Olave Jeevana Saakshaatkara

In an article written in Abhivyakti - a monthly newsletter published by Ananya, Manasi Prasad wrote about the fact that Carnatic classical music had adopted a strong religious flavour as it evolved over the ages and literally every Carnatic music concert was laden with songs sung in the praise of some God or the other. In the process, emotions like love, bereavement, joy and sorrow, that perhaps everyone of us can connect to and can easily identify ourselves with, seemed to have lost their place not only with composers but also with the connoisseurs of Carnatic music. While lyrics do play their part in helping listeners appreciate a song better, I believe that the one of most important characteristic of a song is its tune. A song with a really offending tune can easily put people off irrespective of how good its lyrics are. If you have watched programs like TVS Saregama or Ede Tumbi Haadidenu you would know what I am talking about. That being the case, Manasi wondered as to why Carnatic music performances seemed so impoverished on themes, with all musicians unanimously sticking to just one theme - Bhakti. Would a composition be construed "less Carnatic" if it chose to highlight the emotions that we go through on a day-to-day basis than to focus on just plain devotion ? It really shouldn't matter whether a song speaks about a mother's unfailing love towards her child or about  the pain suffered by a woman when she hears the news of her lover's death. As Manasi puts it, lyrics are purely incidental.

In a complete departure from traditions associated with the usual Carnatic music concerts, Manasi Prasad presented a programme called Olave Jeevana Saakshaatkara where the emphasis was on using Carnatic music to  understand the various facets of love, the various forms of the love that we as human beings tend to express, be it towards our parents, our children, our friends, our partner or even towards that supreme power which is supposedly holding this universe together. There was plenty of innovation on display in Manasi's "Walk the Talk" performance and I must admit that she pulled off a stunning feat. It was not surprising then that when she concluded her show, a large section of the audience stood up and rightfully presented her with a standing ovation. For once, I had seen something different in a music concert.

The concert was different along several lines. Manasi had chosen a theme to focus all her songs on. Each of her songs was preceeded by a brief explanation that elucidated the meaning of the lyrics. I totally appreciated this effort  because Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam are quite exotic to me. Manasi sang and spoke into a microphone that she seemed to be wearing from around the back of her head. While most musicians prefer to sit at one place throughout their concert,  Manasi chose to walk around the stage freely as she explained her songs to the audience! The stage where the artists performed was styled with props, which with their intricate carvings, resembled the stone pillars from ancient Hindu temples. The lighting kept changing every now and then to reflect the predominant mood of her songs. Every once in a while, Manasi would bring her dancing skills to the fore and enact her songs as she sang them ! She seemed so keen to blend with her audience and engage them in a musical ride where she would show them the nuances of traditional Carnatic music while at the same time touching their hearts with stories of love.

While I sat there in the auditorium watching Manasi perform, I would often look around and find mostly people who seemed to be in their fifties or sixties. There were just a handful of those who were in their twenties. It is an acknowledged fact these days that Carnatic music doesn't sell well to the younger generations. Modern day artists like Manasi have two options then - continue the age old ways of traditional Carnatic music while simultaneously ruing about the fact that the art no longer receives the kind of patronage it used to receive before  or repackage the art and deliver it a manner that is more appealing and suitable to the younger crowd. There's no denying the fact there is a lot of fun to be had here !

As far as Manasi's singing is concerned, well, let's just say that she truly rocks !