Packaged Performers

Another case of reticent dancers, both excruciatingly understated, are the dancing sakhis Madhavi Mudgal and Leela Samson. Their brochures are very strong design statements. But as a press-kit these elegant silhouettes are of no earthly use to a newspaper, because the visuals cannot be scanned and used. Shubha Mudgal, too, has a stylish brochure but her black and white pictures are not print-worthy. Deplores Arshiya Sethi, Creative Head, Programme Office, at Delhi8217;s India Habitat Centre 8216;8216;Tracing artistes is a real headache. Believe it or not, every day, at least 10 per cent of my working time is spent either chasing numbers or giving out numbers!8217;8217;

Two polarised attitudes seem to be responsible for the lack of focus in marketing their art: hypo-communication and its reverse. The 8216;Old Guard8217; of classical artistes with 30 years8217; experience want the media to come to them; it is infra dig for them to hustle for publicity or programmes. The grand old Hindustani vocalists of Indore, Hubli, Dharwar and Belgaum typify this category. So, nobody in 8216;smart8217; venues goes to hear them, though they may be living national treasures. 8216;8216;If I were to do all this PR, who will pursue the art,8217;8217; asks a senior singer sarcastically. A prominent Delhi culture programme officer waves this away saying, 8216;8216;A condition of the performing arts is the audience. What these pandits and ustads do not realise in their lofty disdain is that unless they seek an audience, their art is incomplete.8217;8217;

But there is a flip side to being hyper-communicative, too. Ask any Editor who has ever received a package from Pakistani singer Shafqat Ali, the 8216;chiragh8217; of the Shamchaurasi Gharana son of Salamat Ali, of the famous vocalists Salamat-Nazakat. Such a package has to be opened very carefully because semi-porn pictures tend to shower out, of a bare-bodied Shafqat posing, with the surmandal barely functioning as a fig leaf.

Equally perilous is anything sent by musician Salil Bhatt, son of Grammy-awardee Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt. Bhatt hands out posed studio pictures and has even modelled with the shirt off. Though he has barely made it himself in the music world, he has already pushed his toddler son into the Limca Book of Records as the 8216;youngest musician8217; and has even taken the child to newspaper offices, to display his talents before reporters.

An unfortunate case of hyper-communication rebounding is that of Bharata Natyam dancer Geeta Chandran. A fine, articulate artiste, whose aesthetic sense is probably the best today, her e-mail updates, say Press and culture recipients, list too many minor activities like her school visits and even lectures on grooming. To the artiste these are genuine attempts at bridge-building with new audiences, but the danger is that any real news of her art is sometimes overlooked.

Who then are the best-packaged super-talented performers at work today?

Aditi Mangaldas
Kathak dancer, Delhi

Press-kit perfect, rates right on top as much for brilliance of work as for professional approach. Beautifully organised package with bio-data, choice of pictures and repertoire. She was a huge hit at the Edinburgh Festival last year. When asked to drop in casually to meet its Festival Director who was scouting in Delhi, she floored him by turning up with a show reel. A crisp, tightly packaged tape with four-minute clips from her best items.

The Qureishi Brothers
Tabalchis, Mumbai

National darling Ustad Zakir Hussain, his siblings Fazal and Taufiq, constantly update their website, respond promptly to e-mails and telephone messages. Pictures, write-ups, performance schedule for six months available on tap. Super-polite and cooperative with writers fighting deadlines.

Prabha Atre
Hindustani vocalist, Mumbai

The only senior artist to be Net-savvy and organised, Prabha tai floods you with a thesis on herself. Every article ever written, an exhaustive bio-data, choice of gorgeous pictures in both b038;w and colour. Rarely comes on line direct but an efficient disciple, 8216;Dr Bharti8217;, answers all calls meticulously.

Trilok Gurtu
Tabalchi, Mumbai

Son of senior vocalist Shobha Gurtu: If you find him on the web, he is probably performing abroad somewhere. This hunky artist has a slew of international disciples, including red-hot Turkish drummer Torab Majlesi, boyfriend of Turkish diva Shukriye Tutkun.

Dr Kamala Shankar and Pandit Rajiv Janardhanan,
Musicians, Chennai

Husband and wife both play Hindustani classical, she is a guitarist trained in Benares. He is a sitarist of the Imdadkhani Gharana. These bold musicians are innovative as players and organised as performers: All information is idiot-proof. Their counterparts in Delhi are Shubendra Rao sitar and Saskia de Haas cello, also a well-packaged duo.