December, And It바카라�s Raining Carnatic

During their school days in Bombay where they grew up, the two sisters would visit Madras on a pilgrimage of sorts around Christmas vacation every year in the 1980s. In the rain-cooled Tamil month of Margazhi, the land of their forebears would see them in a breathless but pleasant frenzy바카라�hopping sabhas, chasing down the masters, soaking in as much music as possible. Today, Ranjani-Gayatri are residents of the southern metropolis, where yet another 바카라�December season바카라� keeps them busier than usual as performers.

In their forties now, the siblings are accomplished vocalists. On stage, their tryst with Carnatic began as instrumentalists. In fact, their first brush with the Margazhi festival was a 1988 violin recital바카라�two years after they debuted in a temple close to their Matunga home back in Bombay, having spent their childhood years learning from T.S. Krishnaswami Iyer. Mridangam exponent Karaikudi Mani spotted the two talented little sisters, and introduced them to the katcheri circuit in his resident city that had become the hub of Carnatic music by the 20th century.

Talking to Outlook before the curtains went up for a winter evening concert in smog-ridden central Delhi, the duo recall the array of icons who occupied the front row during that long-ago concert. Gayatri, at 40, three years younger than Ranjani, starts off on the roster바카라�바카라�D.K. Jayaraman, M. Chandrasekharan, S. Kalyanaraman, the Sikkil sisters바카라�바카라� and trails off, still in awe. The warm feedback was validation: of their open, eclectic style as much as of their talent.

The rest of the season was spent in total immersion. And not just the classical, says Ranjani. They would be there at the temples that dot the suburb of Mylapore at the break of dawn and join the devotional veedhi bhajanai perambulation. 바카라�A quick idli-sambar at Rayar바카라�s café, and then we바카라�d be there at the Music Academy for the morning lec-dems.바카라� Then, across venues, a grand line-up of afternoon and evening concerts, spilling over to dinner time, 바카라�by when we바카라�d be occasionally nodding off, yet eager not to miss a moment바카라�s bliss바카라�.

December, after all, is a unique time to wade through the entire gamut of Carnatic music in 바카라�that three-km radius바카라� of downtown Chennai. In quantity, the Margazhi season has grown by leaps and bounds since the mid-바카라�90s. Today, it바카라�s billed as the world바카라�s biggest festival of traditional arts바카라�primarily south Indian classical music and dance바카라�with around 1,400 programmes featuring no less than 750 artistes in six peak weeks. Co-hosted at over five dozen big and small venues, the extravaganza warms up by the second week of December, slightly ahead of the actual Margazhi month, and extends to mid-January, fringing on the winter harvest time of Pongal.

The sheer volume has its pluses and minuses, say the sisters, who branched out to vocals 15 years ago and still take classes from P.S. Narayanaswamy, an octogenarian of the Semmangudi stream. 바카라�The best thing is that the season helps a buff get a digest of contemporary Carnatic. There바카라�s practically no noteworthy artiste who does not perform there,바카라� points out Ranjani. 바카라�All you need to do is prioritise your schedule and track down your favourites at the sabhas.바카라�

That in no way means the music clubs showcase just celebrities. 바카라�In fact, the sabhas do a lot of grassroots work. Up-and-coming artistes are customarily given slots,바카라� says Gayatri, who was just 10 when she gave her first violin performance along with Ranjani on that distant Matunga evening. On the flip side, quite a few promising youngsters struggle to make it to the top. The festival has a handful of leading artistes who draw massive crowds alongside another set who have a relatively low but highly loyal following.

The vastness of the canvas that unfurls at Margazhi can be guessed at from one little nugget: Ranjani and Gayatri try to ensure minimum duplication of ragas and compositions at their recitals across auditoria. The main pieces and tunes are never repeated in one season, says the younger sister. 바카라�You can바카라�t completely guarantee it, of course. We, too, get audience requests for this kriti or that abhang,바카라� she shrugs. 바카라�It바카라�s a happy obligation.바카라�

The fanfare around women in Carnatic comes with a pinch of gender bias. 바카라�We have vidwans and rasikas who still believe that female artistes who manage to earn popularity are those without scholarship. To them, men alone can be insightful and yet be sought-after,바카라� says Gayatri. 바카라�It바카라�s assumed that ladies primarily thrive on glamour. Only those with merely two-and-a-half people listening are supposed to be vidwans.바카라� The sisters prefer accompanists who go well with their approach to laya. 바카라�One unnecessary note from the violinist바카라�howsoever correct technically바카라�can mar our essence of unison.바카라�

It바카라�s exactly a quarter century for Ranjani-Gayatri now of having been regulars at Margazhi바카라�from 1992, they have been busy every year. So how many concerts do they give through the season? Not more than ten of late, besides the occasional violin outing. 바카라�If we start accepting all the invitations, we바카라�ll end up performing 35-plus. That will be crazy,바카라� says Gayatri. Does being selective go with stronger sadhana? 바카라�Well,바카라� Ranjani answers with a benign smile, 바카라�focus is integral to our everyday music. We don바카라�t wait for Margazhi to sharpen it.바카라�

A shorter, edited version of this appears in print