Music goes beyond Boundaries

Recently heard the song Manike Mage Hithe sung by Sri Lankan Singer Yohani. Was captivated by it. An An Artist cuts across boundaries of language and impresses the world over with his/her piece of art is once again proven. This song has won hearts all over the world though more than 90% may not understand the meaning of the lyrics. 

These days, the world has become a platform for the artist. A truly talented person can cut a album and put up for the world to review. The world becomes the audience, critics and reviewers instead of just the domestic audience. Youtube, Instagram and Social Media have given career a new beginning creating a new generation of careers focused on creativity. 

At every junction of history, there is a time of looking back, a period of renaissance where people go back to the fundamentals of what really matter ignoring the make believe world. In the past 16 months, the world has witnessed such a period with lockdowns, restrictions on movement, isolations forcing people to prefer sitting at home rather than move out. Having all the time in the world, people have found themselves exploring other facets of their personalities. Work from Home has given so much freedom to people avoiding the hustle bustle of traffic. 

Came across this singer Yohani while sifting through new music. Her voice captivated me a lot. I read about her and was surprised that her career has spanned just three years but she has captured huge audience with her smiles, her appealing voice and simple melody. I found the meaning of the lyrics and then listened again. I found the artist expressions so meaningful to the lyrics. She has captivated the audiences. During lockdown, i also discovered another young artist, Soorya Gayathri. Her songs were so soothing. I am witnessing a strong return to the roots in the past few years. The songs that are becoming popular are Janapadas or folk music not the classical music oriented songs which hitherto ruled the movie and album industry. People singing from their hearts without any botheration about tunes are winning audiences the world over. 

English Rap music has long back switched over to just expression, tunes and the way the words are spoken over following the rules of classical music. Classical music requires years of formal training while folk music and rap just needs a willingness to sing. Passion follows. In the movie industry too, the most captivating songs in recent years are long forgotten folk songs which have been rendered with attractive music compositions to make their appeal much wider. This is a renaissance for sure. For ex, in the new state of telangana just 7 years old, the telangana dialect has replaced the earlier popular coastal telugu  dialect in movies and tv serials. People are finding it more connecting and more down to earth while the coastal dialect smacks now of more formality. 

At every junction of history, cultures go back to finding their identities to distinguish themselves, to find what matters to them, to express themselves in simple format, to indulge in the happiness and mirth of life without complexity and rigidity of classical music and dance. Folk music and dance which was main stay of rural areas has become commonplace the world over. Artists are making beelines to the common areas to find songs/folklore/common songs that have been passed over from generations. 

Yohani has proved that someone with talent need to be only truthful to herself and express themselves.  Soorya Gayathri has also in short span of time proven the same. There have been several such Youtube,Tiktok,Instagram users who have become celebrities overnight by following their passion in the global platform called social media. It is an interesting switch over a traditional 9 to 5 career. Most of young generation is anyway not interested in a 9 to 5 career. They want ways to make name&fame soon doing something that they love instead of working for someone. The Freelance generation is taking over the job industry, almost forty five percent of the total jobs in USA alone and perhaps twenty five percent in large countries like India. This proportion is going to increase especially in the service industry.