By Ami Majmudar
Classical arts are oceans unto themselves. As children, when we learn classical music or dance, we may begin in a shallow lagoon, paddling around, singing, dancing, or playing for the joy of art. We may occasionally glance toward the mouth of the lagoon, seeing ships in the distance. We may find a seashell washed onto the shore and wonder where it came from. We may ask how deep the water gets beyond the sandbar. But we only have an inkling of what there is to discover in the ocean.
Now imagine an explorer entering our lagoon in a canoe. He navigates the shallow water with ease and then settles himself under a tree. As we gather, the explorer begins to tells us tales of the world beyond our lagoon. Sometimes he sings, sometimes he plays an instrument. Sometimes he travels in his mind, his songs and stories hinting at treasures beyond our wildest imagination.
Dhvani Performing Arts Society of Central Ohio has been bringing artists to the Columbus area for many years. But the relatively young Artist-In-Residence program is akin to having a deep-sea diver come to our lagoon and expand our horizons. And the lecture-demonstrations that Dhvani arranges are like guided tours with these deep-sea divers.
In formal concerts, we can enjoy the music, but our understanding is limited by our own knowledge. Dhvani aims to elevate the audience’s experience through these unique interactive sessions with artists.
In August, G. Ravikiran began his time in Columbus with an intimate portrait of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s life and music. We learned about Dikshitar’s contributions to Carnatic music in ways far beyond a biography. This is because a biography, no matter how detailed, does not sing. G. Ravikiran began with one of Dikshitar’s first compositions and showed us how this single composition exemplified multiple basic building blocks of Carnatic music, while not compromising on musical or lyrical complexity. Strumming a tanpura, losing himself in the music, but picking up the thread of Dikshitar’s life story, the artist had us seamlessly weaving in and out of the great composer’s life and music.
Another workshop, designed specifically for students and practitioners of Bharatanatyam, dove into Muthuswami Dikshitar’s compositions with an emphasis on the stories and the temples embedded in the verses. Describing every song as simultaneously a “GPS and Wikipedia page for the temple” Ravikiran enabled us to visualize the structure, deity, and the landmarks of the temple. Decoding the meaning, Ravikiran described a honeycomb in the inner sanctum of a temple to Vishnu, as described in “Hiranmayim Lakshmim,” and we could practically hear the hum of the bees as he sang. There is also something to be said for multiple encounters with such an artist, some formal, some informal, as we can appreciate his humility and humor along with his immense knowledge.
In September, we experienced the range from casual to intensely moving when the next trio of artists presented a workshop preceding their performance. On the eve of a full-length concert with singer Aishwarya Shankar, violin maestro, R.K. Shriramkumar, and mridangam artist, K. Arun Prakash, presented a thoughtful and engaging lecture-demonstration about the role of violin and mridangam in Carnatic concerts. Pulling back the curtain, the artists revealed the backstage communication that occurs during a concert, illustrating how the violinist immediately follows the singer’s notes. They discussed the rules of playing compositions while showing us the spaces for improvisation. The artists emphasized the sounding of their respective instruments, speaking in the universal language of music, as the audience included music students from the university and even the conductor of the city orchestra.
As a long-time member of Dhvani, I felt my understanding deepen during this season of experiences with these remarkable artists. The ocean is still vast, but I have glimpsed its depths through the divers’ stories and songs. I look forward to more exploration!
