“Merry and Tragical! Tedious and Brief! That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow” (Theseus' wonderment at the description of the play that Bottom and his friends are to perform. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’)

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 (30^th and 65^th) 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!!!