'Infusion' with life.....

?While this may not be ‘purely’ a professional post, I have always worked best with real life analogies to drive my point and therefore here goes……

Well, all the marketing folks are using the ‘leap into the future’ reference this year and let me jump into the bandwagon too. To really leap ahead, a small reset, restart will be great, eh? What exactly then? Read on……..

As a consumer and an audience of whatever the world has to offer, I have often been torn between sticking to the purist approach to things versus the evolving methods to doing the same things.

In my ardent need to always wanting to stay relevant in this dynamic duniya, I have struggled with many things…….changing language, style, attitude, approach and many such facets. When my Gen-Z daughter points out how language is only a medium of communication, it is a man-made construct and how something we created can/should be allowed to change, I find this profound yet very difficult to accept. So, my social media texts sound too boring to new folks in town, but ‘pure’ for me. However, little by little I discover the truth in this perspective. Yes, expression is important and the medium, maybe not so much. What you feel about your concepts cannot be objective. It is guided by other principles……. well emotions to begin with. And a good combination of objective and emotions makes us grow in the direction we want. Let me explain with an analogy from my music journey…….?

I recently encountered a conflict of ideologies when I attended a concert by my music Guru, Mahesh Kale ji at the Kaala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai on 26th Jan 2024. Well, no prizes for guessing; it was a ‘fusion’ concert! Did I know this beforehand? No. I simply signed up for it knowing it was going to be an electrifying performance, a chance at seeing my guru’s performance once again, the charm of the Kaala Ghoda festival and the opportunity to vibe with my fellow classmates.

When I saw the western instruments on the stage, I was definitely confused. Did I have any doubts it’s going to be a super-show? No! I may not know a lot of stuff from the classical genre, but I do know this: it makes my heart soar; it brings to me a joy that is much needed, and it is reason enough for me to stay.

Confusion was soon replaced by wonder, again replaced by joy and very very soon replaced by ecstasy! Each item performed evoked different senses, all of it leading to the doors of ‘happyness’.

When a pure vilambit raag was sung, I found myself relaxing and calmed down. Vilambit I slowly discover is my favourite laya, somehow it helps me listen to it at my pace, enjoy it in my own way and brings me to centre myself into the mood of it…….

When I was one of the few in the audience who raised my hand at ‘are you a south Indian’ call out, I felt a strange sense of pride…….

To listen to a ‘pure’ Muthuswami Dikshitar composition being sung by a Marathi Hindustani singer was surprising enough, but to experience the unique mix of this song all complete with western instruments, a beautiful ornamentation of sargams around it and the non-south Indian audience grooving to it was definitely a very unique and joyful experience and left me grinning ear-to-ear…….

When after a brief romance with the introductory swars, Maheshji pointed to the moon ?and sang ‘……surano…’…..there was a collective gasp from the audience and my full sleeved kaftan offered no respite to the continuous goosebumps this song kept evoking. (Oh, BTW did I say it was an open-air concert?) I’ve heard this bandish at least 3 times live over the last 6 months by Maheshji and EVERY SINGLE TIME he has started the song differently. How???? Ufff! This one was an overwhelming experience and left me ‘joyfully teary eyed’ if that’s allowed to say……..

When I heard the classical bandish ‘Ghei Chanda Makarand’ for the first time, the audience around me that was a mixed crowd of senior and young people, gave a good sing-along. It was only when Maheshji switched to a very very modern twist to the song that people tapped their feet very differently to the song. Needless to say, the standing ovation to this one was from this very mixed crowd proving to me how change is being so beautifully embraced by all…….

Of course, the National Award winning song ‘Aruni Kirani’, the other sing-along which Maheshji brings to his every concert and the various other numbers he sang that day, brought out the crazy in the crowd as was expected…..it was definitely much to their delight that these were part of the line-up that day…….

To my purist mind, was this all too much to accept? Surprisingly, no! Surprisingly, I never felt the struggle to adapt or enjoy. I did not need to understand it, I just needed to soak in it. Did I need to work myself to soak in? No. I just drifted into it very very nonchalantly – like a soft cloud if I may. In a soon-after masterclass, Maheshji asked what I liked about the concert and I don’t remember what I may have blabbered. But, on retrospect I want to say that adapting to different ways of expression to convey, be relevant and adapt must be a beautiful journey. It is not necessarily a good thing to stick to the ‘old ways’ of doing stuff. The pandemic taught us this enough and how! Having said this, I must quickly add that the key to it will always be to strike a balance. Too much of this or that never works well. The right mix of the ingredients makes for a wonderful recipe.

The right amount of classical, the right amount of fusion made 26th Jan 2024 an experience to be etched in my core memory. And this will be a lesson I will carry on my onward journey both in my professional and my personal life. So much for a ‘reset/restart/leap into the year with a new perspective’ analogy :)

Cheers,

Jaya

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