Eardrums go bust at weddings

Weddings are a source of joy: Beautifully decked-up brides, guests, good food and charming music. But the last one has dramatically metamorphosed into a tortuous experience. The Pollution Control Board would be scandalized at the kind of noise the musicians dish out in small halls or demarcated areas, designed for smaller decibels of sound. The ear piercing sound systems cannibalize the laya, thaalam and sruthi  of the music, making the output one big noisy torture with guests shutting out the sound with their palms to the ears. Sign language is a handy tool if you go for weddings today.
 Ah...there is the favourite cousin whom you have not seen for ages.. Laughter, embrace and surprise over, you ask about his children,  in sign language, as the blaring sounds drown your feeble voice even if your mouth is almost attached to his ears. A dumb charade follows and then both look into each others eyes, wring their hands and part ways, cursing the group of musicians who sincerely think they are entertaining the guests. Noise and music have a rather thick line separating them at these weddings.
That's when you want to know whether your sister has had the wedding feast. You do the motion of eating with your right hand and look at her, a big question mark writ all over your face. She shakes her head vigorously and we walk towards the queue. Smiling widely, all 32 in a helpless frenzy, we see second cousins and their children, all with the same smile plastered on their faces, hold hands, shake our heads and say bye with wave.
And then I muster up courage, egged on and abetted by my headache and like thinking cousins and confront the sound-in-charge plus the violinist, percussionists and the electronic nagaswaram player. Music is to be enjoyed, soft music, I sermonised. They shake their heads in unison. Wedding guests love to chat, but their voices are drowned in the blaring music, I added. They looked at me with deadpan faces. So, I turned to the sound-in-charge, can you please lower the volume, that we may all enjoy your music and talk too when we meet our relatives, I asked, almost pleading. He smiled the sweetest of smiles and nodded. Triumphant, I walked slowly away, relieved at the welcome silence. Ten steps away and as the proverb goes, Shankar was back on the coconut tree!
The cousin who told me he went up to them thrice and pleaded that the volume be lowered, now looked at me with an I-told-you-so-look! Vanquished, I enjoyed my lunch, which was served far enough to drown the 'music'!! Not for me another wedding. Why take the trouble to travel all the way only to have noise thrust down your very system? When, O when will  noise pollution be banished from weddings? And I wonder, does anyone enjoy the music when it's dished out thus?

Nagaswaram musings

Back mint-fresh from a wedding, the role of the nagaswaram at such auspicious events worries me. It's getting smaller and smaller. Its quality is commensurate with its present role too, which is worrisome, for the art needs to be kept alive and kicking.  In the southern parts of the state, the wind instrument is quite a loud hero and quality on the higher side.

 It must be the influence of the famed Ampalapuzha brothers whose expertise with the nagaswaram is legion. They made it as much Keralites' own as that of Tamil Nadu's, where it was literally born, nourished and cherished. Not only lovers of classical music for who can forget Singara velane....of S. Janaki where the instrument and the human voice flowed as one generic blessing?
But sometimes your heart goes out to the poor guy/lady who keeps bellowing out air that neither produces sweet sounds nor the right pitch, while the percussion is happily on its own trip. Why is the nagaswaram considered apt for weddings?
 Common sense tells you that the vibrant sound that emanates makes your heart flutter...... the music makes even the most morose of people tap his/her feet and sway to the intricate nuances, aping the human voice. The loud music, indicating joy abandon, is the perfect background for the couple, for they forget to be nervous in the musical din while the guests figure out the tune being played, usually very famous ones. The music with quick rhythmic beats and joyous undercurrents, bring smiles to the faces assembled in their silken attire.  As soon as the thalikettu is over, the quick pause and abrupt switch  to 'Kanavu kanden naan kanavu kanden......' is so romantic, predictable and the perfect finale to the occasion.

 But imagine this scenario: The nagaswaram begins off key.....the sound is barely audible as the music maker is unsure of the notes ...there is no merriment in the music because of hesitant notes....when there should be notes dancing like a bhangra, the feel is like the steps of a lazy man walking in the hot sun, aimlessly. Added to it, popular tunes are played all wrong, bringing on scowls to faces. To cap it all the the notes end unceremoniously like the fag end of a fart long suppressed. (forgive me my uncouth expression.) The wedding ceremonies lose the charm it ought to register for a lifetime, for the couple and loved ones.
But what beats me is that nobody thinks it is some kind of a problem. It has been plaguing me for a long time and now that I have opened up, I feel better.
Prema Manmadhan