Shailaja Khanna | Surprise! Indian classical music now has young ears

Post pandemic, auditoriums hosting classical music and dance performances have a changed look. I’m travelling in the United States doing 14 concerts in one month, and here, in some particular cities there are many youngsters, but in most of the cities, mainly elders come for classical concerts.” Mumbai-based vocalist Dhananjay Hegde who organises concerts all over Karnataka under the banner Sapthak, also feels “even though the listeners mainly consist of the old generation, the percentage of youngsters attending classical concerts has gone up considerably all over India”. Kolkata based sarod player and organiser Indrayudh Majumder, whose Swara Samrat Festival opened in three other cities apart from Kolkata, concurred: “Yes, I am observing a sharp spike, skewed towards the attendance of the younger generation, many of whom have developed the interest in Indian classical music from online broadcasts during the Covid-19 lockdowns.” Even in Delhi, which was always perceived as a difficult city in terms of audience for classical events, is now seeing packed halls, with more young than old people. The young generation will definitely come.” Kaushiki shared: “I like singing for both elders and youngsters, but I think the young audience brings a beautiful energy and enthusiasm to the concert which I love. Wolf whistles for appreciation, which were unheard of in the classical arena, are now commonplace, especially for ‘stars’ like Kaushiki Chakraborty, sitarist Niladri Kumar, and tabla whiz kids, Mumbai-based Yashwant Vaishnav and Ishaan Ghosh.