Where Lady Gaga and Aruna Sairam met

By Anuradha Shyam

We are living in interesting times, when perceptions are constantly being challenged and redefined. The Laksman rekhas that divided generations are blurring, leading to a new dynamic and a synergy that is often amusing.

At an Aruna Sairam concert last year, I overheard a conversation between a grandmother and granddaughter. Both of them were obviously big fans of the singer and were discussing an abhang performed by Aruna in great detail. The granddaughter, evidently a serious student of music, was giving her grandmother a mini lecture on abhangs, their history and how Aruna Sairam had revolutionised the south Indian classical music format by introducing  abhangs into her repertoire.

The grandmother nodded earnestly and said, ”Aamam, namba Lady Gaga mathiri. She experiments and is a trendsetter in her field. Naan youtube le paathiruken.”

Generation gap? Touche!