Music is
more than just notes on instruments and voices heard across microphones. It is
a way of release. Music can speak directly to the soul and put you on cloud 9
without even trying too hard. There is a legend that the great King Akbar's
musician Tansen once sang the raaga Deepak and lit a lamp. People have been
heard of who brought rain down on the scorched and barren earth using music.
This is a story about music- Indian classical
music to be precise and the raaga Todi to be exact.
Back when
tigers used to smoke, there was a guru and his pupil. From a very young age
this pupil had been learning with his guru. He first learnt the basics- the
sargam and then moved on to raagas. This art form demanded a lot from a person.
Long hours of practice were a must and often, people in this trade used to play
till their fingers bled. People had been known to miss meals and practice, such
was the dedication to their art. But then again, all art demands a certain
amount of tenacity and why should one of the oldest art forms be any different?
On the day
our story begins, the guru asked his
pupil to render the raaga Todi. The pupil begins the first part called the alap. The guru doesn't speak. He
listens. By the time the pupil has reached the end of the final part, the guru
has a strange look on his face. He then instructs his pupil to do exactly what
he says.
"You
must go home, take a bath and put on a clean dhoti. Then, keep a round vessel filled with water in the centre of
the room and take up the tanpura.
Start playing Todi, exactly like you played it here. However, once you start
playing, do not stop till the raaga is complete."
The pupil
nods once and returns to his home. He places the tanpura in the corner of the room where it stands and then takes a
bath. He puts on a clean dhoti and
takes a round vessel. He fills this vessel with water and places it in the
centre of the room. The water is absolutely still. He then takes the tanpura from the corner.
The pupil
sits on the floor in front of the vessel and starts the alap of the raaga. After a few minutes of playing, he notices that
the water in the vessel is moving. Unable to believe his eyes, he almost stops
playing. He remembers his guru's last instruction however and goes on playing.
As he plays,
the water starts to move in rhythm to the music. It is almost as if someone is
dancing to the tune of the raaga. Unable to understand what is happening and
yet too scared to stop playing, the pupil silently prays. After a long time,
the raaga comes to an end. He then notices that the water slowly stops moving
and becomes absolutely still again.
The next
morning, the pupil goes back to his guru. HIs guru asks,
"Did you do as I
instructed?"
"Yes I
did!", said the pupil and he recounts the entire incident that happened.
Then, his
guru smiles and asks, "Did you understand what was happening?"
"No,
guruji I did not. I was scared but you had said to not stop playing until the
raaga was complete, so I did what you said. But, I do not understand what
happened."
"Yesterday,
your audience was God himself", said the guru. "He came down from the
heavens and danced to your music. You can never play Todi ever again."
Music has
power, as this story proves. Sometimes, miracles can be wrought from playing an
instrument. Music is joy, it is sorrow, it is peace and it is turmoil. But
music is also transcendental. It is just a pulse capable of wonders!
The Bilge Master
