Viraha Viveka Vachaspati - Sannu Ik Pal x Parathpara | FLUID CARNATIC |Cross-Culture Concert Series

When we think of cross-culture, we needn’t look too much further than India, a single country with its hotpot of languages, cultures, cuisines, and religions. Fittingly, let's kick off the series with a cross-country journey between the sultry and sandy desert lands of Rajasthan, and the fertile deltas of Tamil Nadu - riding the vehicle of folk music.

The folk scene is filled with icons, mystical poets, like Kabir. Were they poets? Or saints? Their fame and claim extended far beyond India. Everybody seemed to stake a claim. It was a mystery where many of them were from, or what they actually believed in. But nearly every claimant believed differently. These incredibly simple poems were to be firmly planted in every rural household, everywhere from India to Pakistan. Some verses praised Ram, some praised Allah. Some condemned idol worship, temples and mosques. The Manganiyar tribes of Rajasthan claimed that it was theirs. Pakistani Sufi practitioners were certain they had seen authority. Malwi singers of Madhya Pradesh sang it like their life-breath.

A simple ektara in hand, all they needed was a dholak to immerse themselves in this music - very simple tunes, even simpler words with deep, deep meaning, in the quintessential folk style of open-throated singing, free of the seeming refinement, modulations, and brighas of shasthreeya sangeeth or Karnataka sangeetham. Who is a folk musician? Is it a person? An ideology, perhaps?

One such voice left a deep imprint on me, Mukhthiyar Ali's beaming rendition of a Faiz Ahmed Faiz composition, accompanied by his young sons, all singing way beyond their years, and with a connection that only comes from a philosophical journey past easy comprehension.

With much awe of their verses and even more trepidation of how I could muster up the guts to sing what they did, I have adapted that piece into the most endearing romantic separation - VIRAH. Our protagonist takes a one-way road from her VIRAH which itself leads her to VIVEKA, a centering wisdom, in the beautiful melakartha - raga VACHASPATI, the 3 Vs seem meant to be - VIRAHA VIVEKA VACHASPATI.

Starring my dearest little humans from CarnatiCalifornia for backing vocals:
Aabha Vadapalli, Aarav Reddy Chilukuri, Anvitha Govindarajalu, Laasya Pandravada, Nirvi Thiriveedhi, Rohit Pandravada, Sahahsra Gumlapuram, Sahana Sathyagiri, Taanvi Ajith Kumar

Songs Performed :

1. Sannu Ik Pal Chain Na Aave
Poet : Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Language : (dialect of) Hindi
Genre : Folk
Origin : India / Pakistan

2. Parathpara Parameshwara
Composer : Papanasam Sivan
Ragam : Vachaspati
Language : Tamil
Genre : Carnatic music
Origin : India

Music conceived, performed, & edited by : Surabhi Vijay

About THE CARNATIC FLUID series -

I strongly believe that Carnatic music - south-Indian Classical music - isn't a stand-alone, niche art form. Music is universal. We call it different things, based on socio-economics, geography and culture. But across the entire world, you'll find the same music, the same hearts ensconced in different languages, everywhere. This is what FLUID CARNATIC is - a journey across cultures that finds Carnatic music seamlessly intertwined with every other form of world music.

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Produced for CarnatiCalifornia - OpenMic 2021 - The Carnatic x Folk Edition.