Alliance Francaise Bangalore celebrated World Music Day on
Sunday, July 17, 2012 and I was not in the least bit surprised to see that the
Bard featured there. I remember reading an article that featured way back
(early 2000s? in a newsletter ironically called ‘The Onion’) that recognized
the Bard as The Ultimate Rapper. My
response then was that of intrigue strewn with bits of exasperation. My
experience with Shakespeare was traditional… reading him aloud thereby experiencing
royalty, foolishness, and tragedy. Then came the day when I watched a modern
dramatic representation of “Coriolanus”.
It was an outstanding experience where the director presented his
interpretation of the play with an eye to contemporary events. The bard had
done it again. The relevance of his thoughts was beyond the all-pervading… it was all-enduring.
This was reinforced on Sunday at the Alliance Francaise,
where I heard an interesting interpretation of the Bard’s Sonnets (30th
and 65th) presented in the form of Rap. I love Rap… Traced back to
African roots, it gained a lot of popularity in the 1970s as Street Art in the
US; especially, amongst the African-American teenagers. The daily struggles of
living in poverty and illegal ways of obtaining money became the theme; and,
over a period of time, it evolved into a philosophical representation of a
society that raged rhythm and speed into its lyrics. To the untrained ear, it
is like watching F1… an event that is characterized by high end cars zipping
across that you lose sight off in seconds. The trick though is in staying with
the speed and following the strategy of each vehicle… in this case, the lyrics
itself.
Rapping essentially involves chanting of rhyming lyrics set
to a beat; and is often accompanied by drum beats. The rap depiction of Sonnets
30 and 65 had it all - Trilochan Kampli on the tabla, Sameer Rao on the flute
and Suchitra Lata lending voice. The
representation had all the ingredients of Rap – speed, rhythm, lyrics … 14
lines of each absorbed in approx. 14seconds! Earth (Tabla), Air (Flute), Fire
(Choral), all flowing in!! The rendition of Earth was remarkable – it displayed
the toughness and balance of its terrain, merging magnificently with Air. The
beauty of Fire was in its fervor to merge with the moment. The balance of a flicker
to an inferno was the need to merge with Rap…
I liked it. It was interesting. It was an untrained ear
listening to a form of art where the lyrics vanished in the plethora of diversity! “O None, unless this miracle have might” the compelling
line of all from Sonnet 65 was lost in its rendering. The sonnets are about the
ravages of time on both love and life. He
uses the term “dear friend” for the first time in Sonnet 30. The representation
was great to the point of different effects brought together … I needed the mélange!!!
Well, Shakespeare was right…Ambition should be made of
sterner stuff. And I do hope that I get
to live the spirit of bard through the tides of Rap. After all,… tomorrow is
truly another day….
“And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues
in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in
everything…”
An African / African-American style epitomized by an Indian
band, lending voice to European Lyrics through a native style to a composite
audience of old and young, modern, post-modern and the traditionalist….! Now, that’s
diversity in the true sense. The weave was great… Could I now see the threads
stand out without hurting the weave? The Soul, Sun and Flare and Soular Flare!!!
