This is an unpublished response to an article that appeared in the Times of India in March 2006
The Times of India, Mumbai, on April 3, 2006, carried a thought-provoking article by Bella Jaisinghani bringing into sharp focus the issue of work-related injuries that musicians could suffer from. However, Jaisinghani’s article published on March 26, 2006 appeared to lack the balanced approach that her writing otherwise displays. This article contained a description of the supposed misdemeanor of Indian musicians traveling abroad and the manner in which they ostensibly exploit every possible situation giving grief to the local organizers and hosts.
We are aware that some musicians traveling abroad interact with concert organizers and hosts with an opportunism that is most reprehensible, but one cannot paint the whole fraternity with the same brush. Besides, do we not often come across some non-musicians acting as insensitively with their hosts abroad? Obviously, this is a problem specific to some individuals, who would perhaps act in an equally pathetic fashion if they were traveling within India or for that matter would behave in a similar manner with organizers in their own cities.
More importantly, the article would have been more balanced had some musicians been interviewed. We would like to put on record that it is not uncommon to find organizers overseas, who would prefer to save a few dollars rather than make the musicians’ stay a truly comfortable one. To put it in plain terms, musicians are often asked to stay in homes of music lovers whom the organizers liase with. Often, the visiting troupe is split up and housed at different places, causing great inconvenience to the musicians. But it is even more frustrating to see that NRI organizers act in this manner more than the non-NRI ones. One is then left wondering whether the NRI organizers respect musicians for their worth, or are the latter regarded only as vehicles to bring some sort of cultural identity into the lives of these NRIs. Agreed that hotel costs are prohibitive and that extra money can be channelised into what may seem to be more profitable activity from the point of view of the organizer. Or that organizers are worried musicians would take undue advantage of their hotel stay. But this is only partly true, as all musicians are not alike, much the same way as all organizers not being alike.
We do not for a moment wish to ignore the warm hospitality that music lovers abroad extend despite their busy work schedules. Nor do we wish to ignore the contribution of organizers abroad, but the tone of ‘sacrifice’ and ‘service’ that they often choose to project, is more in the nature of gaining sympathy rather than a statement of fact. Is it not equally true that a musician’s performing career is preceded by long years of dedicated practice, that this practice and learning was undertaken not with an assurance or even a dream of the material benefits that may accrue? If indeed organizers choose to ‘promote’ Indian music abroad or even in India, it should only be because of their love for the art and for no other reason. And then, if you do love a particular activity, one would imagine you would try to do the utmost to accomplish what you have set out to. For, has anyone come across a musician who complains of having to practice long hours to excel in the art – certainly not the sincere ones.
In most cases, in India and abroad, organizers and musicians have no written contracts outlining terms and conditions. Even the fees are often discussed over a phone call and the making of audio-video recordings of the concerts is regarded as a prerogative of the organizers, obviously the latter being done without so much as letting the musicians know, let alone seeking permission from them for such recordings. Incidentally, the law all over the world demands that the permission from the musicians has to be sought prior to any recording of the concert. Further, even when contracts exist, organizers often flout the very terms that the contract set out to clarify.
In the light of these circumstances, organizers and musicians are both to blame for certain unpleasant situations. We have only touched upon some problematic areas, but we must reiterate that situations such as these do not occur every now and again, and are certainly not the mainstay of every organizer-musician interaction either in India or abroad.
Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan
