Aesthetics in Carnatic
The word ‘aesthetics’ seems a grey area and evokes a vague idea of its meaning. But, most musical genres have a well-defined and accepted aesthetic that is readily understood by the initiated. For eg, a rock concert is charged by an atmosphere of raw power and high volume not to mention the special effects on voice, instrumentals, visuals, lighting and so forth. And this aesthetic that belongs to the genre is loved by its afficianados. Likewise, the warm, intimate and subtle sounds of a string quartet, or the funk of jazz, or melancholy of the blues. Any deviation from the intended aesthetic of the genre would be rejected by its followers For eg. Imagine an eardrum shattering loundness from a string quartet or subtlety in a rock concert!
And so it is, in Carnatic Music. It has a history dating back many centuries and is steeped in tradition. Change comes in small iterations instead of dramatic shifts. The current concert paddathi or performance style is credited to Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. Prior to that, Carnatic Music was tailored for temples and royal courts. Today the concert venue has shifted mainly to sabhas and the audiences want a taste of all aspects capsuled in a maximum of 2-3 hours. A 4 hour plus performance in the past, weighted with technique and skill has been condensed down to half the time, yet demands the same preparation and presentation from its exponent.
Like most classical art, Carnatic Music is highly structured. The early learning period of a decade or more is dedicated to understanding this structure. Then enters ‘manodharmam’ which breaks down into ‘mano’ meaning ‘as the mind wills’ followed by ‘dharmam’ which immediately indicates that it has to be confined to the traditional grammar! A quality concert has to bring together different musical forms, lyrics from various composers in different languages with an appropriate splash of manodharmam, all in the given timeframe.
So where is the place for aesthetics here? Aesthetics refers to the philosophy of the beautiful. “Never take away the love of the beautiful from your heart”; remarked Rousseau, the French Philosopher, “If you do it”, he declared, “you will lose the very charm in living!”
Is aesthetics present with perfect sruthi? Or is it new songs or many sangathis in an oft-heard kirtanam? Or maybe it is clever manodharmam? Or maybe it is the vocal strength or tonal purity of an instrument? It is all that and much more! Aesthetics is that magic ‘X’ in the equation which makes the sum greater than the total of the parts. But it is also a sense of proportion. It is a string of Kalpana Swarams which a connoisseur sits admiring for the intricacies and combinations which are weaved in like tapestry. The very same string of swarams has reached another ear as flower petals gently covering his favourite idol.
Aesthetics transcends language. Most of the favoured compositions for concert presentations are in Telugu or Sanskrit since the prolific composers were the Music Trinity. But it does not deter a Tamil or Kannadiga or others from enjoying the fare.
The connoisseur seeks a Carnatic concert for all the thrills it offers in both structure and improvisation. But it is the ‘sukham’ or ‘sowkhyam’ which excites the imagination of a layman and drives him to remark “I don’t really understand, but I loved that third song”. It may surprise some to learn that there is a fair bit of mathematics and calculation involved in the manodharmam. Ask the percussion artiste – his game is entirely numbers. But to balance this intellect with the emotion, the lyrics with the melody is what creates the aesthetics. It is the Gift wrapper, the bubble which makes it appealing even to the uniniated.
The famous Bhairavi Ata Varnam ‘Viribhoni’ has been taught, heard, sung, played a million times, yet… It is the beauty of that day, that moment when the refrain floats by and still elicits that ‘aha’ as the musician of the day opens his concert. It is ‘Rasanubhavam’ quite simply translating to tasting the flavour. You can only eat what’s on your plate that day!
Aesthetics in a Carnatic concert is so many of these softer notes (pun intended) coming into play which, in the end, gives a huge sense of contentment. It is a wholesome spread of beauty and rhythm which is appealing to each listener at his own level of engagement. It was aptly described by an autorickshaw man who stood stunned outside a Chennai sabha listening to the evergreen Madurai Mani Iyer. He was heard saying “I’ve never learnt Music but that felt like a train ride I didn’t want to end”
As published in NZ.