Should We Adopt the Gong Show Format for Academic Sessions?

[harimau]

One early morning, having nothing better to do, I decided to attend the Music Academy's morning Academic Session -- popularly called lec-dem -- on the importance of Ghatam-making to a bani.

Because of traffic I was about 20 minutes late and I saw five persons on the stage with seven ghatams in front of them performing a ghatam percussion solo.

Upon inquiry, I learned that there was short video at the beginning about how a ghatam is made.

Assuming it took a minute to introduce the speaker, about a minute to set up the video, and about 5 minutes for the video itself, the show would have been over in 7 minutes. Then another 3 minutes to set up the mics for 7 ghaams would take us to 10 minutes.

After this, the team was just playing a percussion solo.

This would have gone on for 30-35 minutes before the floor would be opened to the interactive session.

So the lec-dem ended up being an overly long ghatam solo session, with not a moment afforded to the Secretary of the Music Academy or the Sangeetha Kalanidhi designate to interject a word.

The session was utilized by the speaker to present to an audience an overly long ghatam solo, which they would not be permitted to perform in a concert.

So I wonder if the Music Academy can adopt the format of The Gong Show, a program on US TV, whereby the audience could express that they have heard enough and somebody strikes a big gong to stop the show. That way, the session could have been stopped one minute into the ghatam solo and people could spend the next 40 minutes getting coffee and tiffin.

Considering that the gong is a musical instrument, I think its use is quite apt in these proceedings.

[shankarank]

Yeah I have seen those impatient rasikas about Lec Dems. They wanted R. Vedavalli or even Prof. SRJ to sing more than talk. In the latter's case, they went gaga over his dhyAnamE, having not heard Dhanyasi ever from concerts, they did not want him to stop singing. Somehow people have gotten into their heads that there is nothing much to talk about music or is it just plain snobbery, I can't tell. And likely the Ghatam Lec-dem-ers figured this out.

[narayan]

That way, the session could have been stopped one minute into the ghatam solo and people could spend the next 40 minutes getting coffee and tiffin.

I think this is possible for the rasika to do without any gong. Except between 230 and 330 p.m. (if I remember what was written elsewhere about canteen timings). This has nothing to do with ghatams, gongs or anything else.

[sureshvv]

I would expect the moderator has vetted the presenters before, so this was going on as intended.

[Sachi_R]

I think by definition, the prerogatives are as follows in lec-dem:
1. Moderator and SK design. sets out the topic agenda
2. Presenter presents all his gyan
3. Some questions may be or a debate moderated and controlled.
4. Audience walks in and out.

Should work well.

[sankark]

I think by definition, the prerogatives are as follows in lec-dem:
1. Moderator and SK design. sets out the topic agenda
2. Presenter presents all his gyan
3. Some questions may be or a debate moderated and controlled.
4. Audience walks in and out.

Should work well.

#4 happens. Rest optional