 New Delhi: Carnatic classical music, which was almost vanishing to contemporary music in the southern states, is now making a comeback with a surge in the number of young listeners over the last few years, informed a leading Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam. The vocalist stated, "Things have changed. Now, even two-year-olds listen to Carnatic music recitals with rapt attention, along with five-year and 18-year-olds, who earlier found the genre heavy-duty."
Chennai-based Sairam, who was awarded the Padma Shri this year, was in Delhi to perform at the Vishnu Digambar Jayanti Sangeet Samaroh 2009 at the Kamani auditorium on August 23. The vocalist is known for introducing `Abhangs', short Marathi devotional songs in classical Carnatic recitals and setting rare Tamil literary texts to music.
Sairam attributes the revival of the popularity of Carnatic music among the youth to two factors- the open air classical concerts in cities like Bangalore and Chennai and the change in repertoire by eminent vocalists to make the music more contemporary and relevant.
She said, "Bangalore has the Habba, an open air park festival of music and arts. This year it was held in February. In Chennai, Kanimozhi, daughter of (Tamil Nadu Chief Minister) M. Karunanidhi, organises the Chennai Sangamam, a festival of classical music and performing arts. I performed live in a park this year."
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