Rock, Raaga and the Indian Mind - 1
"Macha..r u a 50 year old?", exclaimed my friend upon hearing that i'm goin to Zakhir Hussain's concert. His friend followed up this remark with his trademark bellowing laughter. we call it the 'build-up' laugh. Then one of his friends quips "Btw wat does zakhir hussain play??"
I was amused, sad rather, and his remarks have prompted me to write this blog. So i dedicate this blog to my friend, a self-acclaimed iron maiden worshiper, a metallica fanatic and a guy who knows naught about music .
Indian youth consider classical music to be too old for their taste. They are ready to listen to gothic industrial, trance, death metal, alternative rock; the whole gamut of genres except indian classical music. The male populace will probably add 'pop' to the neglected list. pop is considered feminine(i know a person who considers linkin park to be 'female metal' reason: its soft unlike sepultura). it is sad that decibel levels have become the judging criteria for good music.
But are they justified in neglecting genres like carnatic, hindustani n the lot? Western influence has numbed the minds of many a indian youth. they consider listening to Thyagaraja krithis or dhrupads to be out of syncs with their lifestyle.
The saddest part is many people dont know what a mandolin is. people are not ready to even give an ear to music from their nativity. They are ready to sway to the tunes of Kirk Hammett's guitar but shun Srinivas' mandolin.
Perhaps this worrying trend is mirrored in other fields. Fashion is a glaring example.how many saree-clad teenage women do we see these days? Girls want to be in vogue with Gucci's finest.Guys want to flaunt their latest blackberry's fall collection or Tommy's most recent offering. Kurthas n dothis have become a thing of the past.
it is good to be exposed to a multitude of genres. after all, it will develop a better understanding towards other cultures(probably). But not at the expense of our heritage. If this continues our future generations might not know that a person called Zakhir hussain existed. A quick glance at Ilayaraja's photo and they might think he is a sanyasin.
are we over-reacting to the explicit abuses from westeners on celebrity shows and failing to recognize the implicit abuses hurled by a section of the indian youth obsessed with the west?
I was amused, sad rather, and his remarks have prompted me to write this blog. So i dedicate this blog to my friend, a self-acclaimed iron maiden worshiper, a metallica fanatic and a guy who knows naught about music .
Indian youth consider classical music to be too old for their taste. They are ready to listen to gothic industrial, trance, death metal, alternative rock; the whole gamut of genres except indian classical music. The male populace will probably add 'pop' to the neglected list. pop is considered feminine(i know a person who considers linkin park to be 'female metal' reason: its soft unlike sepultura). it is sad that decibel levels have become the judging criteria for good music.
But are they justified in neglecting genres like carnatic, hindustani n the lot? Western influence has numbed the minds of many a indian youth. they consider listening to Thyagaraja krithis or dhrupads to be out of syncs with their lifestyle.
The saddest part is many people dont know what a mandolin is. people are not ready to even give an ear to music from their nativity. They are ready to sway to the tunes of Kirk Hammett's guitar but shun Srinivas' mandolin.
Perhaps this worrying trend is mirrored in other fields. Fashion is a glaring example.how many saree-clad teenage women do we see these days? Girls want to be in vogue with Gucci's finest.Guys want to flaunt their latest blackberry's fall collection or Tommy's most recent offering. Kurthas n dothis have become a thing of the past.
it is good to be exposed to a multitude of genres. after all, it will develop a better understanding towards other cultures(probably). But not at the expense of our heritage. If this continues our future generations might not know that a person called Zakhir hussain existed. A quick glance at Ilayaraja's photo and they might think he is a sanyasin.
are we over-reacting to the explicit abuses from westeners on celebrity shows and failing to recognize the implicit abuses hurled by a section of the indian youth obsessed with the west?
posted by Prasanna @ 3:04 PM
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