He was careful not to displease either the “traditionalist” reactionaries of Mylapore or the eminent revolutionaries of the Carnatic Music world who were seated beside him on stage.
So in one breath A R Rahman spoke from both sides of his mouth … and with the forked tongue within.
If you read his quoted words below (and between the lines too if you can) you’ll easily understand why Rahman gingerly had to pull off a treacherous moral sleight-of-hand both on himself and the audience by doing that rope trick of the Carnatic music world called “extreme unctuousness”.
On one hand , Rahman said this: “Everything comes from Bhakthi … everything comes from surrendering to tradition”. Then immediately, almost as if he had bitten his tongue through a heretical faux pas , he quickly flipped over to make amends for the Freudian slip. Read below and come to your own conclusions: “… I moved away from tradition to rediscover it …so that I gained the freedom to innovate and collaborate … and the freedom not to feel guilty about breaking rules”!
What sickening hypocrisy ! What humbug these great celebrities are! And how low they stoop to scratch each others’ backs!
O Tempora! O mores!
Sudarshan Madabushi
I appreciate ARR for speaking atleast half truth i.e.accepting the truth about Bhakthi and Tradition, being in cinema music which does not need both, whereas it is irony he told it before a carnatic vocalist and in an academy who both orphaned both.
I do not think any Sincere Carnatic Music Vidwan/ Vidooshi will not care about Music Acadamy,after what happened last year. ARR Episode is an Anti Climax only.