Of melody and man
ANJANA RAJAN
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In the ongoing series on accompanists, meet O.S. Arun, who has helped change people's perceptions of the art of accompaniment.
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My style has a lot of punctuation. There are gaps, pauses, modification
PHOTO: K ANANTHAN
IMMERSED O.S. Arun in concert.
As a soloist, composer, bhajan singer, Carnatic vocalist, dance accompanist and playback singer with several albums to his credit, the well-known O.S. Arun has many occupations. No wonder he has stopped teaching, saying, "I have too many things on my agenda."
Settled in Chennai for over a decade, he says it was his upbringing in Delhi that widened his view of music. Son of Carnatic vidwan O.V. Subramaniam, Arun was trained by his father in the traditional Carnatic genre.
He later completed the Alankar Purna diploma from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and went on to top the Sangeetha Shiromani diploma course in Carnatic Music at Delhi University's Faculty of Music and Fine Arts. In Delhi, Arun began singing for leading classical dancers, and a number of accompanists still remember him as having encouraged them to take up the line, or as having brought a certain `prestige' to dance accompaniment.
Need to diversify
In Delhi, unlike in Chennai, points out Arun, there are no `sabhas', "so you have to diversify."
He doesn't mention that sabhas not only organise programmes but also lead public opinion, and therefore his "cosmopolitan" approach could be credited to a certain freedom, thanks to a lack of established norms.
Today Arun is the proud recipient of several honours that point to his popularity in both devotional and classical singing. This month he received an award for the Best Ragam-Taanam-Pallavi Singer from the haloed Madras Music Academy, considered a bastion of classicism. In his early years in Chennai, he recalls, his multi-pronged approach was criticised. "People said, `He sings for dance, he sings bhajans... ' Now they say, `He is versatile'!"
Anyway, compartmentalisation has never been a problem for him. "People still have that reservation. I only call it insecurity in them, or over confidence! Anyway, my bhajan singing is never less classical, and my Carnatic is never less devotional."
During the month of Margazhi, Chennai's season of musical plenty, he has enjoyed the variety of programmes he was able to give. A thematic show, `Bahu Varna Krishna' with poetry on Krishna in different languages, a bhajan evening at the Narada Gana Sabha where a packed hall clapped along, dance accompaniment for Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, besides the usual kacheri (Carnatic concert) format.
Developing style
Arun feels the development of his own style has a lot to do with his experience as a dance singer.
"My style has a lot of punctuation. There are gaps, pauses, modification," explains the singer, whose range of compositions includes the music for Mamta Niyogi Nakra's Sishu Sadhana, a Bharatanatyam repertoire for children. As for the possibility of a good singer overshadowing a dancer, Arun doesn't feel it is a real danger.
"There are artistes who relate to the music, who enjoy it. For certain artistes it is a dream come true. So far it has never been a problem for me, and frankly I don't do modulations which will disturb the footwork or the bhava of the dancer," he says, adding, "Mostly I know the meaning of the songs. Most people appreciate it."
He remembers singing for a Bharatanatyam arangetram in Delhi, when veteran critic Subbudu remarked, "Arun can make even a doll dance."
Now that is the stuff of dreams come true!
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