Yanai – reminds us of the dark and cruel aspects of the colonial era. He says that the famine of 1876-78 exterminated half the Dalit population, with millions dying. And, as has been documented by historians such as Amartya Sen, Jayamohan points out that the famine was man-made and a direct outcome of British rule and Indian inhumanity.".(there is a photo in that link. )
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/che ... 045883.ece
Nothing much has changed. While the South Madras gets more and more posh, the North Madras areas, typically the R.K.Nagar constituency remains as dismal as I remember it was some sixty years back. Oliver Road is not Chennai. ..
It is high time that people fanned out to the various district towns and restore the balance. Tamilnad needs P.U.R.A of Dr.Abdul Kalam.

[kvchellappa]

Art is not like industry. We cannot force art. It will grow when the mind is stirred and the creative urge is irresistible. There is no question of socialism in art (TMK be blown) even if socialism is a feasible concept. We cannot artificially create an audience either. As Semmangudi said, art is not part of a necessity of life. Let us enjoy art and support it. We can do no further.

[shankarank]

When in doubt about the nature of one's civilization , it is the art that throws the light - as it has the multi dimensional encoding. You don't need to be a practitioner, consumer or connoisseur to see that aspect of it - which should be seen by everybody!

That way - there are many things that are not essential - you don't need to know Math beyond basics. Feynman, the physicist has acknowledged the edge the British counter parts of his, had in that regard. But in a sense I think Feyman's own relative deficiencies ( I must say) that brings out the best physics teacher that he is!

[shankarank]

It was a coincidence that the period of The Trinity was that of the mid-range century of the East India Company. (1800).

Look! Srouta Smarta itihasa talked about by one blogger ( Suchindranth Iyer - you can read it in disqus - where his postings to various article comments are all visible), traces even sAma vEda to the plentiful bounties and the largesse of available labor etc. in the Gangetic plains. The decadence of sAmA that led to civil war as he says.

So after a period of attacks , the cauvery belt provided relative stability for this to kick start again - after earlier progresses in Vijaya Nagar and such. That British were in military control is beside the point - since even the continuing Maratha patronage was due to earlier successes of theirs - with British retaining them as at least figure heads.

While we celebrate Chennai and its various facets such as the legacy of the British who practically founded the city

Well this has become an IPL or basket ball team tag of sorts - the city being projected as something like it owns everything about it. We are out to locate the houses lived on and the street happenings and the buildings - like an European tour guide of sorts!

So many other eco-systems from Mysore, Travancore, Sethupati , besides the Tanjore belt have contributed here! Again those place names are not the ones we should be focussing on.. but the value systems emanating from those that is more important for us. The evolution in Chennai has several regressive tracts that we are still talking about!

[shankarank]

செம்மங்குடி விமான நிலைய கச்சேரியில் சொன்னதுபோல் , ஏதேது நாங்க என்ன சினிமா ஸ்டாரா , இப்படி டாகெல்லாம் கொடுக்கறேளே!

[kvchellappa]

Art as a remanat of civilisation is a product of our mind, not a necessity either. All history is an opinion.
"We create history by our observations, rather than history creating us." Stephen Hawking.