Yanni

March 23, 1997

THE WEEK

Monumental echoes
The Yanni concert hits a snag but preparations continue for the big day

OF COURSE any controversy will be great for publicity." was the dry comment of one Yanni management Inc. executive when told of the strong opposition mounted by the farmers around Agra. The farmers whose crops had to be uprooted to accommodate the stage for the concert had threatened to disrupt the three-day musical extravaganza with Ramayana recitals. But when historian Romila Thapar took up the cudgels against the state machinery, who are the de facto organisers of the 'Freedom concert'-- as the show is billed, things began to look a little nasty. If the three-day Yanni concert scheduled from March 20 escaped being labeled a megabuck show with a 'western touch' it was only because Yanni could not be classified as a pop musician. That Yanni's music is classical can be debated. Though a few of his compositions do include vocals, Yanni says he'd rather be called a contemporary instrumental artist. At the forthcoming music festival, thousands of music lovers anxiously wait for the eight new compositions that Yanni is supposed to be playing.

Blending a range of instruments from cello and violin to percussion and drums, and packaging brilliant stage-lighting and fiber glass sets, the charismatic star composer favours a pop-musician's trappings. Yet Yanni passed the test of the moral brigade.
After all, both the U.P. government and with the ministries of culture and defence, felt that it was a nice way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of India's Independence. Moreover, Yanni has promised to give all the profits of his Freedom concert to the Agra Heritage Fund (AHF) which will be invested in the environs of the Taj and other monuments in and around Agra. The concert is expected to fetch Rs 10 crore for the state government.

But the four-centuries-old monument, which was to provide the backdrop for the concert, has become the biggest problem. The first to protest was the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which said the sound and the bright lighting would damage the Taj. But when it was announced that the proceedings would go towards the ASI corpus, the ASI mysteriously changed its stand. The defence was that the global attention and the money generated would do good for the cherished structure. Then came the farmers who were asked not to cultivate crops on the Yamuna river bed. They have been cultivating tomato, watermelon and bitter gourd in the area leased out to them but Agra sub-divisional magistrate D.S. Mishra, in charge of the concert preparations, insists that the cultivation is illegal.

But nobody had bargained for the Public Interest Litigation moved by six persons-- Romila Thapar, social activist Patwant Singh, columnists Kuldip Nayar and Nikhil Chakravarthy, retired bureaucrat John Lall and former president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Rajini Kothari-- in the Supreme Court.
The petition alleges that the sound emanating during the concert will damage the hollow double dome of the Taj. Moreover the enormous engineering work required to construct a bridge and a stage, would cause damage to the infrastructure of the world-famous monument. Award-winning environmentalist M.C. Mehta added his share, requesting that the venue be shifted 500 metres beyond the periphery of the Taj.
The Supreme Court's order to investigate added a fresh twist to the controversy.
Away from the precincts of the apex court, work is progressing at the concert site, an area 45 degrees to the west behind the Taj. This site was selected after sound and lighting experts from abroad had rejected the spot chosen initially. The experts are now busy setting up the stage and installing V-DOSC acoustics that eliminate sound vibrations.
While the audience soak in the Taj lit by the sun's evening rays on March 21 Doordarshan viewers across the country will be able to take in the Yanni magic. DD1 and DD2 will telecast the concert live on that day with the help of 14 cameras.
"The acoustics will be so placed as to present the sound in the best possible way," said an American, before he was shooed away by representatives of DNA Networks, the event managers, who had strict instructions not to talk to journalists. DNA Networks is the same organisation that burnt its fingers attempting Michael Jackson's 1993 concert in Delhi. The pop singer had cancelled his tour over allegations of child sexual abuse.
That the concert is for the elite and by the elite, is obvious. "Koi hero aa raha hein," commented Pancho, a woman grazing her sheep on the river bed. "Koi Bombay hero hai.... Johnny Lever?" She suggested doubtfully.
The bridges, facilitating easy entry to the riverbed site, have been constructed by the army. Two more bridges are to be added. The army is also guarding all entrances to the riverbed and entry is restricted to people carrying the "Yanni card".
The mood in Agra, on the whole, is upbeat. Mishra made a feeble attempt to tackle an impending problem--accommodation. With a lack of hotel rooms in Agra to house the thousands of music lovers thronging the town he has appealed to the citizens to accommodate paying guests. While the people of Agra dread the inevitable hordes of Delhites they look forward to the concert as a mega event that will highlight Agra.
All doubts and dilemmas will finally be put to rest when the sun sets on the banks of the Yamuna on March 20. In the fading light and with the magic of the marble monument, the people will witness the genius that is Yanni.

K. SUNIL THOMAS in Agra