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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Lyricism

Music is one thing in my life that I value dearly. I realised early on that there is LOT of music that we never discover because we listen to only a certain type of music. So I try and keep an open mind about music and listen to every genre. I don't think many of you know but I have learnt Tabla for 4 years, from my 7th to my 10th. It is horrible that I haven't found time to restart my classes. But I am going to. That is going to happen.

So I owe my liking for Classical music to my guru. I don't really understand the nuances of the music but I like listening to it. As a friend of mine had once said, "Listening to Classical is like coming home." It gives me an inexplicable peace. On another level, when I hear the great maestros sing their heart out, I feel so small and insignificant in comparison to their voice. Like a little soul looking at an endless canvas. The way it fills up the entire room "like a serenade of sound" is just amazing to see. It makes me want to immerse myself in it. I feel the sound going through me and making me complete one sur at a time.

Lately I have been attending concerts organised by the Indian Music Group. Damn those guys are doing a phenomenal job. See the IMG for those who dont know, is a student run organization, originally started by the stalwart Late Ustad Allah Rakha and it is continuing on its musical journey. Every month they have a concert by an artist and I love going there. This way I get to interact with the Greats from close quarters. It is a wonderful experience and you just know you are at the right place once the concert starts. On a completely different level, the IMG gives me a reason to continue listening to Classical and to keep visiting college. The last 5 years that I volunteered for Janfest, IMG's Annual Musical Extravaganza, have been some the best so far. I have so many happy memories of it and I keep telling my friends about all the little Artist Management stories.

I fondly remember this one time I walked into the IMG and the then librarian Frank, played Pt. Bhimsen Joshi's Abhangs, I wont forget that ever. We shared that, our liking for Bhimsenji.

So, what I love the most about music is the lyrics, there is such lucid simplicity in them that it is merely impossible to not be amazed with the clarity of thought.
Pair that with impeccable mastery over surs and taans and that when you realize how small you are.