Veena’s exponent Jayanti Kumresh won the young listeners with his new live show

Jayant Kumarash performed photo credit at Cup ‘O Carnatic show at Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai: B. Velkani Raj

What if a raga can resonate with a gold story, or a ragam tanam Pallavi laughter. Can humor find a place between a veena phrase and a ghatam beet? And what happens when the form of a centuries old art decides to see a child in the eye and says, “Come, listen”?

In Cup O ‘Karnataka, Veena’s exponent Jayanti Kumresh just dared to imagine. A world where Karnataka music is not only performed, but also lives, is spoken, interrogated, and happily human beings are made. Here, the tradition is still not standing; It moves with hands with imagination, reaches the next generation with a soft, smile.

Jayant with Giridhi Uduupa on Ghatam and Morasing and Pramath Kiran on Tabla. Photo Credit: B. Velkani Raj

In the hands of Jayant Kumarash, Veena becomes a spontaneous mix of music, theater, storytelling and visual poetry. Recently on stage at Narada Gana Sabha, he is not only an artist, but a narrator, a teacher and a companion for the audience. Through his conversation with a child, he bridges the bay between ancient and new, known and curious.

The roots of this production lies in a deep personal moment, when a disciple of Jubilee and a mother of two, Vidya, found herself to struggle to express the depth and joy of Karnataka music. In search of a medium that could bridge the tradition and understanding, he contacted his Guru with an idea: Can the main concepts of Karnataka music be shared in a way that was both attractive and age-appropriate? This seed of a question blossomed in a digital chain on YouTube, Cup ‘O Carnatic, which has been going on for seven years. This bite-shaped episodes rich in music and conversation were equally resonant with parents, teachers and students.

The show is a unique mix of music, statement and animation photo credits: B. Velkani Raj

Inspired by this continuous digital engagement, the idea of ​​bringing Cup O ‘Karnataka on stage took shape, not only as a live extension, but as a transformative experience. The Live Stage version made its debut in Bengaluru and then traveled to Chennai .. With its unique mixture of animation, statement and live performance, the show dared to collapse the boundaries between artist and audience between the artist and audience, between tradition and experimentation, between tradition and experimentation.

Kerthi enhances Kumar’s graphics and lighting design experience. Upasana Govindarajan’s paintings and gentle strokes of the graphics of Anish Pulikod create an impeccable background and frame the story like a living story book. Music support is equally thoughtful. Giridhi Uduupa on the Ghatam and Praramath Kiran and Tabla on Morsing offer an responsible and understood rhythmic layer.

During the post -performance conversation, Jayanti said, “We tested every joke on our students. If it makes them laugh, we knew that it would have to be included.” The show is rich in gentle humor, the way the listener reduces the listener, especially young.

The concept and sophistication took the production close to one year. “We wanted to correct it. To reach the next generation of rasikas, we have to choose the forms they will like.”