Wonderful writing ... looks like a great event .. pics are really good too. The students are looking very sharp
In the comment section i see this from kalyan and I hope it is the same person who posted this to the group too (fani kalyan < [email protected]> ) .... Do you have any videos of the event to share ? After having read the write up , feel like i should watch the video in case one is available .. Kalyan On behalf of KM music conservatory I thank you for such a Brilliant Write-up. I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It was inspiring too Iam so glad that you enjoyed the show. More to come! Peace http://www.kmmc.in Side note another article on the KM school in arpit's blog http://thewriteperspective.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/a-place-alive-with-the-sound-of-music/ On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 8:35 AM, fani kalyan <[email protected]>wrote: > > http://thewriteperspective.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/reliving-the-living-dream-concert/#more-67 > > > Poetry and music; India and America, Martin Luther King and Gandhiji, > Western and Classical - *The Living Dream* concert organised by the US > Consulate General – Chennai, wove all of these seemingly disconnected > strands into a tapestry of hope and peace. > > > > The event held last Wednesday night at the Venkata Subba Rao Concert > Hall, was arranged to honour Martin Luther King III – son of Martin Luther > King, Jr – on his visit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his > father’s prilgrimage to India in 1959. His father was here to meet Gandhiji > and learn about his methods of non-violence so that he could employ them in > the Civil Rights movements back home. > > The evening began with renowned Tamil poet Vairamuthu reciting his poem, *The > Black Mahatma, *which had specially been written for the occasion. The > creation was inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr, Gandhiji and Barack Obama. > Alluding to Obama, he wrote: > > “Thy lofty dream has come true Martin Luther! > > A black dove built its nest in the White House!” > > What followed was a musical tribute by the students and faculty of A.R > Rahman’s K.M Music Conservatory as they presented two popular Rahman > compositions. The first one was the theme from *Bombay* with its > underlying message of non-violence. > > The piece began with a mellifluous Indian flute accompanied by the low, > muffled, subdued rumbling of two giant drums known as the Timpani. It was > the kind of rolling thunder before the first monsoons – a premonition of the > wet, grey days to follow. A synthesizer sustained a low bass note > throughout, creating a sombre atmosphere, and the joyous tinkle of the > triangle and the Glocken Spiel (a xylophone-like instrument) was > deliberately lost in the foreshadowing gloom, to accentuate it by contrast. > > This is a sad piece. And when the flute side-stepped to give way to a > quartet of three violins and a cello, you couldn’t help but feel the knot in > your throat. Oh how beautifully they played! Well, created. Because that was > what it was, a most soulful creation, as if the four were weaving together > an intricate mat of such harmonious sorrow that it paradoxically made you > feel peacefully content. It was strange. And while the violins gently wept, > the flute came back in, improvised consolingly and led the quartet out to a > lingering end… > > “Jai ho!” the sixteen-member student choir shouted with such vigour and > obvious glee, pumping their fists in the air, that the gloom that had > settled like a thick layer of dust was blown away in a single breath, > leaving the audience gasping. The second song, performed to pre-recorded > music, was Rahman’s Oscar-winning song *Jai Ho*from *Slumdog Millionaire.* > > There was a drastic shift in moods as flashing, stroboscopic lights came on > and the student-choir, clad in black straight-jackets swayed to the rhythm, > smiled from ear to ear, snapped their fingers and pumped their fists high in > the air every time they shouted “Jai ho”! There was celebration in the air > as they sang to the Oscar-success of their idol, their teacher, their > inspiration and founder of their school. The thunderous applause at the end > was a fitting appreciation. > > The next performance was a dramatic rendition of Martin Luther King, Jr’s > “most famous and stirring speech”, *I Have a Dream, *by Kamal Haasan. He > had memorised the speech and as he walked around the stage delivering it in > his deeply rich baritone, there was a photographic projection on two screens > in the backdrop.. Photos of the most stunning quality – Gandhiji, Martin > Luther King Jr giving his speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on > August 23, 1963, and of past and present Indian and American leaders – > recreated > history. > > > As Kamal Haasan ended his dramatic performance, with the final words “…Free > at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” the visual > projection in the backdrop shifted to a black and white photo of Barack > Obama in the Oval Office. And as the words still hung in the air and gently > sunk into the loud applause below, the photo dissolved from greyscale to > colour. It was a subtle yet poignant reminder that racial barriers were > finally beginning to melt and that the world was moving away from the black > and the white to a colourful future – well colourless if you will. > > “Yes, my mouth is dry. The speech has the same effect on the speaker as the > listener,” said Kamal Haasan at the end. > > Then, introducing and inviting Martin Luther King III on the stage, Kamal > Haasan said, “The son of a great man who is successfully following so far an > act that is very hard to follow is here tonight and Mohandas Karamchand > Gandhi’s grandson welcomes him. Yes, I think of myself that way,” said Kamal > Haasan as the audience laughed. > > In his address, speaking about non-violence and the similarities between > his father and Gandhiji, Mr King said, “But perhaps there is a challenge for > all of us. And that challenge is how do we sustain and create a non-violent > world. Well it really begins with each one of us…immersing ourselves in the > philosophy of non-violence by not just talking but living it.” > > He also spoke of peace and unity and how this can be achieved if we > listened and acted like rational, logical human beings worthy of being > called “god’s highest creation.” Instead, he said, we use force and act like > animals and indulge in conflicts over class, religion and caste when we are > all created equal. > > He ended his address by saying, “this evening has been, I believe a great > revelation…We’ll go back to the United States with the message that > non-violence is alive and well and that non-violence is the way.” > > The evening ended by a rendering of “vaishnava jana to” and “we shall > overcome” by the students of the KM Conservatory. The first is one of > Gandhiji’s favourite bhajans and the second is the song that followers of > Martin Luther King sang on that fateful day in August 1963. It went on to > become the anthem of the Civil Rights movement. > > “We shall overcome” began with one of the faculty members singing it solo > while the students joined in later in a complex contre-chant. They sang in > different scales, deliberately used the off-beat and sung in rounds, one > following the other, in a cat-and-mouse chase that fitted so beautifully > together. There were 50 or more singers and the way the voices blended > together, was as much a marvel to the ear as it is for the eyes to watch a > jigsaw puzzle magically fit together in a few seconds. Singing together, > especially large groups, is a difficult proposition, but they pulled off a > veritable tour de force! The background music was simple with a > saxophone, a cello, a keyboard. There was also a harp where buttery fingers > glided over the strings as if stroking the long hair of a little girl and > putting her to sleep. It was mesmerising.. > > > The choir then transitioned to the Hindi version of the song, the popular > “hum honge kamyab.” Here, tabla, mridangam and the flute joined in to give > the desi touch to a fusion of two styles. The Tamil version of the song was > also sung. English, Hindi and Tamil, flowed one after the other. It was > three languages, but the message was equal, the tune was equal and the magic > it created was equal. It was truly *An Equal Music *in keeping with the > message of the evening. > > > The *Living Dream* concert ended to a standing ovation as the crowd joined > in the singing and clapped to the rhythm. > > At the end, you couldn’t help but feel that you were walking out of a *Living > Dream*. It almost felt like a rude awakening from a slumber that the > evening’s performers had lulled one into. Sleeping during a concert would > generally indicate a lacklustre performance. But this one time it was not. > This time it wasn’t a sleep of boredom. This time it was a slumber of peace. > A slumber where you were *dreaming* such a wonderful *life* or*living* such > a beautiful *dream* that you wished to be asleep forever… > > > > > > > >
