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Music is meditation, says Bombay Jayashri |
What is music? It is not just singing, listening
and experiencing. It is more than all these put
together. Ask senior Carnatic vocalist Bombay
Jayashri Ramnath, she will vouch for it.
In a chat with Sudha Jagannathan,
she asserts that music (of any kind) can play a
positive impact on one who practices it and also
on one who partakes in it.
Music brings a sense of discipline, tranquility,
fulfillment and healing. In a way, it is twice-blessed
– it blesses the giver and the receiver.
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Discipline is a key to be a singer
in the first place, says Jayashri. To do an alapana,
say in raga Kambhoji, one has to sit cross-legged
for a considerable span of time. To do that, one
requires a lot of discipline. "There should
be control over the pitch and discovery of the raga,’’
she elaborates. For Jayashri, music is meditation.
In this modern day when `stressed-out’ youngsters
and `tired-out’ elders make a beeline for
yoga classes, Jayashri feels music can come in handy
to play the `ache-reliever’ act to perfection.
"Practicing music is akin to doing yoga,’’
she says. Practice of yoga gives one relief from
physical and mental stress. Doing pranayama improves
breathing and makes music presentation a lot easier.
Similarly, listening and practicing music bring
tranquility to the mind. If the mind can travel
faster than light, music too can transport one to
wherever he/she wishes. It depends on what the singer/listener
is yearning for. "If you are a Krishna devotee,
the Kannan songs could take you to Dwaraka. Bharatiyar
song “Engirundu Varugirado” could be
appealing to someone else,’’ she says.
For some rasikas, tranquility comes through listening
to their favourite singers. So much so, informal
fan clubs have sprouted for many an artiste such
as Vijay Siva, Sudha Raghunathan, Sowmya and others.
"Even Mahatma Gandhi had a favourite artiste.
He wanted to hear the now famous "Hari Tumharo”
to be sung by M.S. Subbulakshmi only. The music
of MS was appealing to great public personalities
such as Pandit Nehru, Sarojini Naidu and others.
MS did a big role in promoting Carnatic music in
international sphere. After she donned the role
of “Meera,” her songs on Lord Krishna
have become popular even to current generation of
people.
One has to immerse into music, experience it and
pursue it without any agenda. “If you take
music for the sake of music, it will give you back
everything,” says Jayashri. Practising a raga
this way, you get a wholesome experience of practicing
all kritis in that raga. This is what guru Lalgudi
Jayaraman has taught Jayashri. And, she says she
herself has experienced it while practicing Sankarabharanam,
Begada and other ragas. "While doing an alapana,
repetition is bound to happen. And, a few fumbles
are also likely. A painter gets immense satisfaction
while painting colours of various hues. Each and
every colour will be repeated, no doubt. But a good
painting will surely make the artist feel contended
while his work is displayed. Similarly, while you
sing each time and improvise it, you get a new experience
and make the rasikas relate to the music of legends
such as Semmangudi, M.S. Subbulakshmi, M.L.Vasanthakumari
and others,’’ she says.
More than this, music has curative powers. Assorted
people and organizations are still working at various
levels to scientifically chronicle the curative
powers of the music. Yet, there is a conviction
among many that music does have a healing power.
"I have heard from people that Ananda Bhairavi
helps to reduce blood pressure. Likewise, Atana
helps to reduce the blood sugar,’’ Jayashri
says, pointing to people who have experienced it.
In fact, Apollo Hospital has a music therapy wing
in Chennai to treat certain types of ailments.
Music, according to her, is one way to gain peace
of mind. "We need something else other than
the daily routine to keep us going forward. In that
way, music helps us a lot. In this stress-filled
world, one can’t depend on anything else.
Music gives satisfaction permanently. We can rely
on it at all the times,’’ she says.
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