Plain Speak on the Music Season - Kumkumam Interview
Click on the images to enlarge Click Here for the PDF For those who do not read Tamizh: Singer Charulatha Mani discusses the state of the yearly phenomenon known as the Madras Music Season. In the Kungumam interview, Charulatha pulls no punches, and lambasts the degeneration of Carnatic Music concert performance from a celebration of glorious tradition and virtuosity, into a free-for-all of amateurism and mediocrity. The artiste holds forth on how sabhas have largely failed in their duty towards professional artistes and listeners, turning a blind eye to the inability of many well-connected amateur performers to adhere to even basic standards of concert performance such as singing in pitch or basic vocal technique. She also speaks about the motivation behind her Isai Payanam concerts and her efforts in reaching out to audiences, to dispel the notion of Carnatic music as an arcane art form patronised by a restricted section of society.
