The Sound of Music..

“ഗായകാ നിൻ വിപഞ്ചികയിലെ ഗാനമായിരുന്നെങ്കിൽ ഞാൻ / താവകാംഗുലീലാളിതമൊരു താളമായിരുന്നെങ്കിൽ ഞാൻ / കൽ‌പ്പനകൾ ചിറകണിയുന്ന 
പുഷ്പമംഗല്ല്യ രാത്രിയിൽ / വന്നു ചൂടിക്കുമായിരുന്നു ഞാൻ എന്നിലെ രാഗമാലിക..”, so goes one of the strains of a Malayalam song of the late 1960s. It broadly translates into “oh minstrel if only I were a melodic song on your harp, / a rhythm ardently struck by your deft fingers; / I would, on a night of flowery gold when my fancy takes wings, / fly to your midst to adorn you with a garland of my musical notes..”. Translation, regrettably, is an indequate tool to fully convey the magic, as described by the lyricist, in the minstrel’s music. 

Life is a stuff suffused with music and, bereft of it, our brief earthly transit would have been so insipid and drab. A sentiment that would probably have prompted Maya Angelou to exclaim, “Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness”. 

Today, June 21, 2024, is World Music Day (WMD), also known as Fête de la Musique, uniting people around the globe through the universal language of music. This annual event, steeped in history and cultural significance, offers a platform for musicians of all genres to showcase their talent and for communities to come together in a harmonious celebration of sound.

The origins of WMD date back to 1982 in France, initiated as the brainchild of Jack Lang, then minister of Culture and Maurice Fleuret, a renowned composer and music journalist. They envisioned a day dedicated to free and live music, encouraging amateur and professional musicians alike to take to the streets and perform. Their vision materialised on June 21, 1982, chosen to coincide with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. This inaugural event was a resounding success, setting the stage for an annual celebration across the world. WMD is presently celebrated in more than 120 countries and its significance extends beyond mere performances. It provides an opportunity for people of all ages, backgrounds, and musical preferences to engage in a shared experience, fostering a sense of community and mutual appreciation.

The World Music Day holds special significance in the Indian context, since our diverse country is the home of Carnatic and Hindustani classical music traditions preceding a rich repertoire of folk and contemporary music streams in around 22 different languages. The performance this year at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium is centred around the collaboration of numerous musical styles, bringing together the spirit of several musical ideologies in a unique and harmonious blend that resonates across boundaries and unites the soul. As a city that celebrates the arts, WMD has been transformed into a flagship event by the musicians of Kolkata. With legends like Amjad Ali Khan, Usha Uthup, Shubha Mudgal, Shankar Mahadevan, Rekha Bhardwaj and Papon set to hit the stage, this year’s performance promises to be superlative. 

It is not all sound. The interlude of silence between sounds of the singers and instruments is part of the music too: “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between” (Mozart). The musician and the raga (literally, ‘colouring’; raga in Indian classical music is a melodic framework, akin to a melodic mode, each of the six basic musical modes expressing different moods in certain characteristic progressions, with more emphasis placed on some notes than others. Raga is central to classical Indian music and a unique feature of the tradition: no equivalent concept exists in western music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures and musical motifs; and, from the perspective of the Indian tradition, the resultant musical output holds the ability to “colour the mind” as it engages the emotions of the audience) are like the temple priest and the deity. Every morning as the musician sits down to practise, the soulful lyrics and the rhythm rouse the raga’s divine force – quite like the ceremonial prayer performed in a temple to ‘awaken’ the deity. 

Like the priest, the musician first purifies his own mind, body and soul, and seeks his guru’s blessings before he begins to sing. As the temple precincts are cleansed before the daily puja, the place where the riyaz or sadhana is performed each day is tidied up likewise. The priest first ‘calls’ the deity, what is known as the aavahan, with mantras and invites Him to be ‘seated’ as the vigraha, which is duly adorned with vermilion, sandal paste and silk cloth. To the chanting of mantras, the priest ‘appeases’ the divinity present in the vigraha, treating it as a guest with offerings of milk, honey, fruits, sweets and incense placed in front of lit oil lamps. Similarly, the musician sings the lyrics like a mantra, appeasing the raga’s deity by awakening its mandala or mystic swara configuration. As the raga is sung, in cycles of initiation, elaboration and conclusion, they expand its presence and aura, giving it life and a spiritual extension and reach. Today holds an added significance too in that the 21st June is commemorated as the International Yoga Day – duly honouring an ancient practice that can be verily described as the music of the body and mind, since yoga essentially is the orchestration of energy into all bodily organs to harmonise mind and soul. 

It is finding new ways to move the body through asanas, controlling one’s breath with pranayamas and finding a centred self through meditation. Hatha yoga is a branch of yoga that uses bodily techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word hatha literally means “force”, alluding to a system of physical postures and movements. Hatha splits to ha and ta, respectively denoting the sun and moon, signifying the need to balance the inner sun and moon, otherwise known as the pingala and Ida energies within, to attain a state of harmony and thereby higher levels of awareness. It ought to be clear that energy is foundational to all existence and what is perceived as severalty of matter is merely an illusion created by the sense faculties. Systematic calibration of the all-pervasive energy and continuous research on it is called science; seeking deeper understanding of the supreme energy manifesting as music, dance, paintings and sculpture in the respective harmony of sounds, graceful bodily movements and expressions, colours and forms, pervading as universal consciousness, and utilising the practice of yoga to attain higher dimensions of awareness is called spirituality; merely investing it with divinity and blind deification of it in different forms degrade it into dogmatic religions, artfully institutionalised and manipulated by the clergy and partisan interests to opiate the masses, exercise control and dominance as power blocs.