Tuned out

The conference was held by the All India Musicians’ Group (AIMG) in partnership with the NCPA to discuss the lack of exposure to Indian classical music in the mainstream media.

The common misconception among those who don’t follow Indian classical music is that the genre is steadily losing both listeners and practitioners and therefore is a dying tradition.

However,the renowned santoor player rubbished the notion and said,“Classical music is very much alive and concerts still draw large audiences. As far as learning classical music is concerned,we musicians are still teaching many students,both from India and abroad,following the traditional guru-shishya pattern”.

The musicians also disagreed with the popular notion that classical music is difficult to understand for untrained audiences as it is more for the classes,rather than the masses.

Sharma explained,drawing comparisons to the late Michael Jackson’s music. “People dance to Jackson’s music and love it. But how many can tell what drums he used or what bass line? The enjoyment of his music is removed from the technical aspects. It’s the same with classical music. You’re not expected to understand the ragas and the scale. The audience is only expected to feel the music and enjoy it.”

The main complaint voiced was that even though there is a definite audience for classical music,the media,especially electronic,does not accord it the respect it deserves. “There are 24-hour channels now,but not a single one of them is willing to devote even 24 minutes to classical music,” said Sharma.

The solution,according the musicians,lay in government funding to give classical music the airtime and exposure it requires. Tabla exponent Ustad Zakir Hussain also said that AIMG was looking at persuading the government to implement compulsory education in classical music for school children.

However,apart from this rather draconian suggestion,the group didn’t put forward any concrete plans for classical music. According to the convener Pt Arvind Parikh,now that the budget is out AIMG plans to “attack the new administration” with its suggestions.

“We’ve already approached Doordarshan and AIR to look at specific programming and they’ve been quite positive,” he said.

It remains to be seen whether the group can come up with more cut-and-dry plans and innovative solutions. As to whether the solutions will be implemented successfully,only time can tell.