What a day! The maths exam had to be the last one to end as the best examination of the semester!! Also, what I experienced after that is something unforgettable and wonderful in its own way. I again thank Srinath for inviting me and Nisha for the concert, the main reason for this post.
So, I start with my association with Carnatic music.I have been born and brought up with carnatic music. Literally. Considering my father sang all the famous carnatic songs to put me and my sister to sleep till I was about 7 years old. Even when I started learning in the 2nd standard( although that teacher shifted her house in a year :( ) , my grandmother tells me I used to play the simple notes I learnt on the casio and sing along at that age. However, luck came my way and I have been able to continue learning something I am just so passionate about. Also, listening to music is always delightful , beyond doubt; but to discover the same peace, content and happiness in your own voice, it is nothing but pure magic.
So, listening to concerts which appear on TV is something I always do. But the same thing live!!. I had never imagined I would do that so soon. So Srinath told us about this concert which is a tribute to the great composer Thyagaraja on the day he attained samadhi which happens in lots of places, was happening at shanmukhananda hall and that his mother was a part of it. He invited us and we readily agreed. But we didn't know or rather realize how much that "yes" has an effect on us now.
It is pure bliss to listen to even one musical instrument being played accompanied by a wonderful voice.But, we had more. We got to listen to 8 veenas, 8 violins, 2 flutes, 3 mrindangam( something like a dholak), 3 gatham (it is a pot used as a percussion instrument) and 50 singers together in harmony singing the best composed songs with such devotion, that it cannot be expressed in words. One advantage of it being a live concert was I could see everyone's faces unlike on the tv where they concentrate on a select few. Each singer was lost in what they were singing; absorbed in their own world. There was this mridangam player who smiled throughout the concert when he played.The other player alternated between the ghatam and mridangam and was practically having a conversation through the instruments they both were playing. Two of the veena players sang so peacefully as they played. There was an almost 75 year old lady playing the veena!! Talk about loving music.
And me??? Oh well, I was taken back to the time when my dad used to sing these songs. I knew everyone of the 5 songs that they sang. But all the more , that was the reason I was so mesmerized. I was one with all of the people present in the hall, savouring every note that fell on my ear, every beat in company. It was a divine hour and I really couldn't clap after any song because I felt this music was way beyond something for which claps satisfy what I felt. I could have really cried with that overflowing emotion. I just didn't want it to finish. I was numb . And I can keep describing how I felt because words don't do the job.
I must say, it was the best thing that I could ever do in my life. ever. Gives me another reason to love the fact that I am learning this wonderful art. Something so divine just cannot be explained. You have to experience it.
So a big thanks again to Srinath for that wonderful experience and Nisha for accompanying me till Andheri station :).
And so I am inclined to end this post with a thought that will never change; what we feel when we listen to music is just something we are blessed with. Cherish it as I go back to the reverberations of yesterday's peace.
So, I start with my association with Carnatic music.I have been born and brought up with carnatic music. Literally. Considering my father sang all the famous carnatic songs to put me and my sister to sleep till I was about 7 years old. Even when I started learning in the 2nd standard( although that teacher shifted her house in a year :( ) , my grandmother tells me I used to play the simple notes I learnt on the casio and sing along at that age. However, luck came my way and I have been able to continue learning something I am just so passionate about. Also, listening to music is always delightful , beyond doubt; but to discover the same peace, content and happiness in your own voice, it is nothing but pure magic.
So, listening to concerts which appear on TV is something I always do. But the same thing live!!. I had never imagined I would do that so soon. So Srinath told us about this concert which is a tribute to the great composer Thyagaraja on the day he attained samadhi which happens in lots of places, was happening at shanmukhananda hall and that his mother was a part of it. He invited us and we readily agreed. But we didn't know or rather realize how much that "yes" has an effect on us now.
It is pure bliss to listen to even one musical instrument being played accompanied by a wonderful voice.But, we had more. We got to listen to 8 veenas, 8 violins, 2 flutes, 3 mrindangam( something like a dholak), 3 gatham (it is a pot used as a percussion instrument) and 50 singers together in harmony singing the best composed songs with such devotion, that it cannot be expressed in words. One advantage of it being a live concert was I could see everyone's faces unlike on the tv where they concentrate on a select few. Each singer was lost in what they were singing; absorbed in their own world. There was this mridangam player who smiled throughout the concert when he played.The other player alternated between the ghatam and mridangam and was practically having a conversation through the instruments they both were playing. Two of the veena players sang so peacefully as they played. There was an almost 75 year old lady playing the veena!! Talk about loving music.
And me??? Oh well, I was taken back to the time when my dad used to sing these songs. I knew everyone of the 5 songs that they sang. But all the more , that was the reason I was so mesmerized. I was one with all of the people present in the hall, savouring every note that fell on my ear, every beat in company. It was a divine hour and I really couldn't clap after any song because I felt this music was way beyond something for which claps satisfy what I felt. I could have really cried with that overflowing emotion. I just didn't want it to finish. I was numb . And I can keep describing how I felt because words don't do the job.
I must say, it was the best thing that I could ever do in my life. ever. Gives me another reason to love the fact that I am learning this wonderful art. Something so divine just cannot be explained. You have to experience it.
So a big thanks again to Srinath for that wonderful experience and Nisha for accompanying me till Andheri station :).
And so I am inclined to end this post with a thought that will never change; what we feel when we listen to music is just something we are blessed with. Cherish it as I go back to the reverberations of yesterday's peace.
1 comment:
O you said it girl! I share the exact same feelings! Bliss. Ecstasy. Wonder.
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