Sri. T M Krishna, the maestro in Carnatic music and who pens columns in The Hindu, wrote about Mylapore mama - Which came first Music or Mylapore Mama. This was long enough to be published in Two week ends. The release of this article coincided with the December Carnatic Music Season ending.
The writing was lucid and the concept was closer to reality than I would have expected out of this columnist who typically believes in Hyperbole. Disclosure : I resemble the Mylapore Mama mostly but will not make the grade described in the column; but - yes a start has been made.
The commitment and the efforts these Mamas go to mostly out of sheer passion for the Music is astounding. There may be those who do this for a visit to the canteen outside or as T M Krishna would like us to believe, display the arrogance of their inheritance. But for me it is the sheer pristine music, defined in a code for connoisseurs to develop a deep understanding and the immense efforts being put by those artists to meet the code and never ever deviate once in a 3 hour performance which make us spend the better part of our December month for. Besides, the occasional visit to the canteen to taste those old dishes which have become rare today at home and the comradery are accompaniments, which just make the experience that much more enjoyable and live.
There are many sub sects of this Mylapore mama. You can see young lads and girls who carry a distinct accent discuss the concert with their Mylapore mama. These may be future artists or eventually turn to be a Mylapore Mama, Mami!
One more is the Mylapore corporate Mama. He is an aficionado listening to his music at any opportunity and is also the person today to bank roll some of the concerts. I have seen the Mylapore corporate Mamas to be amongst the best Mentors in the industry. Their easy going attitude, the comradery they extend and the efforts to appreciate class and put in a good word are their signatures. They are also passionate souls who pursue their goals seriously and who are punctual and regular - all excellent qualities for a corporate executive. The occasional outburst is quickly compensated by an appreciative word when the moment arrives and mostly they are emotional. Mostly they are ubiquitous as the Mylapore mama who was described very well in the column, as sitting in the back benches to listen to the artist whom he flagged years ago perform at the evening slot. These souls can be found across the oceans today and their numbers are growing. Just look at the steep hike in charges of the tickets which are still sold out in some venues.
The Mylapore Entrepreneur Mama is few and I bet this number will grow in this decade with so many aficionado being present in the start up scene.
Carnatic Music is ever green and grows on you. And listening it to live is a thing which the Mylapore Mamas are gifted and they are therefore in my opinion the blessed lot.
