Topic started by Chandra (@ att-56-76-69.atl.mediaone.net) on Wed Jan 16 00:07:04 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

See Outlook India's article in the Music/Dance section:

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20020121&fname=Chennai+Festival+%28F%29&sid=1

As the opening reads:
---------
Cauvery In a Puddle
S. ANAND

The total hijack of the South's rich classical arts into airless, Brahmins-only monopolies is stifling genuine growth

....
Signs of suffocating, of closure, of gross inbreeding and loss of vigour, and the dubious life support offered by the marketplace.
...
"And this audience is 99 per cent Brahmin," he admits cheerlessly. Tamil Brahmin to be precise, including its NRI contingent (see box). It's a gentility that revels equally in the rustle of Kanjeevaram silk, the jangle of Nityashree Mahadevan's bangles as she keeps the beat, the aroma of filter kaapi...


...
--------------

Responses:

• From: parsashuraman shastri (@ ) on: Mon Feb 25 07:31:43
  
  The article is just resentful garbage! Tamil Brahmins have zero political and economic clout and are not fair targets anymore. They can't hurt a hair on the head of a Dalit. That is the business of other castes, not ours. India's a perfectly open place in these matters - it's a free-market and non-brahmin castes are free to take up traditional artforms and practice them to their hearts content - Allarmel Valli and Navtej Johar come to mind as brilliant examples of this Stop talking crap about a harmless, God-fearing non-aggressive bunch of people who just want to be programmers. Just let us be and start inter-marrying within your own communities ( Yadav-Dalit or Mudaliar-Vellala marriages are welcome ) if you hate caste identity so much. If you want to take on aggresive brahmins, deal with the Bhumihars from UP & Bihar, not us. In any case it was only the Tam-Brahmins who realised the greatness of devdasi-born Balasaraswati and MS and virtually made them icons of classical Tamil dance and music. The blood of the Tamil race courses through the veins of the Iyers and Iyengars. That's the genius that's let us pick up a couple of nobel prizes in Science and become Presidents, judges and Army Chiefs. So shut up, work hard and achieve you whingers:- that is the only answer to discrimination of any kind - real or perceived. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  
• From: HR (@ scproxy3.sc.intel.com) on: Fri Mar 1 22:06:31
  
  Well said Parashuraman! I am failing to understand what the author(Anand) is trying to achieve by this article? A small precursor for getting quota system into Carnatic?
  
  
• From: Pujarini (@ adsl-63-207-201-242.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net) on: Sun Mar 10 16:00:46
  
  Huh? Can someone explain all this to me?
  
  
• From: NK (@ 12-246-71-107.client.attbi.com) on: Mon Mar 25 02:37:02
  
  These guys are jealous, plain jealous. See what they have done to purely-Brahmin temples in Tamilnadu? All arachanas etc only in tamil, the non-brahmin office bearer sits like a hawk when the poojaris perform rituals and arachanas to the diety, and as soon as the collection of tattu money is done, they pounce upon the money as if the preists will rob them in a wink. Distateful. The south has more than gone to the dogs, its gone to the casteless.
  
  
• From: Cheeyum (@ malolan.stures.iastate.edu) on: Wed Apr 3 01:32:44
  
  Well S Anand should consider this for example
  
  1.) Ask Padma Shree K J Yesudass what Yesudass's guru Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavator told when Yesudass approaced Chembai for music training.
  
  2.) Sheikh Chinna Moulana is the foremost exponent of the Nadaswaram. Does that ring a bell in the empty mind of S Anand?
  
  3.) Todd McComb in the United States. Does that make S Anand open his horizon outside chennai?
  
  He keeps ranting that we inherited an imperfect past. In a simple question, do American hate Washington just because he supported slavery?
  
  Why do we appreciate the Greeks even if Homer had slaves?
  
  Why can't we appreciate the finer things of our past, just because our ancestors were not 100% perfect?
  
  I give you lots of reasons why our children would hate to talk about us in the years to come.
  S Anand is one of them
  
  
• From: shankar (@ phi.towers.com) on: Thu Apr 4 14:59:54
  
  It seems to me that S Anand has raised some interesting issues. While I do not quite see the central thesis of his article, the issues that i see are:
  1. Brahmins dominate carnatic music and bharathanatyam - people of other communities minorities
  2. The nature of these arts is such that only those with a Brahminical upbringing can follow it.
  3. Both these arts have limited following among people of other communities in South India.
  It seems to me that there may be elements of truth in these arguments. The question is should anything be done to popularize these among "non-brahmins". If so then what?
  It seems to me that these issues should be treated dispassionately.
  
  
• From: G (@ 209.236.171.53) on: Thu Apr 4 15:50:33
  
  Hi
  
  This Anand is a crap. He wants to write something just for the heck of it. But to tell the truth,
  
  For Carnatic music brahmins are the right choice, even though there are couple of other people who are good in it, but only brahmins can do that faithfully and nicely.
  
  "Sangeetham oru arumaiyana kalai, athu brahmananuku than nandraga varum. Idhil sandhagamae vendam."
  
  
  
• From: S.Satyamoorthy (@ 24.94.152.90) on: Mon Apr 8 13:26:30
  
  I am an office bearer in an organization that promotes South Indian Classical Music in a big city in US. Whenever we hold concerts, I send info to all members of All Indian Associations in the are including Tamil Sangam, Kannada Koota, Telugu Assn, Malayali Assn. etc and also post in local temple board.
  I try to count non-Brahmins who come for the concerts. Hum I have trouble exhausting my fingers... I wonder why?
  I see a lot of people who speak Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, but most of them are Brahmans, - Hum I wonder Why??
  
  So if people don't come and participate (spend some green) - How do you expect people from those communities to learn that art? If people from only a single community are majority - why do expect them to look after minorities?
  
  In US, though secular, we find more churches than there are other religious establishments.
  OH NO! I am being monopolized because there is no temple next to my house.
  I need to travel an hour. Can I complain?
  Sure - May be build my own temple!
  
  I am tired of such complaints - That is one reason for the brain drain and reluctance to return to the Home land.
  
  
• From: Srini (@ 203.197.239.1) on: Mon Apr 8 14:48:15
  
  Satyamoorthy:
  Good points. I read that Outlook article, and though I agreed with many points, I felt it was still not a balanced article. At one point, he says "Thus the fact of it rationalizes itself". Arguments like what you pose would fall under that category. I don't know why it need to be treated so.
  
  For far too long, things like Vocal Music or certain instruments like Violin etc. are held effeminate in TN, which would befit only paruppu-saadam eating Brahmins as though more Masochistic things like Jallikattu are there for others ! In the fear that one (male) isn't equated to be a sissy, there is a confinement only to Cinema melodies and not much beyond. Today, if one (male) can't speak non-chalant Tamizh (thanks to actor Vijay) and hold Gaana songs in right esteem he would still risk being branded a sissy. Unless Tamil mainstream Cinema and Media project a different image of Carnatic, not many are encouraged to test waters.
  
  For women, however, there have been real problems. My colleague, after reading the article, echoed similar sentiments as to how alienated she felt at the hands of her pAttu mAmi. Prevalence of TB lingo adds to the alienation.
  
  Well, there are problems at either end, and I wish the article had offered to take other aspects too.
  
  
• From: Selvam (@ palo5.pacific.net.sg) on: Mon Apr 22 10:00:25
  
  Hi Anand,
  Nicely said, "In jungle of survival the fittest lives" Sanskrit is dead and Brahmins are dying. They are all fighting a losing battle with the Tamils. Leave them alone and they will die a natural death.
  
  
• From: Anonymous (@ ) on: Mon Feb 16 05:08:09
  
  Selvam,
  Hardly you seem to be a 'Selvam'! Who is fighting a losing battle! The Brahmins have always won the battles! Idiots like you do not even know that you have been wiped off as insects in stincking drainage! Stay there, you deserve that.
  
  
• From: Rama Mani (@ ppp-85.blr.eth.net) on: Mon Feb 16 06:15:03 EST 2004
  
  Dear Brahmin Haters,
  
  Anand is another Periyar in the making is it..
  
  People just cant keep pushing mud again and again.
  The death of good tamil (take example of news readers in tamil channels) is good enough reason ..these guys can neither do things nor can keep quiet and let the better people do it.. They make periyar god but forget his quotation, tamil is a kattumirandi bashai.. as long as he is baiting brahmins, he can say anything,, this is because of lacking a pride in birth, language or tradition that they do not have.. the reason of the poor quality of politicians in tamil nadu is the advent of dravidism,, they are those that brought corruption into tamil nadu,, it is fine that mk meets Kanchi periyavar at midnight in secrecy and starts wearing yello towels,, only in paper they have to bait them.. gutless guys
  
  
  
• From: Mohan (@ aorleans-103-1-19-199.w81-51.abo.wanadoo.fr) on: Sun Nov 7 16:18:32
  
  I feel very sad to see brahmins accused of stifling art forms while in fact they saved them.
  During the days when the brirish only wanted prostitutes to sing and dance for them - we had pious(brahmins) like Tyagaraja, Dikshitar and Kavi Kunjara Bharati who composed and have given us a heritage which we can be proud of.
  If you wan to accuse anyone of stifling Indian art - it should be the british. Lord MacCaulay jimself said that if the Indians learnt English they would forget their original art!!
  I would like to know if anyone is aware of historical records of these great composers and their interactions with the British?
  Stop bickering about such trivial things and work together to cherish our heritage.
  
  

Want to post a response?