On his 45th birthday this June, Anil Srinivasan, one of India’s most renowned classical pianists, announced in a video he posted to Instagram that he would utilise his entire earnings from all his music concerts and music-related assignments for charity.
“That doesn’t mean I would not charge [a fee], but instead of taking the money for myself, I will be giving it to causes I believe in,” he says in the video.
Raising money for charity through his music is nothing new for Srinivasan. Be it his Concert in the Dark series for the visually challenged or his initiative to aid the migrant workers during Covid, he has constantly attempted to use his music for a cause. “I was doing a lot of it, but now it’s time to do all of it,” he says.
Srinivasan’s decision stems from the things he saw and learned during the lockdown that was imposed on the country in 2020. “I have always done a lot for charity and fundraising. But over the pandemic, my involvement with these social missions increased. After a point, it becomes impossible to not be affected by the quantum and depth of suffering that you see.”
His own illness also played a part in his decision to play music purely for charity.
{{/usCountry}}His own illness also played a part in his decision to play music purely for charity.
{{/usCountry}}“I caught Covid, but even before that I was critically ill for quite some time. That made me introspect and re-examine my life choices and acted as a catalyst to this decision.”
Art for the people
To Srinivasan, it is important that artistes—people who have a platform—use their work for the greater good.
“I am not saying that it is mandatory, but after reaching a certain stage in one’s career, one should start thinking of contributing to social welfare. It is not always going to come from the government or some institution; each of us has to do our bit. In my case, since music is not my sole source of income, I am in the position to make this decision. Ten years back, I could not have done this. Of course, it will still impact me financially, but I will survive,” says Srinivasan, the first recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi youth award for creative and experimental music.
Srinivasan believes that the purpose of art and music in our lives is not just entertainment. “Being an artiste allows you to represent and express life, hold a mirror to the society, and voice the anxieties and concerns of many. The platform you get as an artiste is one of responsibility. Rather than sit and comment on the sidelines or add a ‘like’ there or a ‘share’ here, I have always thought that being directly involved not only gives one much more fulfilment and satisfaction but also helps keep track of where the last mile is going,” says the piano man who, back in 2015, had raised money to build a school for the children affected by a flood. In 2018, he became the patron trustee for a home for visually-challenged underprivileged women in Chennai called Gnanadharshan Seva Foundation. “For them I created an idea called the Concert In The Dark, where I blindfolded myself and switched off all the lights in the entire auditorium, and played in pitch darkness for about an hour. This became a powerful way of getting the point across of how challenging it must be to live an entire life in the dark. We travelled with this concert to different cities in 2019,” says Srinivasan.
#InstaCause
During the pandemic, Srinivasan made optimum use of social media to organise various fundraisers, including ones to aid migrant workers.
“During the first lockdown, I curated the Janata Curfew Online Festival. I reached out to people through my social media page, and 183 artistes from across the globe volunteered. By the time we entered the second phase of Covid, I had gotten totally involved with migrant crises and loss of livelihood. I started #PlayItForward on social media, where I got 11 of my musician friends to put up an hour-long performance each. We put up crowdfunding links and the money raised went to help the migrant labourers.”
Srinivasan, who has 16.7k followers on his Instagram, intends to always use his social media for causes like this. “It is a bit tough for me to do Insta Reels or keep up with the latest trends on social media. But it is also becoming a requirement to be on social media and market oneself. If I were to market a cause instead of marketing myself, I would prefer that. I am not an interesting person outside my music. It is far more worthwhile to talk about something that will benefit others than to endlessly talk about myself,” he smiles.
Srinivasan considers himself lucky, since, he is associated with the music industry. “I am friends with most of the eminent musicians and music directors,” he says, “Many of them are willing to volunteer for these causes and play at fundraising events whenever they can. Who I am helps get people on board. Sitting with all these privileges and not doing anything would have been wrong. But when I ask myself, how much is enough, even if I do all of it, it is not enough.”
Yes, Teacher
Apart from being associated with various such other causes, including helping folk artistes and temple musicians in rural areas and trying to set up insurance for them, Srinivasan, who has an M.Phil from Columbia Business School and an MBA from the University of Southern California, is also an educationist.
“I consider myself an accidental musician. I always wanted to work in the field of education,” he says.
His foundation, Rhapsody, which pioneered the idea of STEM learning using music and arts-based intervention in schools, recently bagged the prestigious Reimagine Education Award given by Wharton School’s Alfred West Jr. Learning Lab and QS Quacquarelli Symonds. It was ranked Number 1 in Asia and Number 1 worldwide in the Arts and Humanities category.
“We are now going global. We are setting up in the US with the aim to link universities to high school students in India. We are CSR partners for various corporates and are trying to interweave music with mathematics and science education to reach far-flung underserved communities,” he says.
From HT Brunch, June 18, 2022
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