Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Carnatic Music in 2060

As scientists, engineers and sociologists, we are interested in predicting the future and understanding how the life form started. That is why Large Hadron Collider work makes it so interesting as we may one day know how our universe started. Then there is the book Future Shock written by Alfin Toffler, a sociologist, who describes about "too much change in too short a period of time". Then there is Nostradamus a French Seer who published a collection of prophecies. He predicted that the world will end in 2012.

What I want to do in this blog is to look at the past and current Carnatic music concerts and see whether our readers can predict which type of concert will be liked in 2060 (50 years from now - of course assuming that the world does not end according to Nostradamus's prediction). I am not passing any value judgment here (Taste in music is highly individualistic). All I am wondering which of the five (5) scenarios will be remembered the most popular in 2060. I will let the readers choose one and argue why they think that is good. It is difficult to predict the future (even with differential equation and Bayesian Theory), but we can certainly speculate about the future (no matter whether it is right or wrong).


1)As you can see from the past concert by TN Seshagopalan (who gave a concert supported byPallavi around 1997), there is quite a bit of informality of people running around the stage.



2)Next we see a more recent concert by Sanjay Subrahmanyan (Please click here to see the youtube video (it will appear ina new window or new tab) in a Swathi Thirunal Concert Trivandrum and the stage is rather quiet. Sanjay's rendition of Kuntala varali nicely rhymes with Pantuvarali of TN Seshagopalan! In 2001 and 2004 Sanjay Subrahmanyam gave concerts under the auspices of Pallavi.

3)Next We see a fusion concert by Ganesh and Kumaresh in recent Jaya TV broadcast in Bilahari.


4)Then there is a recent rendition of Thiruvempavai (composed by Manika Vasagar praising Lord Siva, presiding diety in Thiruannamalai) rendition by an Avant-garde musician Sushila Raman (click here to read her biography in a new tab or in a new window) accompanied by
Saxaphonist.



5)There is also classical music in Indian Film music. Here is a song in Kunthalavarali ragam (and dance scene) from Manichithrathazhu (a Malayalam movie). There are Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Bengali versions of this movie.



So dear readers and lover of music, please make your predictions. (Probably, most music listeners will prefer type 5 the most and most classical/Carnatic musically inclined people prefer type 1 or 2 at the current time - Will this change in 2060?) - I am asking what is your prediction about the likings of all musically inclined people
and classical musically inclined people (I understand that music taste is individualistic)

Thanks to Dr. Janaki Krishnamoorthy for her help.

1 comment:

  1. I predict that the usual concert duration will shrink.
    Except malayalam movies, cine music is mostly dabba kutthu and I predict it will deteriorate further.
    The concerts in chennai would be broadcasted live and on demand. I think even in couple of years I don't see why I can't listen to a live concert in my iPhone!

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