Bringing a playful and melodic ode to Lord Krishna, the sibling duo of Calcutta K Srividya and Mohan Kannan blessed our ears, hearts, and minds with the bhajan titled Govinda Nandanandana. The ace Carnatic musician speaks to The Pioneer about her Carnatic music, creating something new with her music, and
more.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
The ace Carnatic musician, Calcutta K. Srividya, recently collaborated with her brother, music composer and singer Mohan Kannan (Agnee), to present their latest offering, a bhajan titled Govinda Nandanandana. The bhajan is steeped in melody and rich in its classical flavour but it also blends new-age sounds in a seamless manner. While Srividya helmed the composition and rendered the major part of the vocals, her brother Mohan sang a sargam, which made for an unconventional music section on the song, and played Tabla on it. The lyrics are by Tallapaka Annamacharya. The recording and mastering are done at YRF Studios by Abhishek Khandelwal, assisted by Dileep Nair. The soul-touching devotional song comes with serene visuals of Srividya singing to Lord Krishna at Sree Guruvayurappan Temple in Kolkata. The music video showcases the beauty of the pristine Sree Guruvayurappan Temple and is Srividya and Mohan’s humble offering to Lord Krishna.
“There are so many different forms and genres of music in the world, with each one having its own distinct character, uniqueness, and brilliance. Carnatic music is a pure Indian classical form that exhibits such grandeur through its sheer vastness in content and variety. The infinite number of ragas, the intricate rhythmic elements, the large
number of composition formats, and, very importantly, the different ways in which even a single musical note can be explored through ‘gamakas’ — all these bring about the uniqueness of this genre of music. Being a classical form, carnatic music naturally comes with a very distinct and defined grammar and framework,” shared the lady, who has a captivating resonant voice.
Sung by Srividya, Govinda Nandanandana invokes Lord Krishna. It talks about the Lord through the eyes of a Gopi and is a playful look at how Lord Krishna could have been in childhood and youth. Srividya dons her composer’s hat for the first time through the lyrics of Tallapakka Annamacharya.
Continuing this plentiful conversation, she shared, “As an artist, this expanse of music gives a lot of flexibility to choose different elements for exploration. And when one is able to explore new avenues within the realms of the defined framework, there is a great sense of happiness in the artist. As a listener, each person can connect to it in their own way; one may get attracted to the pure melody of a raga, another may get attracted to the rhythmic patterns, and one may even be swayed by the lyrical aspects. Whatever it is, Carnatic music offers enough and more food for the heart and for the brain.”
Carnatic music has room for a lot of exploration, and this form of music has evolved over the ages like any other art form. “I strongly feel that this genre of music allows for a lot of creativity. As a performer, being true to myself and expressing my music honestly is foremost. I like treading new paths and exploring new elements in any performance, and that brings in a feeling of freshness and excitement every time,” said Srividya, who always has an unquenchable urge to create something new. Any music that is melodic touches the heart, and classical music is no different.
And to connect to such melodic elements, a clear knowledge of the grammar of the music form is not essential; hence, anyone who appreciates music can enjoy a classical concert. Furthermore, she explained, “Having said this, any classical form has a lot of nuances that come with its defined framework. When a listener is aware of those nuances, it obviously becomes a very different experience, where each element can be internalized and appreciated with regard to its specific details. The person then becomes aware of the ‘grammar correctness’ of the elements performed in the concert and is better positioned to enjoy the wholesome aspect of the concert.”
So yes, anyone with a ‘musical ear’ can enjoy a classical concert and connect to the melodic aspects; however, knowledge of the nuances enables a richer listening experience.
“There is one aspect of sharing various dimensions of this vast musical form, and towards that, I have created a series called Key-Notes with Calcutta K. Srividya, where I delve into and share my take on different elements of this music form. I am very thrilled that this series has enabled a lot of collaboration and exchanging of thoughts and is also popular among those who want to learn more about a particular element of Carnatic music. There is another aspect to bringing in new sounds and new elements to our compositions, and my brother Mohan and I have collaborated on many occasions to bring in a fresh feel to the songs while retaining the purity of Carnatic music. It is always immensely gratifying when some of our new listeners say that even though they might not understand the intricacies of classical music, they enjoy listening to our songs,” she described.
Mohan and she have performed together since they were about seven years old at multiple classical concerts all over India. She explained, “I would either be singing or playing the violin, and Mohan would be playing the mridangam. Our first commercial studio collaboration was in 2011 for the national award-winning Marathi film Shala where Mohan composed the song Sadaa, which won the Video Music Award, and Mohan and I both sang on it. Our mother and guru, Smt. Vasantha Kannan, played the violin on both male and female versions of the song. Mohan and I also did a remote collaboration on this song during the lockdown, where we explored the concept of Moorchana or Shruti Bhedam on this song.”
They have also collaborated on a Thillana composed by their mother in the ragam Kadyutha Ganthi. This composition is the first known classical composition in this raga. She has composed the music for this composition, and her brother has brought in a unique element through a section of swarams (or sargams), apart from playing the tabla. He, along with Aditya Pushkarna, has introduced new-age sounds that add to the liveliness of this composition.
