Pandemics come and go, but art survives

Artists have suffered through the pandemic, but have made efforts to keep their arts alive and reach audiences virtually

“You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lies/You may tread me in the very dirt/But still, like dust, I rise.”

These words come to mind when we see and hear artists in this country innovating and reviving their art in different ways to bring it back to life after the pandemic struck their world two years ago. Dancers continue to dance online for their students and audiences. Artists continue to draw and paint themes relevant to the times. Musicians continue to sing, conduct classes, perform in public.

Maybe not in grand sabhas or in designated public spaces. They have taken their audiences right into their homes or classrooms. Social media platforms have been alive and buzzing with activity since 2019 with their conversations, online classes, lecture demonstrations.

Instead of listening to your favourite singer or ghatam player within the confines of an auditorium, sabha or theatre, all we have to do now is to switch on the TV and listen to their music on YouTube in a cosy, friendly living room. Sometimes, it may be a private garden or public park or any other exotic location where you can feast on Narayana Guru’s compositions, rendered in the open air with the birds chirping in the background. Then, you know for sure that Covid-19 could not kill the human spirit.

Some of these musical efforts by the best of musicians are short and crisp, suiting the times we live in. Whether it is Sanjay Subramanian’s On that note or Vijay Siva’s Vande Sangeetham, these minute offerings are a delight for their homeliness and informality. T M Krishna’s Friends in Concert, scheduled for a world premiere on December 4, promises to reach music lovers in other countries as well.

Since they will be ticketed concerts, our Carnatic musicians who lost their annual earnings abroad will be compensated. These efforts by our popular musicians and dancers to carry on their artistic pursuits with courage and conviction after the onset of Covid-19 vindicate Angelou’s words: “But still, like dust, I rise.”

It has not been easy for them nor the organisations associated with them, or the hundreds of peripheral workers and their families. Make-up artists, light and sound technicians, stage crew and professional tailors without whom dance and other performing arts cannot survive, were all thrown out of jobs when the pandemic struck.

Then, how about the sabha itself? There were at least 20 prominent sabhas in Bengaluru that organised music and dance festivals all year round. They practically collapsed, with no audiences. Their performing spaces like schools, clubs, temples and public parks became empty and desolate.

But some of them still managed to go online and entertain invisible audiences. The most commendable was the Marghazi festival in Chennai, which held its head high and went ahead despite lockdowns and other restrictions. All the sabhas came together under one banner to showcase India’s art scene to the world. Tickets were sold for online events in all the major venues where the old schedules were followed and concerts relayed. The audiences too seemed happy with no pain of transportation or the prospect of tickets being sold out.

This cultural loss is not restricted to India. According to UNESCO, more than 30 million persons connected with art globally have been affected by the pandemic. The film industry alone accounts for a loss of 10 million jobs; art galleries have cut staff drastically; the music industry has lost billions of dollars in cancelled sponsorships; the publishing market has shrunk beyond description. Even today, half the world’s population cannot access cultural events online due to lack of internet connectivity.

An art like music is all the more essential in these pandemic times. Researchers at Stanford University have discovered that music can change brain functioning more than medication. Since it is so easily accessible to people, doctors can use it easily as a stress-relieving tool. Indian music is outstanding in this respect and Indian musicians have used it effectively, not only to entertain but to generate positive vibes in their listeners during these stressful times. The very sound of rain creates a harmony in the listener, said the late Pandit Jasraj whose description of Indian music says it all. “Depending upon the air, the temperature, you can feel the rishabh,” he told this writer once. “In the morning rishabh, the notes rise higher because the sun is rising. In the evening rishabh, they go lower and lower to describe the setting sun.”

Our stringed instruments like the veena or violin are excellent stress busters. So is vocal music when sung to soothe and relax, like that gentle Malayalam lullaby Omanathingal kidavo nalla… rendered to perfection by the Trichur Brothers.

Covid-19 may have rendered our musicians and other artists invisible. But their presence is felt through their efforts to keep their art alive. As Mozart said: "The music is not in the notes, but in the silence in between.”