The science of crafting concert

Imagine a concert hall, hushed and waiting. A singer, fully absorbed in a raga, starts a Neraval . This is where he takes one line from a song and builds something new around it. Its a skill that takes decades to master. For Palghat Dr R Ramprasad, this difficult art is one of the components of Manodharmam which his grandfather, the great mridangam artist Palghat Mani Iyer, considered the true test of a musician. Yet, Ramprasads world is not only about tradition. It is also shaped by the modern realms of economic data, research papers, and computer algorithms. He was a child prodigy on stage, but he also became an economist with a PhD, has consulted for bilaterals and multilaterals, and now studies how music practice affects our brains. This blend of artiste and scientist defines his perspective on everything from music to the controversies that surround it. His latest creation, a patented app named 'Mani Pravaaham' reflects this dual life, offering a technological solution born from a reverence for the art's sacred structure. It is an algorithmic tool designed for artistes, students, and inquisitive rasikas that helps structure the list of songs for a concert. Even though the music is improvised, the concert needs a plan. How it works: For artistes: Once an artiste enters their planned song list, the app smartly flags potential issues. It can point out that 'the list has Thodi and Asaveri that are close to each other,' suggest there is 'no Misra Chapu rhythm in the list,' note 'no Tamil song in a Chennai concert,' or even remind them that the same song was sung at the same venue last December. For students: Students who enter their database of learned songs can get inputs on their repertoire, such as alerts that 'Kanda Chapu songs,' 'Prathi Madhyamam ragas,' or 'Kannada or Vivadhi repertoire is low.' For rasikas: Enthusiasts can get summary statistics, like a tabulation of the number of Adi or Rupaka tala songs featured in a concert, or whether compositions of the Trinity were included. Ramprasad reveals the science behind the tool. He says,I used what's called Delaunay Triangulation method of optimisation to identify the closeness of each of these parameters. He also provides historical context, noting that the whole concept of variety in ragam, thalam, and composers to cater to a cross-section of the audience was pioneered by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. All artistes today follow this padhathi (system) in today's concert, he says, adding, with the exception of those, who, merely for the sake of questioning, do not. A basic version of this app was previously featured in another application, and a prominent music platform is now partnering to get Mani Pravaaham operationalised soon. On tradition and hypocrisy This double life as a keeper of tradition and a man of science is probably why he sees the recent debates in Carnatic music differently. When others see a simple conflict, Ramprasad sees a more complicated picture of what he calls hypocrisy. Yeah. Always been asked in several interviews, like why only four or five artists came out and called out the hypocrisy, he begins. The counter question I ask is: yes, there were only a few people who came out and asked, but was there even one other artist, then or now, who comes and supports or gives evidence that there is no hypocrisy? The controversies he references involve heated debates around secularism, inclusivity, and the very essence of the art form. Ramprasad argues that the narrative of an exclusionary Carnatic music scene is evidence-less. He points to the genres history of revered artists from diverse backgrounds, from the Dalit saint-composer Purandara Dasa, whose works he is meticulously setting to tune, to masters like Mandolin U Srinivas and KJ Yesudas. It will be foolish of an artist to say that my hall should be filled only with a certain kind of people. As a person who makes money, I want a larger number of tickets to be sold, he states. He believes the accusations are often theatrics, advanced by those who will never have solutions and are backed by an ecosystem eager to fuel controversy. He illustrates his point with a sharp analogy. Why should lawyers wear a black coat to argue in a court? After all, their job is to argue. Why can't they go in shorts? And the same people who question the dress code in Carnatic music, when they go to a synagogue and perform, they wear a topi and make the co-artists also wear topi . Where did your secularism go? In this regard, he mentions how the entire ecosystem deliberately uses diversionary tactics when hypocrisy is called out by changing the narrative to why some people are always opposed to the idea of inclusivity. He contends that inherently almost all artists are inclusive but most of them do not thump their chest while doing it and market it to their business advantage. For Ramprasad, the most profound contradiction lies in attempts to inject explicitly non-theistic content into a tradition fundamentally built on devotion. The main ingredient in a tomato soup is tomato. In Carnatic music, the main ingredient is divinity. If you take divinity out of Carnatic music, it is just music. So don't call it a Carnatic music concert, just call it a concert, although he admits that in the past or present or future, there are no restrictions for even non-believers to practice this art form and there are several successful examples too. He cites the example of singing tributes to social reformer Periyar, who rejected divinity and famously criticised the Tamil language. You are singing a song in praise of him in the same language, which he called barbaric. So aren't you insulting him, or are you actually respecting him? So you are not true to that side either, nor true to this side. Bhakti and the placebo effect This is where the scientist in him emerges. He challenges the intellectual rigour of the critiques. People who question on the faith system, they confidently question without even making efforts to understand what was mentioned in it. He draws a parallel to his academic training. In economics, people say that what Keynes said on his own, was wrong. And what he said that was right was already told by someone else. So the secularism, as if it's like a new fad, no, absolutely not. He finds the dismissal of Bhakti (devotion) particularly unscientific. Even in the scientific community, people are humble enough to understand that science is unable to explain everything. A simple example of a placebo effect. So the placebo effect purely works through the mind through faith. So in that system, faith is perfectly understandable. A legacy of humility These strong opinions are rooted in a life dedicated to the art form. He recalls his childhood, waking at 4.30 am for hours of practice before school, his life revolving around music and cricket. The greatest treasures, however, were the visits to the homes of legends like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Lalgudi Jayaraman, and Palghat Raghu, to name a few. He concludes, The one thing that came out of these legends was the humility in which they operated. They used to call it bhakti , or they used to call it music or professionalism towards music. But it ultimately helped me understand what humility is. It is this same humility, paired with a scientist's curiosity, that drives Ramprasad. Whether he is deconstructing a raga or coding an algorithm for 'Mani Pravaaham', his mission remains the same to preserve the sacred, structural beauty of the art form he loves, ensuring it flows gracefully from one generation to the next.