As I woke up today when the eastern horizon was dressing up with ethereal colours to greet the rising sun,I was pleasantly enchanted by the voice of Kumar Gandharva aired by a FM radio channel,who seemed to have fully submerged into the realm of harmonic vibrations,as he subtly teased the mornig air with the notes of the Poorvi Raga.Those minutes of nature's magic unravelling its glory through the kaleidoscopic eastern sky,and offering The Eternal Prayer, in vibrant resonance with the classical notes in the early dawn gave me goose-bumps.
As I stood still,mesmerised by nature's glorious manifestations,I couldn't help pondering over the glorious India that our country used to be once upon a time,and reflect upon her generously vast contributions in the very foundation and evolution of universal music.
Being an aggressively dedicated lover of Music,it shall forever remain for me(and ruefully so),a profound regret that I didn't have the opportunity to engage myself in disciplined,formal discourses in Indian classical music,and the pangs of regret hurts me doubly considering the fact that I had dabbled with the music of the occident in both its classical and popular forms,formally and informally during college days.
Music can be figuratively defined as the Art of Expression in sound,melody and harmony,both in composition.Structurally only 2 systems of music are possible,one in which there is progress by succession of single notes-the Melodic System,and the other in which the music progresses by groups of notes called chords,the Harmonic sysyem.
It is the genius of Ancient India that selflessly made the greatest contribution to the world of universal music-the 'Raga' System which is perhaps the zenith for any form,school and system that has ever pervaded the realm of music in human history,to survive or perish.It is easily the highest peak that any Melodic system could ever aspire to touch.It is the most outstanding feature of Indian music,in which each Raga is a distinct musical identity by itself and possesses well-defined characteristics which have evolved in a disciplined way with time.Music assumes consciousness in a Raga in perceptible dimensions,which possesses and evokes distinctive emotions which the Raga uses as a spirital bridge for communion between human consciousness and Nature,which exists in the purest of personalised forms.This is not blind glorification or artistic dogmatism-this aspect of communion is one of the most significant features of this melodic system.It serves a
most basic purpose which the underlying philosophy behind the creation of the Raga specifically necessitates.The classical form did not evolve over decades,or even centuries.It has been blossoming in a continuous process of evolution over a period of five millennia ,being nurtured by progressive visions of some of the most brilliant philosophers that have ever walked across temporal epochs in the history of humankind.The Raga system is the sonic manifestation of spiritual India.
The history of Music is closely associated with human society and life from the very beginning of Creation.The ideal of Absolute Music is realised in the concept of the Raga. And Music is the brightest gem adorning the culture of India.
Today's morning told me so for the umpteenth time.
No comments:
Post a Comment