Friday, 1 August 2014

Listen to the pause…



I was pleasantly surprised, this morning, when I received a CD with the recordings of a musician-friend. I have known Sameer for close to a decade now, and it has been a wonderful journey for me, as a listener, to observe his growth as a musician. It brought to mind a thought that forced me to write this short post.
Classical music demands a maturity in musical thought, not only from the musician, but also on the part of the listener. It is not something that merely catches the fancy of the ear-drums but nudges the intellect and tugs at the strings of the heart, and, therefore, its impact is limitless and timeless.
Hence, music is a culmination and reflection thereof, of the spiritual, philosophical, aesthetic and mathematical aspects of life itself. I wouldn’t be wrong if I stated, here, that an undermining of any of these aspects is an undermining of life itself!
An art form is that which can move the receptor emotionally – cause the eyes to well up with tears, the lips to carve a smile and the palms to meet in applause!
So, while one tends to get judgemental about the technical prowess of an artiste, it becomes imperative to understand that ‘sur’ is delicate and the pauses even more so.
It is the pause that displays a complete musical prowess and brings in that connect where emotion and music merge to create magic – it falls seamlessly into rhythm and is in perfect tune with the cosmic sound!

 Raga Shree, Pt. Kumar Gandharva

No comments: