Migrant melodies

Carnatic singer, Chitra Srikrishna’s curated production Pravaas — A Migrant’s Tale, will be presented in Bengaluru

Interviews with Carnatic musician Chitra Srikrishna have always been interesting sessions that go beyond the usual question-and-answer route. With a penchant for thematic and curated contemplative offerings, Chitra has in the past, presented a musical exploration on the use of birds as literary devices in Indian poetry or explored rare kritis of royal Carnatic composers from different eras in South India.

An interaction over her upcoming event is no exception. Pravaas — A Migrant’s Tale will see Chitra, accompanied by Phanindra Bhaskara on the mridanga and violinist Vishwajith Mattur, present 10 songs in 10 languages revolving around a migrant’s mental state.

Talking about how Pravaas came about, Chitra recalls how images of the migrants’ mass exodus from the city during the pandemic impacted her deeply. “The media coverage of their struggles made me reflect on the uncertainty and hardships they face. If an educated immigrant feels unsettled in a new place, imagine the magnified anxiety and despair of an unemployed migrant who has been uprooted.”

“I talked to people who had to move out — my mother’s cook who had relocated from Jharkhand to Chennai; a young Malayali lady who worked as a full-time helper for a friend in Mumbai; the scores of cab drivers in Bengaluru. Listening to their stories was inspiration enough to share their experiences through the medium of song,” she says.

Chitra began learning music in Hyderabad when she was barely five, and trained under stalwarts such as Seethalakshmi Venkatesan, V Subrahmanian, OS Thyagarajan and Lalgudi Rajalakshmi. She also has a degree in Commerce from Sydenham College, Mumbai, and undertook a technical writing program at San Jose University in the Bay Area, USA. She is a writer and adjunct professor of music at Ahmedabad University.

“The interdisciplinary courses that I taught at Ahmedabad University had me look at the intersection of music and society and how music can effect change in so many ways. I believe the more one appreciates different musical genres, it changes the way we think, feel and act. These programs have also helped me grow as an artiste as I learn and sing songs in languages that are not typically heard in classical concerts. One of my goals as a classical musician is to expand the audience base and make classical music accessible to a wider audience,” says Chitra.

Circling back to Pravaas, Chitra says it narrates the story of a migrant who moves from the village to a city. “As the story progresses, I sing different songs that convey the emotion of their journey. Visuals in the background will provide context between the music and the theme.”