Female Jazz artists are reclaiming their place in Delhi

The cultural landscape of the city is slowly flowing for Jazz’s voice. Although the Jazz scene is still small, the spontaneity of the style and the soul is attracting musicians and audience. But it unequally takes shape from the quiet expectations of the society where women get less visibility.

Parvati Mohankrishnan, a band Parvati La Cantenty, has been a part of Delhi’s music circuit for the last two decades. She says that in the early years, security concerns and misbehavior were major issues.

She remembers the audience to deal with improper demands. “Even at five star locations, men will try to get closer,” she says. “We will get the request, eg, will take 1,000 but will sing something in Hindi.” Such incidents were part of a large culture of eligibility that did not always see the artist as a professional.

Jazz singer Parvati Mohankrishnan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

In these years, Krishnan took a conscious decision on where and how she performs. She likes places that ensure dignity, safety and allow her to give her voice.

Initially, Jazz was seen as a destructive force. It belonged to nightclubs, back streets and smoke -filled rooms. Over time, and in continents, it has been converted into a symbol of sophistication. The kind of music that indicates taste, intelligence and artistic ambition.

Some Swikari Singh understands the need to carve her niche. A Jazz singer and teacher, Singh, has spent performing in the capital in the last decade and trained new singers. She points to subtle but constant methods in which women are still boxed with appearances. “There is a decorative hope around female artists,” she says. The emphasis is on how a woman looks on stage, clothes and conversations.

“An unspecified understanding that singers simply mean to come, sing and go,” she sees. “But we need to claim our location, and it will come from completing someone’s work in theory and music knowledge.”

Bass player Tanisha Bhatnagar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

There are less female instruments than a singer, it is an invisible that has an omission -shaped compared to the intentions.

Bass player Tanisha Bhatnagar has been performing for three years now. The dress she plays is often the only female instrumentist. People come to him and say that it is very good to see a woman playing bass. Tanisha feels that there is a gender-ensuing comment hidden in such praise that reminds you of your minority situation.

The reason, Tanisha believes, are structural. Young girls are rarely known or encouraged to take equipment and the idea of a female bassist, sexophoneist, or drummer does not enter the imagination.

Mexican Jazz singer Jatziri Gallegos | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A Mexican Jazz singer and faculty at the Global Music Institute in Delhi has performed in the United States, Mexico and India. She says that while Delhi’s Jazz is welcoming, some cultural hopes continue to follow female artists.

“This is a challenge navigating patriarchal norms in Jazz,” she says. “Men get a bit frightened when they see that a woman has taken the lead. It has taken years to make me feel comfortable to be the owner of that place.”

She also indicates pressure to appear on the stage in a certain way. “It is hoped that a female singer should be seen in a certain way. Many women internal and try to live that image, even when it has very little relationship with music.”

Nevertheless, for all friction, none of these artists speak from the place of defeat. They do not live because it is easy, but because it is their claim.

Riya Kapoor