In the near future, Gulf-born Indians will storm the concert platforms in their country of origin, says Shailaja Khanna
The Middle East has huge populations of Indians, North as well as South, and it is natural to expect a thriving concert culture of both Carnatic and North Indian classical music. The cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Muscat and Bahrain have hosted concerts of Indian music since the last 25-30 years; the venues are as varied as five-star hotel rooms to halls in the Indian consulates to more public concert spaces. Recently the opening of the louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi was celebrated with a flute recital by Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia. Among others, an organisation called Ragamalika also hosts an annual two or three-day festival in Abu Dhabi. Ticket sales flourish; the average audience size varies from 200-800 or more.
Noted flautist Shashank feels the South Indian communities in the Gulf, despite being fairly fragmented, do feel the need to reach out to each other through music; predominantly the Tamilians and Malyalees are the most active. He feels the most active cities are Dubai Kuwait and Muscat which also feature Hindustani music concerts too in prestigious venues like the opera house. He commented that the audience varies as much as any audience anywhere — there will be lay listeners, as well as the more knowledgeable listener who has learnt the intricacies of the art in his youth perhaps.
Not just music, the region features dance performances as well. One interesting difference between the ethnic populace in the Gulf countries and perhaps the residents of the US Canada or England is that the latter are active disciples and talented amateurs who have managed to attempt professional careers in music and performed in India as well. This has not yet been seen in the Gulf countries; signifying the dissemination of culture is a slower process in the region.
Nightingale of the South Bombay Jayashri concurs. She has performed in all the cities of the Gulf for years, and finds the audience receptive and enthusiastic; the duration of the concerts is sometimes shorter, maybe two or two-and-a-half hours.
Tabla wizard Pt Subhankar Bannerji feels Dubai today surpasses even Singapore in terms of the number of concerts; North Indian classical music concerts have been a regular feature in Dubai and Muscat especially, since the last 25 years, he said. Unusual jugalbandis like Pt Jasraj with Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vidwan N Ramani with Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, have been featured in Dubai years ago; something that is rare in India.
In Dubai there are several music circles that organise concerts, Subhankar said, the efforts of Yogesh Mehta are particularly to be lauded. Sacred Drums of India, a percussion ensemble headed by Pt Subhankar Bannerji, has performed more than once in Muscat, even in the presence of the Oman ruler.
Dr Sathish Kumar, another very active organiser in Dubai, shared how he had started holding concerts when he re-located there around five years ago. He has held classical music festivals in Coimbatore, for the last 25 years but Dubai as a venue is a difficult ball game he said. Carnatic vocalists appear to draw more crowds than the instrumentalists Dr Sathish felt, but many artists disagree with this perception. Senior practitioners like veena exponent Jayanthi Kumaresh confirmed she has several times been asked to perform in the Gulf cities of Dubai Sharjah and Muscat to packed halls, of predominantly Indian audience. Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee, senior violinist Mysore Manjunath has a different perspective. “Music in the Arab world has always thrived; since Arabic music is slightly closer to ours in terms of sliding ornamentation (meend) they can relate very well to our instrumental music. I find they love traditional music but are open as well to innovative music too. They are very hospitable and organise concerts and artists requirements really well.”
One can wait for a day in the near future when Gulf-born Indians start to storm the concert platforms in their country of origin.