Just yesterday. I had been to a Carnatic music concert., here in Bangalore. The artistes were performing with out a fan in this hot summer. They gave a wonderful performance. It was quite a sight to see the main artiste smiling at the violinist, giving him a pat now and then with a ''shabhaas''. I was trying to absorb the divine music. But, I had to try hard... the women sitting next tome continuously went on and on with their whispers..Probably they did not have any time at home to discuss ehat ever they were dicussing here.
The front row was constantly motivating the performers with their ''taalam'' and ''nodding their heads"" as an expression of their enjoyment. It was really nice of them to do that.
The trauma for me began when after 75 percent of the concert was over, people from the back rows started walking out one after the other..The "tani aavartanam"" had started, but they had no patience to listen to that beautiful perfomance. They could sit for 2 hrs but could not do so for another half an hour. Did they atleast smile at the artiste while going out as a token of respect and thanks? No way. They did not look in that direction at all..
These people were the so called educated class. If they did not have time to sit through the concert, they should not have attended the concert, this is my point. Once you are there, you give respect to the artiste and the music itself. This is total disregard .Last year when I was in the US, I attended a concert at Sanhose, the audience discipline was spectacular. None came late, none went out early. Here, we need more discipline among the audience.
After saying all this, I just thought of something for the artistes too. If they can skip one or 2 pieces from their portion and give the chance to the mrudangam player earlier, this probably could be avoided.
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ha, seaflower, you have expressed an artists agony. i remember one year when the students of the drama academy ( i teach classic indian theater) performed to 10 audience in an auditorium meant for 1000
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Dear Seaflower,
First of all thanks for providing the music site address. Your point regarding poor audience discipline in India is correct. Had it been a rock show or a popular film music show, people would have stayed till the end. Its just that audience interest in classical music is waning and neither the music fraternity nor the government is doing anything about it. The music fraternity must stop being snobbish and encourage more youngsters to try their hand at classical music. They must not instinctively dismiss the gennext's attempts. The government too must fulfill its role by conducting some concerts for young people for free. Do you think a youngster is going to shell out Rs 1000/- for M Balmuralialkrishna or Ustd Amjad Ali Khan concert concert? They would like to spend it in a mall or a multiplex with their girlfriends or boyfriends.
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