Nakul Krishnamurthy
Gr̥ham/Bhedam (2024)
installation with loudspeaker and three tanpuras

The three tanpuras in Gr̥ham/Bhedam are tuned to different tonic notes, the sounds of which fill the space. The speaker plays pre-recorded phrases that can best be described as Indian classical-adjacent. Irrespective of their knowledge of the tradition, the tonal ambiguities lead to the perception of different ragas depending on where one is positioned. The listener is encouraged to move around and attend closely to the changes that can be perceived in the colour of the music and its associated emotions. Addressing both the Western Orientalist and the Hindu nationalist imaginations of Indian classical music as ancient, exotic, spiritual, dronal, and timeless, the work animates the presence of this form by asserting its contemporaneity.