“There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.” – George Eliot
It is an indivisible part of human life. Our choices are different for sure but each one of us listens to some of the other kinds of music. Some love to enjoy heavy rock music, some love to experience peace through the light music whereas some people try to experience the divinity into the depths of a raga. Because of this, we have realized that everything that has rhythm has music. Our breathing also has a rhythm. Have you ever seen a tree breathe it sways to the music of breeze? So, we can say that there is music in every entity.
(Pic credit- Pinterest)
Throughout history, music has been an important adjunct to ritual and drama and has been credited with the capacity to reflect and influence human emotion. It is the driver/influencer of our emotions like the legend Tansen, his renditions of ragas, a musical form intended to invoke emotion or nature, were said to tame animals and turn day into night, while his voice could replicate the roar of a lion or the chirp of a bird. It has the ability to convey all sorts of emotions to people which can also not be in a positive way cause everyone tries to perceive or understand music on their own like Helter Skelter by The Beatles which was interpreted by cult leader Charles Manson as a message predicting inter-racial war in the US. This shows that music is also our companion who knew something as simple as rhythmic sounds entwined words could invoke our emotions.
(Pic credit- Ronald Michaud)
It’s also a way to tap around our reservoir of memories. As soon as one hears the iconic voice of Jagjit Singh or Mehdi Hassan it takes us back to the good old days when one used to sit under the wintry sun of Sunday morning getting oil champi by our mothers.
This is why music is known as the universal language because it knows no boundaries. It flows freely beyond the barriers of language, religion, country, etc, which also unifies us as a country. India, a country of diversities has numerous styles of music. Some of them are Classical, Pop, Ghazals, Bhajans, Carnatic, Folk, Khyal, Thumri, Qawwali, Bhangra, Drupad, Dadra, Dhamar, Bandish, Baithak Gana, Sufi, Indo Jazz, Odissi, Tarana, Sugama Sangeet, Bhavageet, etc which are beautifully sometimes paired with our diverse dance forms.
That music carefully curated and woven over the centuries is passed down from history to today’s generation who consciously try to preserve them in their own special way.
Therefore music is the essence of life, actually a being in itself. Showcasing itself through various mediums and being part of our very existence.
(Pic credit- Still from the movie- Call me by your name)
Here’s a link to a playlist carefully curated to get the feels of my love, Delhi
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37PdSvZEvi9QGFqRF44IDQ?si=15aeac217da34092
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