“It felt weird,” said Bodhisattwa Ghosh, a 37-year-old guitarist based in Kolkata, talking about the first time he stood in front of a live audience nine months after the lock was first announced in March 2020. to prevent the spread of the coronation. disease. He was at the Bengal Music Festival, organized in Deshapriya Park South Kolkata in the last week of December, and Ghosh remembers that it was a clinical affair: each band had separate cubes, and none of them were on stage to interact with the audience – most of whom were in a mask – after its performance. He, a native contemporary rock band, Lakkhichhara, played the set and left shortly afterwards. However, it was better than playing without an audience at all, Ghosh said.
The locking months weren’t brash because they forced Gosh and other members of his band – he’s also part of The Bodhisattwa Trio, a jazz fusion band – to come up with ways to work remotely. In August, the Trio released a single, Europa Swim, although the members were in big cities: the piano in Arunava Chatterjee (Shonai) in Delhi, the drummer Premjit Datta and Ghosh in Kolkata. “We kept making new stuff and sent new pieces to Shonai. For the single we released in August, we recorded our parts separately in our locations. That’s very unusual for a jazz band where we record live what we’re playing, together, right now, ”said Ghosh. The Trio performed live from Kolkata’s popular jazz club Skinny Mo’s in June. It was a ticketed event but the audience heard them in a closed group on Facebook.
If the performance schedule changed in 2020, several actors had to rethink the appropriateness of their art form while exploring digital tracks from live Instagram videos to Zoom calls. New technology has emerged that allows people to watch live shows with friends, and make decisions about the video call application. For some it worked: British singer Du Lipa broke live streaming charts online with her elegant Studio 2054 show, attracting more than five million views. For many others, it wasn’t that easy. A number of artists have also had to deal with a more fragile future due to cancellations across the country.
The big move for 32-year-old harmonium player Zakir Dhaulpuri turned to the net to continue giving lessons to his students. The New Delhi-based supporter learned to play the instrument from his father, the famous late harmonium player Mehmood Dhaulpuri who accompanied vocalists like Kishori Amonkar and Bhimsen Joshi. But to join Zoom, Dhaulpuri enlisted the help of his 22-year-old nephew, a Delhi University student and a tabla player. In the online class, it was not difficult to teach the students where they were going wrong with the note, or how they needed to improve their approach, Dhaulpuri said. “It was great to learn something new. At least the children were there. But music (ibadat) is a prayer and children need to learn it, and try it, in your physical presence, ”he said.
Theater and film actor Danish Husain, best known for his Dastangoi shows, was in the US to give a concert and speech in March (the duo were postponed), and was sent there until July. “I started asking, if the pandemic goes on for three or four years and shoes don’t start or theaters don’t open and I can never perform again, what would I do for myself next? -start, ”he said.
Husain, who recently appeared in the Netflix series Begums Bombay, on a series of 20 Instagram videos with the title, Dastango went missing in America, starting in March 2020. “I had a beautiful view from my room in my sister’s house. I like to recite poetry. So why not remember to have poems and a series of videos, I thought? In conversation, friends suggested I use the window blinds as a stage curtain, ”he said.
“I was not used to performing to my phone. Instead of going to a stage, we now went into Zoom call and saw an audience there. Just like theater to film, this was a new medium for me. I had to change the grammar of my performance to accept this medium. ”
The move to digital media also required investment, Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal noted. During the lockout, Mudgal played in digital concerts, participated in online conversations about the arts, and even took online classes.
“When I realized that I needed to equip for a long period of online events that meant investing in some semi-professional equipment for such an activity. But by then, not every mike, every piece of live streaming equipment that one could buy for this purpose was available, or it was selling at very high prices. And by that I mean, prices were up, in some cases, by 200% or even more. Finally, I bought some equipment and asked colleagues and even young students to teach me how to use a sound interface. That’s how I’ve managed all of this while there are so many artists. We have survived with the great potential of our ability to change and move forward, ”she said.
Dhaulpuri also gave two online concerts, which were broadcast live on Facebook: he played from his home, street noises in spite of. “These are not things you can do much about,” he said.
Theater actor and radio jockey Roshan Abbas, co-founder of Kommune Arts, said a “pivot” was needed for the digital space if artists were to have any chance of surviving during the lock-in months. Together with his team, he performed a digital play Love Lockdown,directed by Sheena Khalid, where various actors put their parts over Zoom in a play that was, helpfully, about going online. It was a ticketed event and gave Abbas an insight into how to make money from the digital venue. The team at Kommune held a number of events over the lock-in months, trying everything from learning workshops to midnight podcasts (for the insomniacs, “a big blow”, Abbas said) and even a mehfil of Urdu poetry on 15 August.
“Instead of a stage manager, we needed a Zoom manager who knew when screens should be cut and changed and a sound manager who could manage mics on the stage. It was like internet 1.0, and what we were telling actors is that technology doesn’t have to be scared, ”said Abbas.
During the lockout, attempts were made to make money on the digital medium: the Indian Singers’ Rights Association established a series of high-profile concerts, and the money raised went to the PM-Cares fund to help affected people to help the pandemic. Together with art consultant Rashmi Dhanwani, entrepreneur Megha Desai, lawyer Priyanka Khimani, and marketing professional Gaurav Wadhwa, Abbas helped found StayInALive, a platform where artists ’performances contributed funds to them who was struggling under lock and key.
A report released by online art source, Sahapedia, cited budget figures over the past five years to show how the country ‘s arts and culture needed enhanced funding; the lockout only added to the economic crisis the industry is experiencing. When asked about a budget loss, a spokesman for the ministry of culture declined to comment.
The Bodhisattwa Trio saw their earnings nearly a fifth compared to 2019, which, Ghosh said, was a very successful year for them. The band toured throughout Europe and several Indian cities, performed in jazz venues such as Blue Note in Poland and B Flat in Berlin, and released a record with a Croatian label. The Trio were well on their way to releasing their fourth album when the lock was off. The concerts they had planned for 2020, including one at the Jaiyede jazz festival in Denmark, have been canceled.
However, as things return to normal, the rising number of Covid cases in the country remains a concern. Last month, Dhaulpuri delivered its first paid performance – a platform performance in Bhopal – after nearly a year since the lockout was imposed. He had two performances in March.
As for his students, he now takes the classes with them in another flat not too far from his home. Students clean their hands before sitting down. They keep the mask on when they play the harmonium.
According to Abbas, the pandemic taught co-operation and thinking beyond physical functions. Online shows are not going anywhere, he said. “Like concerts there are directors for special DTH programs, and there will also be live performances. Purists can continue to enjoy the live experience, but the future belongs to the creators of digital live knowledge and technologists. ”