N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, TATA Sons Private Ltd., on Sunday said technology could come in handy while creating an online concert experience.
Presiding over the Sadas of the 96 th annual conference and concerts of the Music Academy and conferring the Sangita Kalanidhi and other awards, he said while concerts went online during the pandemic, they could not create the atmosphere of a live performance.
He pointed out that Carnatic music itself had constantly evolved and said, “If we have to face the future, we have to understand that online concerts are here to stay, and this has happened in every industry. The trick is how to get it going.”
Mr. Chandrasekaran said while creating a fantastic Carnatic experience the challenge was how to get the attention of the youngsters. “So how can you reach the audience and expand the base of the people and also provide access to people who cannot come to concerts,” he said.
On the question of creating a “concert experience online” he said there was enough technology to make it happen. “There are a number of technologies that can give you the ability, whether it is 5G or IOT, sensors and cloud, the question is how to marry these technologies to create the experience. So you can feel it and be very close to it. To provide the concert experience and the best of both physical and online, I think it is possible,” he said, adding a lot of institutions were already experimenting to create the experience.
Earlier, he conferred the Sangita Kalanidhi Award on Neyveli R. Santhanagoplapan (2020), mridhangam maestro Tiruvarur P. Bhaktavatsalam (2021), and violin duo Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan and his sister G.J.R. Vijayalakshmi (2022).
Sangita Kala Acharya Awards went to nagaswaram player Kizhvelur N.G. Ganesan (2020), Ritha Rajan (2021) and R.S. Jayalakshmi (2022). The TTK Awards were presented to Thamarakkad Govindan Namboodri (2020), Nemani Somayajulu (2021) and K.V. Anand (2022). The Musicologist Award went to V. Premalatha. Mr. Chandrasekaran also distributed prizes to artistes who won various competitions.
N. Murali, president of The Music Academy, said the awards were not given in 2020 and 2021 because there was only a shortened online festival due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19. “Awards are best cherished only when the honoured artistes receive them in the physical presence of their peers, rasikas, admirers, well-wishers and members of their family. So, we decided to give the awards for the missed years along with those for 2022,” he explained.
Gloss