Kattaikkuttu and Carnatic Music
The well known TMKrishna and his wife Ms.Sangeetha Sivakumar collaborated with the Kattaikuttu Sangam to put up a show in Rangashankara on the 18th of January. The pair of Carnatic musicians known for testing boundaries have branched out to collaborating with folk theatre artists from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
The Kattaikkuttu Sangam is a well known theatre group that trains artists in dance, music and acting, after intense practice sessions the artists go on to perform musical skits through the night, some Kattaikkuttu performances have gone as far as 8 hours . The group is led by Mr.Rajagopal Sir who’s known to be a pioneer in the field. He dismisses certain traditions that ensue in so many art forms, and unlike most theatre groups he trains female artists as well and believes that boundaries are something that people set for themselves and that art allows you to push past barriers.
In a phone call with Ms. Sangeetha, the carnatic singer explained that the classical arts have always lived in this secure bubble and only catered to a niche audience and in order to break away from these patterns there must be collaborations between artists from different communities that seek to address social issues. She says that all arts forms from various communities have just as many intricacies has the classics, and that it was a humbling experience to work with the Kattaikuttu Sangam.
The collaboration took place in Rangashankara, Bangalore’s famous theatre auditorium, the event began with TM Krishna informing the audience about the Kattaikuttu Sangam and his experience working with them. The veteran Carnatic singer informed the audience that the collaboration isn’t a “fusion”, or a “Jugalbandi” and that both art forms will retain their own identities on stage and their collaboration seek to create a dialogue between the two rather than infuse the two.
TM Krishna and Ms Sivakumar were seated on one side and the Carnatic instrumentalists (consisting of a violinist, ghatam and tabla player) on the other while the Sangam took centre stage. The performance took off with an energetic start as the Kattaikaran (the narrator) walked the audience through the scenes. The Sangam performed as a collective, they danced, they sang, they played instruments and they acted out the scene where Draupadi was disrobed in the Mahabaratha. The two different forms of art induced positive reactions from the audience, the viewers clapped, laughed and remained engaged throughout.
After this scene they moved towards the next part of the program, where TM Krishna and Mr. Rajagopal Sir spoke about their both their experiences with their art through music, the two sang and conversed, this interaction between the two performers touched the audience, they laughed and cheered at the playfulness of it.
Many of those who attended the show expressed a certain degree of admiration for TM Krishna
Mr.Gundushetty says “I’ve read his book Reshaping Art and I love all his work”
Ms.Hemalata praises him saying “It was a very brave attempt and he’s (TM Krishna) doing a good job popularizing the artists”
When asked if they would like to see Kattaikkuttu Sangam perform again, they said they would love to.
