Unruled Notebook

There is a large section of concert going rasikAs – especially youth of my age group (ahem) – who opine carnatic music is that and only that which comes out of the mouths of five or six popular artists of our times. The rest is rust. Such popular subjectivity has been around, perhaps since a kutcheri structure was created for popularizing the art form. Unfortunately, critics, that unbiased creed who could critique (criticise for progress), also take sides. A section of those critics, who write in popular media, propagate what they feel subjectively about carnatic music and promote their favourite musicians, avoiding possible objective evaluation.

Art anyway is subjective and more so, its appreciation. However, enough objective norms exist through which one can evaluate the calibre of a Carnatic musician, vocalist or instrumentalist, male or female, and importantly, popular in a region or not. In a contemporary artist name-list, prepared through such objective evaluation of excellence, those five or six popular artists may still be featured (after all, they should have some basic talent in the art for becoming popular). But the list is bound to include some not so familiar names. Like Manda Sudharani.
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