joie de vivre

posted : October 11, 2009

Indeed, my Saturday was well spent watching Hariharan perform on the very stage I did about a year back. The 150 odd mins of listening to his top renditions were mind blowingly awesome. The way he not only amazed the crowd with his voice but also his showmanship, the way he engaged the crowd, got some even to sing the lines for him was simply bliss to watch and made the 1 hour of boredom before he came on as the SICCI-DBS award ceremony went on was definitely worth it as well as my empty stomach which created quite abit of noise pollution. Hariharan would definitely be one of those artistes I would rush to get tickets however exorbitant ticket prices may be just to watch him perform live. From ghazaals to carnatic to kollywood to bollywood songs you name it he's there to perform for you. He switches languages with such an ease and beauty you feel sinned for not being able to understand the language - hindi in this case. I really wish someday I can pick up the language through the music I begin to appreciate more with time. His versatility, enthusiasm, spirit, performance and of coz the power and depth of his voice. This is really not enough to justify the singer Hariharan is but I'd stop here for now.

As I was amongst the Indian crowd while having my buffet dinner, I couldn't help but notice that almost 90% of the audience were North Indians rather than South, expats to be more specific. And I've noticed this trend many a times in such a concert actually. To be more generic, in anything involving the arts - music, dance, drama, I see that South Indians fall behind, which only leads me to wonder why? Are they not able to appreciate such fine arts or are they still that ignorant about the arts scene in our homeland. Its not that widespread I must say. But I try to make a conscious effort to involve myself in quite a bit I must say. And in a way in this aspect, I'm glad I've got people under the same roof who have this liking for the arts. As much as there is a school of thought that says the arts can only be appreciated by the 'higher/upper class of the society', I don't quite agree to it. But maybe looking at the proportion of South Indians and that too locals seems to support the school of thought actually. Like it or not, South Indians fall back against the North just like how expats are treated a notch higher than the local breed. But someday I hope this situation would change. When I attend such functions with my family in the future, I hope I would see more familiar faces. More locals and South Indians sitting alongside with me with hands up in the air and following the tempo of the songs. I wish more people would appreciate and support the arts. And as for me, I'm glad I've got some what of a footing in this line. Whether I pursue it or not it's my call.

Music is said to be a universal language. But I think knowing the language of the song and then being able to appreciate it adds a whole new dimension to it. And as much as knowledge empowers a Man, arts refines a Man I must say.

12:40 AM