Women composers in the spotlight

Songs by women composers were rendered at an event in the City

The Bangalore International Centre celebrated International Women’s Day recently by honouring the works of various women composers, throughout the ages, in eight different languages.

The programme included songs by Vagambrini, Meerabai, Lal Ded, Andal, Bahina Bai, Tallapakkam Timmakka etc. The show was conceptualised by Sakuntala Narasimhan, a classical musician, who was accompanied by Archana Udupa, a City-based vocalist.

The show began with a few popular Meera bhajans like Bole Jiya Mor sung by the duo. This was followed by a spirited song in the garba style Mukhda Ni Maya, where Meera says that she is obsessed with Lord Krishna and that even when she closes her eyes, she can see him.

Later in the evening, they also sang some Kannada songs by Akamahadevi, a composer from yore. “She considers herself married to God and in this song, she goes on to describe her love for the Lord and describes the mandapam. The most beautiful part of this particular poet is that she uses spoken language in her prose, which makes it very easy to understand. It is very interesting how composers such as Meera and Akamahadevi went through the same experience. She asked her father to take her to the temple, after which she was never found. It is said that Meera had the same fate,” explains Sakuntala.

She went on to say that a lot of historical research has gone into the making of the show. The packed hall had people of all age groups. Yamini, who had come to watch the programme, says that she enjoyed the show.

“I did not know that so many women composers were there. These are only a few of them. I am sure there are many more and we don’t know about them. The singers made sure that they shared some interesting facts about the composers, which increased our awareness regarding these composers whom most of us did not know,” she says.

The changeover from one language to the other was quick adding variety to the show.
“I really liked the fact that the show did not focus on artistes or composers of just one region. They honoured and remembered the work done by composers across the country,” notes Hiren, who had come to watch the show.