Raymond Carver's "The Ashtray"

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The transformation of Live Secular Music Performance (Ganamellas) in Kerala

The transformation of Live Secular Music Performance (Ganamellas) in Kerala

The live and the mediatized are not polar opposites anymore. When it comes to actual consumption, mediatized events have an edge over live ones. As the society is becoming more and more mediatized, the strategy is to model live events on mediatized ones. The approximation of liveness by the mediatized has led to serious compromise in quality. In a recent interview to Manorama News, KJ Jesudas, the uncontested voice in the Malayalam Film Music Industry for the last fifty years or so took a dig at the over dependence on technology which he felt has adversely affected the quality of songs that we have in Malayalam. That often music is made to embellish an elaborate dancing extravaganza in some of the most beautiful locations of the world, he observed. Therefore songs have shed their pretensions of originality in composition and are contend to be in the background paving the way for some exciting acrobatics.

We might take a look at how this has influenced the tradition of live performance of film music that we have in the state popularly known as ‘Ganamela’ (music show). A Ganamela is a music performance with a vocalist and an elaborate music accompaniment. Usually secular music is played but not necessarily. Ganamela is almost a compulsory aspect of temple festivals, celebrations of some sections of the Christian churches etc. The success of a College Union is sometimes determined by the quality of the orchestra they get for the Arts Day and College day in Kerala. The orchestra in the traditional sense, a famous male and female vocalist duo leading the group of instrumentalists have given way to just one vocalist in most cases now. The electronic key board that can reproduce all the instruments has effectively replaced the accompanists. Even if there are some instrumentalists present, one can never be sure if the music is played by them or the Yamaha 2000. The organizers love this for it is pleasantly “cost effective”.

This has seriously affected the lives of many instrumentalists making a living out of live performances and for many of them their only source of income is teaching music in schools and home tuitions. When Amrita TV came up with the concept of a Music Reality Show in the form of Amrita Superstar, they had only one instrumentalist, a damn good key board player equally good with technology. But Asianet Idea Star Singer followed suit but with a Live orchestra. Despite all the hullabaloo of a reality show, this seemingly live aspect of the show won them more audience, from especially the carnatic music fan base.

Another interesting feature of today’s live performances is the vocalist who knows how to move his/her body to the progression of the song enticing audience to dance. Rimy Tomy who is the quintessential Malayalam artist in this regard is known for her ability to drive the audience crazy with her energetic moves and vocals, has invited lot of appreciation from among the youngsters and scathing criticism from the purists. This kind of performance goes down particularly well with those who take to drinking among the audience waiting for an opportunity to go wild (In Kerala lot of drinking takes place around Ganamelas).

"i feel the heat, i feel the rain": the play within the play in "The Fire and the Rain"

A story can be told in many ways. Many story telling devices come in handy when the attempt is to discuss multi-layered narratives. The material for the story may be sometimes as pregnant as the myth of Yavakri. The myths are reworked in a telling manner by the playwright to come up with a challenging play to stage. Apart from the retelling of the myths (myth of Yavakri, the myth of Indra slaying Vritra), the play with in the play technique open up further vistas for enquiry enabling deeper understanding of the making of the play.

The play gives way to the play with in the play. The drama performed can bring rain, only a yajna wont do. Rain is an objective reality, but raining is not really objective. The Yajna is a performance but it is an orchestrated performance while drama is orchestrated and more. As Paravasu maintains “fire sacrifice is a formal rite. Structured. It involves no emotional acrobatics from the participants”. But there is an element of tentativeness when it comes to the fifth Veda, a performative undercurrent which may redefine the expectations and go beyond the realm of reason: An outcome that might upset the linear, systematic and plausible expectations. Against the warning given by the stage manager not to get lost in the character, Aravasu goes wild in a moment of rage when Vishwarupa falls into the trap of Indra. Fury loosened upon the sacrificial altar but does not stop Aravasu from completing the sacrifice. This performative episode finally enables the performer to break the possibilities opened up by the technique and come back to the actual play.

It so happens that when there is a play within the play, the seemingly fictional artifact of the original play  sheds its fictitious air to a considerable extent and become more immediate to the viewer. A sense of immediacy and liveness is achieved. The viewer is now more interested in the proceedings of the play within the play. Here the dramatist has a better chance of winning over the trust of the audience. Now that there is a second-degree remediation, the larger play becomes more legitimate. What happens with the play within the play is that the wall separating the audience and performance disappears and the audiences are paved the way to enter the visual artifact that Karnad has created which is the large play. There are ways to remain removed from the workings of the art form even then, but then the distance is much less: one still remains within the play even though a distance can be maintained from the play with in the play. There is willing suspension of disbelief here. Therefore the experience become more immediate, more live. One feels the heat and the moisture.