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Music for young minds
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Under the `Heritage For Young Series' eminent classical dancer Srinidhi Chidambaram's Kriya Kreative Sound released its maiden audio production `Mahavishnu' at Music World recently.
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Amala Akkineni with Dr. Srinidhi Chidambaram at the release function.
THIS IS an age of turmoil and tension, chaos and violence where man is caught in frenzied activity.
It is an age of the nuclear family where latchkey children are increasing in numbers. Grandmothers and grandfathers who inculcated moral and spiritual values through simple stories are no longer present in the familial set up.
So the child or the teenager is often ignorant or clueless about heritage. Besides junk food, a child's diet today consists of cartoons, music, films and serials which are in abundance on television. Reading and listening to stories are a thing of the past.
In this context, the release of Mahavishnu, an audio production of `Kriya Sound' under the Heritage for Young People is extremely significant.
The album was recently released by Amala Akkineni in a short and simple function at Music World, road no. 1, Banjara Hills.
The brain behind the concept is Dr. Srinidhi Chidambaram, Bharatanatyam dancer and doctor. This talented daughter-in-law of P. Chidambaram, through this heritage series, "hopes to light the spark of curiosity in young minds by presenting in this collection the most fundamental concepts of religion, prayer and tradition in an evocative format that facilitates easy grasp of the basic tenets of Indian legend and culture." The album does just that.
For an artiste steeped in classical dance and music, Srinidhi always wanted to bring classical tradition before the younger generation. "Only the youth among the urban elite are learning the classical arts. Most of the others just listen to film music. There are quite a few albums of stories in the market."
"But I was looking at providing something more informative besides stories. But this project happened by accident."
"Since my husband Karti Chidambaram is MD of Meltrack (which produces cobalt tapes) we thought it would be good idea to produce content instead of empty tapes. I have a very catholic approach to music since I hear all kinds of music."
"We started Kriya - creative sound (the company). Kriya means to create and we wanted to create sound which is different - innovative and accessible. At the same time Chandamama was trying to work out a similar concept."
So the concept bore fruit in Mahavishnu. What is different is that the album provides a total picture of Mahavishnu - from his appearance, temples dedicated to him, his ten incarnations to a glimpse of the legends and festival, saints and devotees of the Vaishnavite tradition and the holy chants and shlokas sung for him. So it is more than a mere story of Vishnu.
All this is told in an interesting way - through a sutradhar, a narrator - tulsi, the leaf sacred to the lord. Tulsi brings out the excitement and enthusiasm.
Interestingly interspersed into the narration are songs, chants and instrumental music.
Srinidhi's script paints an ideal portrait of the lord. Even a child who has perhaps not been to any of the temples will get an idea or image of the Lord and also the way he is venerated in different temples in the country.
The music is traditional yet contemporary. Deepak Dev has effectively synthesised and orchestrated sounds of various instruments.
The chants and songs sung by classical artistes Srinivas, Radha Badri and Bombay S. Jayashri impart authenticity. The sounds are innovative and the album is easy on the ear too.
The album was launched in Chennai on February 25 with a dance programme. The album targets children above 8 years of age.
For children of the Indian diaspora this is a veritable boon as the album is in English. Efforts are being made to export this to various countries.
Srinidhi plans to bring out similar ones on other gods and goddesses in vernacular languages too. Another stream she is interested in is devotional music.
"Today film music is lapped up by youngsters on account of its high tech sound, rhythm and beat."
Therefore, I want to present devotional music to the youth in a way which appeals to them." On Srinidhi's agenda is also therapeutic music.
At the moment she is focusing more on quality than quantity. Therefore Kriya may bring out a cassette a month.
One can definitely look forward to more such creative audio productions which imbibe the essence of Indian tradition and culture among the youth.
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