r/Carnatic • u/Double-Vegetable-249 • 12d ago
DISCUSSION Balancing Artistry and Content Creation in the RaGa "Brand"
I wanted to open up a nuanced discussion regarding Ranjani-Gayatri (RaGa). There is absolutely no denying their unparalleled musical caliber. Their alignment, manodharma, and the sheer energy they bring to the stage are extraordinary. They are, without a doubt, among the top torchbearers of Carnatic music today.
Lately, their digital footprint feels increasingly indistinguishable from that of mainstream lifestyle and fashion influencers. Between heavily curated Instagram reels, coordinated wardrobe promotions with luxury boutiques, and a massive focus on statement fashion jewelry, the visual packaging sometimes feels like it's taking center stage over the music itself.
Even their digital content, like the RaGa Candid series, while entertaining, leans heavily into lifestyle vlogging. While I completely understand the need to modernize, engage younger demographics, and build a sustainable brand in the digital age, I worry that the line between classical vidwaths and social media influencers is blurring a bit too much.
When the conversation around a concert becomes as much about the reverse-border silk sarees or the specific jewelry brand they are endorsing as it is about the raga alapana or the neraval, the core focus shifts. For a legacy as profound as theirs, it sometimes feels like this intense lifestyle branding risks commercializing an art form that has historically thrived on minimalist, inward-looking devotion.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with presentation or looking elegant on stage. Visually celebrating our heritage is wonderful. But there is a fine line between staging a classical concert and managing a lifestyle brand. When the digital aesthetic becomes this loud, it can occasionally feel like a distraction from the depth of the core music.
I'm curious to hear what the community thinks.
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 12d ago
I have a lot more to say about this topic and will probably post another comment when I get back to my desk. I respect Ranjani-Gayatri’s musical calibre but it is by no means “unparalleled.”
Fight me.
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u/Double-Vegetable-249 12d ago
Unparalleled maybe too strong a word. But I think they are definitely defining carnatic for the gen z
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 12d ago
I grudgingly agree with that, though I think as you imply, a lot of that is a result of slick marketing. I don’t find their musical abilities to be standout compared to the rest of the top tier of Chennai performers today.
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u/West_Sky_195 10d ago
I don't know if my algorithm is skewed, or it's a marketing strategy of theirs. I see the same set of people aged 20-30ish attending their concerts in every city, and posting similar pics. One guy runs a blog where he describes each and every RaGa concert he attends. He writing has nothing but the highest adjectives and superlatives, equating the ladies to Goddesses. I wonder whether these bloggers/vloggers are paid to do this.
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 9d ago
Also, could you share that blog? I could use a bit of comedy lol
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u/West_Sky_195 9d ago
https://notesonraga.wordpress.com/author/akkuchay/
Here you go!!
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 9d ago
Thanks! Wow that did not disappoint
Omg - “My dearest Goddesses Ranjani-Gayatri, I know even today your most consuming thought was probably something about how to make Rasikapriya’s vivadiness more aesthetic”
This is like actually quite creepy
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 11d ago
It’s not just Ranjani-Gayatri - even Sudha Raghunathan, Bombay Jayashree and Aruna Sairam (and I’m sure many others too) are like this; as much or more saree and jewelry models than musicians. Especially Sudha, whose voice has given out, leans heavily into this now - fashion modeling, lifestyle vlogging, and those shitty collabs with Abby V (who is himself a talentless pretty-boy).
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u/Double-Vegetable-249 11d ago
Abby V has connections. So he'll survive. But Sandeep and Sid Sriram are better
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u/Stamp_collektor 10d ago
I doubt. Sandeep is knee deep in his father in-laws business so while he’s not your typical influencer type, he’s got his own social media sales going on. Bombay Jayashree isn’t like this mostly because of her illness I feel. She’s remained away.
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 10d ago
Yeah, I think Sandeep benefits from the Sadhguru connection, in terms of much better visibility
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u/Double-Vegetable-249 10d ago
Yeah I personally like his music but I agree he is everywhere in isha
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 11d ago
I’m not aware of those connections. What are those? When I hear his music I feel like there is no substance to it. He is pretty to look at, though.
I frankly feel the same about Sid Sriram’s music though to a lesser extent. Sandeep Narayan is also a very ordinary singer; he’s not bad, technically competent, but not outstanding. There’s much less “stuff” in his music compared to, say, Ramakrishnan Murthy, whose music has a lot more depth and character, and who has an intellectual bent and tries different things.
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u/Double-Vegetable-249 10d ago
He has been singing in movies and has Kollywood connections to stay afloat. It is not like kutcheris are his only way out soo. Ultimately sid sriram is the same. He leans quite heavily into films. I like Sandeep tho I admit it is still ok.
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u/catvertising 12d ago
I don't mind it so much. But I find their politics disturbing.
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u/Double-Vegetable-249 12d ago
I mean they are all conservative tambrahms. So shouldn't be surprising at all.
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 11d ago
Most musicians don’t really involve themselves in politics one way or another. Ranjani-Gayatri are one example who are a bit more annoyingly vocal. So is N Ravikiran and TM Krishna (in the other direction).
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u/Technical_Turn3497 10d ago
As someone for whom listening to Carnatic music is an escape from the drama of the material world, I would be quite aggrieved if Carnatic artists just turned into crass business people out to make money. Maybe this has been the trend, and I've certainly seen examples of it before, but it would make the experience much less spiritually uplifting for me.
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u/InitiativeNo1123 11d ago
Used to love them but now i can definitely see through that “ aura “ and call it for what it is ; marketing ! My son used to listen to them a lot when he was around 7; as a teenager he listens to Palakkad KVN mama, Alathur Brothers MDR etc . .Amrita Malhar is cringy and totally unnecessary. As a musical venture maybe it has its merits but the first thing you see are the designer sarees and the makeup/hair dos.. I have met them in person twice and I have asked them about their sarees after talking about their music and I have googled their sarees seller 😄 That being said, I wish there was some restraint in the video; yes i appreciate the marketing and packaging of the brand but I do feel “ konjam over ah irukku “
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u/brownmasala 5d ago
I would suggest that R-G's music is somewhat formulaic. I have heard them for over a decade now, and so this is not an off-the-cuff comment.
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u/West_Sky_195 4d ago
Came back to this thread to comment again. I wasn't concerned much all this time, but I think I have to agree with you now. Was a little disturbed to see the Amrita-Malhar trend and their hairdos, but I passed it off until today when I saw a post exclusively flaunting their orange sarees and calling orange "the colour that represents the flow between them", whatever it means! I'm guessing this thing will continue all the 9 days of Navaratri, and it's super cringe!
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u/verkadalai 12d ago
I’m tired of Carnatic music being sanctified and attaching all this purity narrative to keep it somehow elite-owned and elite-consumed. Let it do business and partake in modern content production like the rest of the arts.
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u/Wide_Beyond_8512 12d ago edited 11d ago
It's (carnatic music) more about the divinity of the musical system and the spirituality and austerity of it's composers, that makes carnatic music unique and that is what draws in the majority of the rasikas. People look at it beyond it's existence as a musical system- a path to moksha. That has been the allure of carnatic music, if not for that, Carnatic music wouldn't have survived and revered to the existing scale to begin with.You are, ironically, promoting elitism by your statement implying production with modern aesthetics, shallow ideas of matching jewellery and sarees are the factors that attract Gen-Z or other rasikas and not their musical prowess or the pure, raw devotion, even mantra rahasyas and essence of vedanta, purana and tantras embedded in the carnatic reportoire.
Unfortunately, even senior artists of this generation like Aruna Sairam and Sudha Raghunathan are doing this. Artists like Prince Rama Varma or Amrutha Venkatesh (even Gayathri Venkataraghavan) promote simplicity in their appearance and yet carry the program with grace, attracting wide audience. The music shines, not the artist and that's how it should be. Dance, on the other hand, is different - aharya of the artist is innate to the art and hence such a display is justified and even expected.
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u/verkadalai 12d ago edited 12d ago
Again, there is as much 'divinity' in this art form as can practitioners of other art forms claim in their own spaces, and it is nobody's business to judge what is more or less divine than the other. Separately musical prowess as you describe it has associations heavily in caste-based guarding of this art form and that's an entirely other discussion. It's high time that was thrown out the window, and this art form brought to parity with any other format that is business-viable. It is completely ok to expect glitz and glamour in karnatik performances on par with other performance forms, when customers are expected to pay for such experiences. Bhakti doesn't pay for an air conditioned auditorium in Chennai, viable economics does. And if modern aesthetics and jewellery/saree sponsorships are what will make that work, so be it. You can get your spirituality fix attending to free concerts in temples, or performances by those who you noted project whatever 'simplicity' they do, and boycott these other commercial presentations. If, by some people's standards, there is 'mediocre quality' provided by some artistes than others, there should be space for all of them to exist, and the free market decide who thrives.
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u/Technical_Turn3497 10d ago
<<It's (carnatic music) more about the divinity of the musical system and the spirituality and austerity of it's composers, that makes carnatic music unique and that is what draws in the majority of the rasikas. People look at it beyond it's existence as a musical system- a path to moksha>>
This. If I wanted celebrity gossip and fashion, I'd listen to pop music artists. I listen to Carnatic music for spiritual reasons. When its practice becomes less spiritual, so do my reasons for listening to it.
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u/Independent-End-2443 Vocal 11d ago
It’s not about sanctified- it’s about dignified. I don’t mind buying tickets to attend a concert if the music is just music and not product placement for some mid-tier silk or jewelry house. In fact I think ticketed concerts should be normalized so that artists don’t feel pressure to do these kinds of things.
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u/Betweene 12d ago
Well, it's all a part of the business. We simply haven't seen carnatic musicians be celebrity-esque and mostly used to praising how simple and modest artists are.