A toast to the fascinating world of music

Well, before i start writin this article,for all those who are unaware.. Carnatic music is the classical music of Southern India.. i should mention that the Southern part of India can
be referred to as the "Carnatic Music Hub" n rightly
so..A huge chunk of us have grown up feeling a lot closer to
the Eagles.. Pink Floyd..Robert miles..rather than the
ones performing just in our neighbourhood yet receiving
so much appreciation worldwide.

As far as i am concerned..at a young age, i was inclined to learn this art.. &
improvise on it. However as ill luck would have it, i'd
to move to Bombay where i did find learned teachers but
very satisfactory ones.. as is the case with most youngsters today, i 'd to discontinue due to circumstantial reasons.

As years passed by, i slowly became rather un-Carnatic!!
However, on my yearly visits to Chennai, i wud hear an aunt
speak out a Vidhwaan's name & it wud ring a bell smwher
in my rather un-Carnatic consciousness. Meanwhile, my
aunt would comment "Ah! how would u know? your
generation is not interested in any of this"
With due respect to many in my generation, this
storeotyping was not too far off the mark!I sometimes nailvely wonder if the unfamiliar &
uninitiated could have a wholesome experience listening
to sm Carnatic Music.

When i came to Chennai this time around.. some great
works caught my attention..initially i was a little
reluctant to listen cz the complexities.. i.e the raaga
n taal..aalap made my heart skip a beat.with all doubts plaguing my mind n the reluctance to
switch off the John Mayer i was currently playing in my
head,i picked up the collections n started listenin..
could i detect the raaga..or could i atleast appreciate
the work.. i thot not..well, i couldnt hav been more wrong. .

As i finished 4 mins of the song i realised it really
didnt matter wat kind of music it was.. what was being
evoked was a plain basic instinct to connect with
music..
i m sure all of u have come across books that tell u
what u already know..yet these are the best books.. this
music is somewhat similar.. upon pronouncement of every
note, u feel it is exactly wat was lurking in some
corner of your mind..
What amazed me wat a couple o more of minutes manged to
undo about a decade o my conditioning- conditioning that
had put me & many of my age away from this fascinating
world of Carnatic Music.

On an ending note, i guess, its just the form that
separates the great music of MS subhalakshmi from the
Eagles.. Simply put, it was a great tribute to creativity & sound