Carnatic veteran
Sudha Ragunathan
and Canadian Tamil-origin musician
Abby V
have been wanting to do something different within the periphery of classical
music
for some time now. And what better way to do this than with an experiment on social media. The duo recently did a musical reel, titled ‘How Carnatic musicians order groceries’, which went viral. The reel, which saw both the musicians sing songs associated with staples such as milk, bananas, butter and coffee — in different ragas, such as Nattakurinji, Shanmukhapriya, Kambhoji and Kapi — was a means to make
Carnatic music
accessible to everyone.
“Sudhaji and I connected during the pandemic, but we have never actually personally met. I am part of a generation that wakes up with reels. I recently saw these interesting videos of musicians ordering food, which were going viral. I immediately thought this should be done with classical music, and who better to do this with than Sudha ji. I was in Chennai for a few days, and was supposed to meet Sudhaji on a particular day. So, the previous night, I called her and told her about the idea. We planned the whole thing within a few minutes, and the next day, we shot the video in one take,” Abby recollects.
It was the spontaneity that added a lot of charm to the entire experience, notes Sudha, adding, “Abby is so effervescent and so easy to move with. It is not about the generation here, but about the vibes that we share.”
The songs were selected by the duo within a couple of minutes. “Sudhaji’s Paal Vadiyum Mugam is one of my favourites. The other songs, such as Kapi Madhuripuna, Pazham Neeyappa and Vennai Thinna Chinna, were her suggestions,” he says.
With reels, the challenge and creativity lie in holding on to the viewer’s attention with minute-long videos, the musicians say. “Usually, in Carnatic music, every sangathi is repeated twice to establish it. But here, it is like a droplet. Before one realises that this is the song, they move on to the next one,” says Sudha, adding that such tools are ways to reach out to younger Carnatic fans without diluting the art.
“These videos also make classical music accessible. For those who don’t know what Carnatic music is about, this reel might help them learn more,” Sudha smiles, as Abby chips in, “Ever since this reel was posted, so many people have been messaging me, asking for details of the songs. It creates a dialogue about classical music.”
The pandemic has also altered the perspectives of musicians, Sudha notes. “When you go online, everything needs to be abridged. When you sing a raga in a live concert, you can sing it for 15 or 20 minutes, but when you do a virtual show, it is concise. We need to be aware of what kind of an audience we sing to. I used to think that I’d be doing injustice to the raga by singing it short, but now, I realised that it is not the length that matters, it’s the essence,” she says.
It is also important for a musician to think visually today, they say. “We took time to figure out things like lighting and angles more than the music itself,” Abby says, hinting that part two of the reel is well on its way.
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