Incident at the valedictory concert of YACM - Appaling

thathwamasi · Post by **thathwamasi** » 31 Aug 2008, 23:04

Hello All

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the cutchery as I was stuck in Bangalore. However, I heard the events that happened during the concerts and felt bad about it and hence decided to share it with the rasika community who can empathise with me.

What had happened is summarised below.

After Trichur Brothers finished the main and when the thani avarthanam was over, they were stopped and an announcement was made that TNS Krishna has won the best concert award in this series and then the brothers were requested to continue. One of the brothers, Srikrishna, then spoke in the mic saying that if they had known that there was a competition before hand, they wouldn't have accepted to sing at the first place and also mentioned that professionals are not here to compete. He clearly expressed his disapproval of this whole affair and finished the cutcheri immediately.

My point of view.

As a member of YACM (who has been an active executive committee member of YACM during its golden years), I really feel bad for the organisation to have stooped to a new low. This entire episode could have been avoided. Here are my veiws.

a) First of all, I have never understood the concept of having competition in a music series. I mean, why should professionals compete ?. I am sure the organisations who judge concerts and give the artists prizes, will not have the guts to the same with some senior musicians. I mean, imagine in Chennai, you have Pandit Jasraj and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi performs in the same series, I am sure the organiser wouldn't have the guts to announce that one of their concert wins the prize.

b) Even if there is some rationale behind these competitions, I feel the artists should have been told before hand. Trichur Brothers clearly have a point in saying they have the right to know that their concert is being judged.

c) To add icing to the cake, why should they choose to announce the prize by interrupting the concert?? I am sure this is not the greatest of ideas that YACM has ever come up with. Even in organisations like academy who give prizes, they clearly gather on the last day of the season, and distribute the prizes. Thus not hurting anyone.

d) I mean, if was in Trichur Brothers' spot, I would have been equally upset as I wouldn't want anyone to stop my concert to tell me that someone else wins a prize. There are a lot of other forums to make the announcement. I am sure YACM is visible enough to make an announcement in THE HINDU or equivalent.

Finally, though I wasn't there, it leaves a bad taste in my mind about the whole instance. YACM is an organisation which has been close to my heart for a long time, and I feel this was a let down not just to me but for a lot of others too. I mean, clearly, they should have thought for a moment that the crowd has come there to listen to Trichur brothers and not competition results.

I equally am indebted to compliment the great work that the organisers have done in organising such a great anniversary function (I know how difficult it is) but I am really sorry for this incident. I wish this never happened.

Ganesh Athreyaa aka Thathwamasi.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 31 Aug 2008, 23:53

Well, competition is a part of life and indeed, even the venerable the Academy judges senior vidwans during the season/gives out awards such as best concert/pallavi etc...although there are usually enough going around to ensure that most of the seniors get one or the other!

That apart, the way in which it was handled could certainly have been avoided. However I am sure each side would have its own point of view/variations on the details.

The YACM was a landmark movement in the 90s and one of the features was the breath of fresh air the youngsters brought in terms of working together without petty politics (or at least so it seemed to the outsider)...to a large extent, the emerging seniors have carried this spirit forward into their professional careers...it would be a tragedy if the forum were to descend into a theatre for playing out factional rivalries...but how long, in our country, is any institution free from such things?

gundakriya · Post by **gundakriya** » 01 Sep 2008, 00:13

thathwamasi wrote:... felt bad about it and hence decided to share it with the rasika community who can empathise with me.

Umm... empathize with you for what exactly, Mr. Athreya? You have posted something here based on hearsay, you were not even physically present. If you felt so bad about what you heard and really hold the organization close to your heart, the classy thing to do would have been to get on the phone or send an e-mail to the current office bearers and share your concerns and/or offer constructive suggestions. Where was the need to broadcast publicly about this and show the entire event in a poor light? The youngsters had done a great job organizing the events over the past few days and the Bros' churlish reaction (to what was evidently an overenthusiastic young organizer's announcement) should not be allowed to overshadow that.

thathwamasi · Post by **thathwamasi** » 01 Sep 2008, 00:39

Well... Empathize with the fact that something like this has kind off ruined the otherwise excellent organisational work done by the youngesters. As I have mentioned earlier, the youngsters indeed have done a commendable job in organising events which is salutable no doubt. But a spade had to be called a spade at a point.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Sep 2008, 04:14

Yes, we have to appreciate all the good work and the way in which YACM conducted the series--except--what they did at Trichur Bros concert is shabby, to say the least.
Let me try to see it from the duo's point of view. Their immediate reaction would have been not surprise but shock. Was there a competition among professionals? Why weren't we informed about it? Either we would have gracefully said 'no' to the engagement (because we do not want to compete), or, we would not have minded, but would have planned our concert differently, perhaps.
It would have been a surprise of course, if they had been awarded the prize.
The Academy does things which go in the name of tradition or whatever. As Vijay said, almost all are given some prize or other. I suppose there is another reason for this with the Academy: to keep a log as it were about performers over the years. After all, they have to choose from the pool what they consider best among the performers for ensuing years. The judges for each time slot take it seriously in rating the artistes, I hear.
What happened here was not in good taste, I'm afraid. May be not intentional, but all the same, shabby, considering that the announcement was made before the concert was over. Of course, people would have applauded on hearing this--for the winner--while the stage was occupied by those who did not win, and did not even know that they were contesting!

peanutbutter · Post by **peanutbutter** » 01 Sep 2008, 08:29

Can someone who was actually physically present at the concert shed some light on this by giving a first hand account?

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 01 Sep 2008, 13:42

I have been attending the function right from day one including the carnival at MA open lawn. The manner in with which the whole function was conducted was praise worthy and really a feather on cap of YACM. Every item is meticulously planned and executed and this was clearly visible when writing pads were arranged for judges in minute's time during competition.. Unfortunatly I cld not stay back for the whole concert yesterday. This episode reminds me of a proverb 'even huge elephants do slip'
thanjavooran

coolkapali · Post by **coolkapali** » 01 Sep 2008, 15:20

I was there for the concert yesterday.

It was a fitting finale for the Anniversary celebrations, except for the unwanted interruption at the end.

The brothers started off with Viribhoni in three speeds. This was followed by Shri Mahaganapathi in Goula, with some interesting Swara Prasthanas. Amba Kamakshi was a bold effort. The kala pramanam was excellent, but I have heard the brothers render it better. This was followed by a pacy Shri Kanthani with amazing Sarvalaghu swaras. The raga Bhavapriya demands efficient practice to deliver at this level. L Ramakrishnan on the Violin was equally crisp with his replies.

The voice of the elder brother was not at its best, I think. Was struggling a bit with his cough through out the concert. However, that did not affect the delivery significantly.

An excellent Sri Ranjani raga exposition followed. Trichur brothers chose to render Soga Soga Mrudanga, very apt for the occasion as it was a double Mridangam concert. Raghuvamsa Sudha followed, and going by the applause it received, I guess, it had the audience spell bound including me.

The main was an RTP in Keeravani. Adi thalam, 2 kala, â€œParama Bhagavatha Madhura Smitha Bhashini Anjana Sutha Mahaveeraâ€

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 01 Sep 2008, 15:44

Thanks for the update CK...my take is that the YACM volunteer concerned was probaly not aware of the sensitivities involved. The organizers too appear to have omitted to give notice to the artistes about the competition. Such oversights are attributable to lack of inexperience rather than bad intentions.

Let us compliment the YACM on their initiative and the Trichur Brothers for their restraint and hope that relevant lessons have been duly learnt by all concerned.

thathwamasi · Post by **thathwamasi** » 01 Sep 2008, 17:04

I completely agree with you Vijay. There is no doubt that there are no bad intentions. It was purely lack of experience. We certainly do compliment YACM for a wonderful anniversary function. However, on the other hand, the intention of writing here, is purely to make sure that these sort of things don't happen again as the purpose of criticism is to lead to betterment.

Peace.
T

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 01 Sep 2008, 19:35

Sure T...by the way it should be lack of experience in my post above!

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 01 Sep 2008, 22:41

IMHO, another aspect that the YACM can do away with are the one page reviews written by senior artistes. Somehow they sound very high-handed and full of wrong headed advice. I do hope that both Vidya Kalyanaraman and Amritha Murali ignore the mostly misguided advice given to them by the reviewers.

carnaticdasan · Post by **carnaticdasan** » 02 Sep 2008, 09:42

Having gone thru the above unfortunate happenings and case history of the incident,the bottom line is whether YACM extended an apology to the brothers or not till now.If they have done this,things can be closed and both YACM and the artists involved can move ahead and look ahead for the music season.But one thing sure, a music series cannot be taken as a competition involving such performing artists.Anyway my compliments to T Bros for remaining cool and collected.

mahesh_narayan · Post by **mahesh_narayan** » 02 Sep 2008, 10:15

coolkapali, who were the mridangam artistes (since you mentioned it was a double mridangam concert)?

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 02 Sep 2008, 10:49

Their father, Trichur Mohan, usually plays for them...Suresh, where were the reviews published? Are they available online?

thathwamasi · Post by **thathwamasi** » 02 Sep 2008, 11:06

Trichur Mohan didn't play Mridangam as in YACM, the artist cannot be more than 30 years old. Harinarayanan and Mahadeshwaran played Mridangam and I heard that they played very well.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 02 Sep 2008, 11:17

Uh oh...hadn't thought of that!

karfan · Post by **karfan** » 02 Sep 2008, 13:11

In more than one way music is subjective. Each of us will have our favorite artist. And often we find our favorite artist does not perform to our expectations all the time. So how do you judge music concerts? This is not some TV music competition where SMS decides who has won! These are professional musicians. And it is very difficult to decide on yardsticks to judge. So that way to judge professional musicians on a concert platform is outright foolishness.

That apart I just wonder what would have happened had the organizers announced that the artist on stage were the winners of the contest? Would the brother still have said they would not have given a concert if they had known that a competition was on??

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 02 Sep 2008, 13:39

My understanding is that YACM should be complimented for their good efforts done and at the same it is in thier own interest these hardships are brought up. It is only better for them to handle issues in the right way. I am sure they will learn and will come back with a better co-ordination in the years to come.

Ramadasan123 · Post by **Ramadasan123** » 02 Sep 2008, 13:46

@karfan... I attended the Trichur Bros concert from start to end... and was a sad witness to the shabby incident..
and to answer your questions... The brother sitting on the left(the younger one i think) made it absolutley clear that it was a 'POLICY DECISION' as far as they were concerned to NOT be part of anything with the slightest hint of competition... They made it clear in no less professional terms that they are not here to compete.. but to perform.. and he even made it clear that their reaction would ve been the same even if they had been declared the best of the lot.... I think, as professional artistes, they are doing the right thing.. and i dont think, as audiences, we have the right to question their policy decisions...
As somebody mentioned above, i really respect the trichur bros for their cool and composed behaviour on stage.. They were firm but EXTREMELY polite... too POLITE for my liking as an ardent rasika of their style of singing...

To have given a concert as brilliant as that in terms of delivery and concert content, ranging from a tri kala bhairavi varnam to a brilliant Kiravani RTP and to have remained cool and composed after the incident seiously takes an effort.. and kudos to the bros for that...

END of the day one needs to realise that the hall was almost full for their concert... and the ppl who ve come there have come to listen to Trichur Bros. and NOT some worthless judgement by GOD knows who!!! Anyway... thanks bros for the brilliant concert...

Ramadasan123 · Post by **Ramadasan123** » 02 Sep 2008, 13:49

Yeah and again... congrats to YACM.... Criticisms lead to betterment... and hope they learn from these issues...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 Sep 2008, 21:59

So good to know from those who were there at the concert that it was a top notch concert. Their proficiency and professionalism included one more highly professional quality--behaving in a dignified manner in such an unexpected situation...

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 04 Sep 2008, 23:52

vijay wrote:Suresh, where were the reviews published? Are they available online?

They were handed out individually to all those who were attending and were kept with the daily "Dhwani" that is published during the festival. I am not aware if they are available online. If I find the sheets, I will try to transcribe it over here..

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 05 Sep 2008, 11:41

Thanks - appreciate it if you could!

blackadder · Post by **blackadder** » 05 Sep 2008, 15:13

I do not see what inexperience has to do with this whole thing. Insensitive and irresponsible, yes. But inexperience?? Not at all. This is one of those ideas whose time should never have come voiced by someone who should keep as far away from a mike as possible.

The day organisers give up the love of the mike, we will leave concerts with pleasant memories. Reminds me of a statement attributed to Veena Dhanammal when told about the Sadas "anga sangeethatha pathi pesarangalame!!!"

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 Sep 2008, 21:28

sangItattaip paRRi, sangItak kArargaLaip paRRi sonnadaiyE tiruppi tiruppi, sponsors paRRi (you have to acknowledge them briefly--we understand)...
(about music, about musicians, saying the same old things which we know, about the sponsors (fine if brief--we need to acknowledge their making the concert possible)...

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 05 Sep 2008, 22:08

Less experience with making mistakes. Looks like they are gaining good experience quickly.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 05 Sep 2008, 23:05

"Experience is not what happens to Man. It is what Man does with what happens to him."

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 Sep 2008, 23:07

Ah, a point to ponder, indeed!

blackadder · Post by **blackadder** » 09 Sep 2008, 08:38

Brilliant!

coolkapali · Post by **coolkapali** » 24 Sep 2008, 15:37

Just noticed that somebody has tampered my post. Wherever i had mentioned the word "competition", it is replaced with "censored word". I have no idea who has done this and for what. I guess this has been done for all the posts under this topic. Why censor the word "competition". And it will be a nice gesture if you can inform the author if his/her post has been altered. Are the forum moderators behind this? Kindly confirm.

Thanks.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 24 Sep 2008, 15:51

Hi coolkapali, some (human) spammer is deliberately posting nonsense by registering under different IDs. So we had to use censoring for banned words. Inadvertently, the censor feature picked up all words where *a s s* was present (like classical) and replaced it with "censored word".

Your post was not tampered by anyone. The error has now been rectified.

martin · Post by **martin** » 24 Sep 2008, 16:37

Can somebody please explain what is the meaning of "censored word" as keeps peeping up in the thread. Of course I know the words but not what this to me unfamiliar combination means in this context.
regards, martin

coolkapali · Post by **coolkapali** » 24 Sep 2008, 17:20

Thanks for the clarification, Srikris. But my post still shows "censored word " here and there. Guess I will edit it sometime soon.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 24 Sep 2008, 18:28

It is very tough building and maintaining filter lists to catch spam.

I used to get so frustrated (will that one be allowed?) that forumhub would not accept the word "screwdriver" (will it get through here?) in my posts about mridangam maintenance.

In the end, I thought, "Oh, ____ __" (self-censored

) and gave up.

We have to have patience with our admins on this one.