https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureThe roots of Indian classical music are traceable back to the vedas. The Samvad to be precise. In turns the Vedas are believed to be ancient ways of connecting with the divine spirit or God. In other words, an old spiritual paradigm for men to con...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureAs I was in the process of imparting music a few weeks ago to a student of mine, we reached a very tricky and rather surprising juncture. I was trying to teach the student a simple phrase in an Aalaap (a creative improvisation within a Raag). The ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureRecently, I went through a difficult interaction with one of my clients, a matter that was originally born out of misunderstanding which led to a fair bit of unease on both sides. The matter was centered on money. Basically, the difference of opin...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureIt was my first ever stage appearance. I was around five or six years old. I distinctly remember the feeling. A microphone was thrust into my face by the soundman, who was completely oblivious to neither my three-and-a-half-foot size nor the feeli...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureAs I saw the logo of my venture, Music Vruksh, projected on to the screen while in the middle of the annual Baithak, an event we conduct for students and music aficionados, I experienced a surreal feeling. The event was presided over by the execut...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CulturePeople have often asked me how I manage to keep integrity to my rendering of Carnatic music without the influence of the Hindustani style and vice versa. And I reply with casual ease, that it’s no different from being able to speak different langu...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI sat today with my electronic Taanpura and Swarmandal, both Indian classical instruments used to accompany vocal music, for my vocal Riyaaz, or practice. Riyaaz is the life breath of every singer, the fuel that keeps the singing going effortlessl...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI grew up musically inclined, and into a family where many were genetically gifted with musical abilities. However, I can safely look back and say that I did not quite understand the magnitude of grace that had been showered upon me until rather l...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI was in one of my sessions the other day with a student, a lady who had just commenced learning Vilambit Khayal from me in her Hindustani classical music journey. For the uninitiated, learning Vilambit Khayal or Bada Khayal as it is alternately c...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI was in one of my sessions the other day with a student, a lady who had just commenced learning Vilambit Khayal from me in her Hindustani classical music journey. For the uninitiated, learning Vilambit Khayal or Bada Khayal as it is alternately c...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI had a tough day recently. A client of mine who does music for wellness sessions with me began a debate that morphed into an increasingly unpleasant conversation. The client, who had believed in less strict Covid protocols through the pandemic co...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureBack in my college, I had a friend who was my ‘philosophy buddy’. We were teen philosophy geeks who prided themselves on having armchair discussions on the greatness of life and its profound realities. During one of our discussions, Bugs, as I use...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureThis is a question that many professional musicians are often asked, by people who are uninitiated into classical music. ‘Different kinds of music make me feel happy. What is so special about Indian Classical music? Why should I try it?’. The firs...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureRiyaaz is a meaty word with a lot of gravitas. All Indian classical musicians know what I mean when I say that this word carries a level of importance than classical music itself. Riyaaz in simple words means practice. But it has deeper layers of ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureA young and brilliant court musician was taking a stroll around the gardens of Akbar’s palace one cloudy evening four hundred years ago. It was a day that not only foretold the monsoons but also a beautiful milestone that was to come in classical ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI had an interesting session today with a student of music. This session was one that had to combine therapy with music, since the student in question had approached me with a specific purpose. She wanted to see how learning and engaging in classi...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI was once at a wedding celebration of a friend. It was a grand occasion as weddings usually are. There was fun, frolic, and a festive mood at the venue. Relatives and friends were huddled in groups, some enjoying the gourmet wedding food, some en...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI was once at a wedding celebration of a friend. It was a grand occasion as weddings usually are. There was fun, frolic, and a festive mood at the venue. Relatives and friends were huddled in groups, some enjoying the gourmet wedding food, some en...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureIndian Classical music has been always considered a serious and stuff form of traditional music meant more for the wise and elderly. We can conjure up images of a septuagenarian artist with his accompanying artists on stage tuning his taanpura and...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureIt was the tenth of December yesterday, and I look back on how quickly time seems to have flown. It seemed just like yesterday that I was laughing at a WhatsApp forward, a GIF of a happy Santa Claus holding a vaccine syringe and dancing to ‘Jingle...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureToday, as I was sitting down with my Riyaaz of the Carnatic music equivalent of the Asavari Raaga, I brought back mixed memories. It evoked a collage of emotions, making me feel nostalgic about the warmth of my grandparents’ home, while also remin...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureDuring my schooldays, I once boarded a train in Chennai and was headed to Delhi for a music competition. This was way back in the nineties, an age where there were no cell phones and no social media chatter. My vivid memories of that trip are not ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI have been a professional musician for a long time now, and in the process of having to create a profession from my passion, I have had many junctures where practicality and idealism have come to a head. It was just a few days ago that while in t...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureRecently I visited a relative for Dussera. More specifically, for Navratri ‘golu’, a colourful display of dolls was done during Navratri in the south Indian states. On the dinner menu, there was the quintessential Sambar, the spicy and tangy soupy...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI once noticed a picture of a vast field full of sunflowers, each one of them unerringly looking at the sun. It was a beautiful sight, not just visually but also symbolically, for we humans are no different. If they were sentient beings, one could...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureA ‘Kalpana swara’ (creative compilation of notes done impromptu on stage by the artist) in Carnatic music often involves what is known as a ‘Korvai’. A Korvai is a set of swaras or notes that are arranged in a creative yet mathematically...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureIt was years ago, well before mobile phones were ubiquitous, and when the only way to enjoy music was with the Sony Walkman cassette-player. I was journeying from home to my college, extremely anxious for an exam I was about to write, and decided ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI recently got an inquiry for my music academy from a young mother of a four-year-old. She wanted to commence music education for her child. After our initial exchange about the child’s name, age and musical inclinations, the mother went on to the...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI was speaking to my music instruments’ dealer recently as I was finalising a Swarmandal piece (an Indian harp). I asked him to send me a video clip of the instrument being played, in order to check for its sound quality. As the instrument was str...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureAs I sat for my online concert last month, I was compelled to deliberate on how Covid isolation has changed the tapestry of the classical music concert scene. From the grand stage with fancy acoustics and live instruments, we have now moved to the...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureThis incident happened many years ago when I used to have a small teaching practice for children at home. As a side occupation to my music education, I would take classes for adults and children alike who wanted to learn classical music. Most of t...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureFor a classical musician, this is a challenging topic to talk about. But I am here to speak about some deep realisations that I have had, and I will stay true to that. Over the many centuries that classical music has been around in India, it has b...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI smiled and looked affectionately at the video of a little girl of five, one of the students of my music academy. She was doing some ‘Sargam’ patterns, which are patterns of musical notes taught in the early stages of classical music learning. Th...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureWhen I started out as a musician many years ago, I had only one principle that I went by. Practice my music every day, commit myself to rigorous Riyaaz, and everything else is a given; I will go on to become a great musician and the world will rem...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureThis is a pattern that started years ago. During my musical journey, I would hit phases of complete apathy and even aversion to musical activities. I would sit for hours trying to start my riyaaz, but to no avail. I would stare at my music notes a...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI woke up today to a forwarded video on WhatsApp featuring some doctors at a hospital in Andhra Pradesh cheering up their terminally ill Covid patients in intensive care with song and dance. It was a confusing sight. There are some pains, I though...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureAs a child, I was often asked if I practised hours on end to be able to sing well, or was it something I was naturally gifted with. Today, looking back, I would say that this was a profound question with an even more profound answer. And certainly...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureI often get asked this question by a gamut of people. Audiences at concerts, participants at lecture demonstrations, parents of young students of Music Vruksh, friends, acquaintances and even strangers who hear that I am a classical musician. Sinc...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureIt was during one of my music-appreciation workshops that I came across this question, “What’s the funda?” It cropped up time and again in response to musical pieces that were played for the participants. Reflecting on it, this is a question that ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureMUSIC MUSINGS ‘DAANEDAAR!’ boomed a voice from inside me during one of my Riyaaz sessions while I was practising ‘Taans’ (a form of improvisation in Indian classical music where many notes are arranged in fast patterns). Was this a voice possibly ...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureWhen I was a senior in college, I was entrusted with the task of auditioning and choosing singers for an upcoming group music competition. It was going to be an inter collegiate contest and I had to pick and train the best singers from among the f...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureIt was a dreary Monday morning that day. Writing it off, as usual, Monday morning blues wasn’t quite cutting it; it was more than that. Before I knew it, I was feeling physically nauseous and febrile, and somehow remembering Horlicks! Yes, Horlick...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureThe other day, I reached out to an old classmate of mine who works in the Virtual Reality (VR) space. I was thinking of gifting a VR device to a friend who is struggling with agoraphobia, the fear of being in the open, and wanted my classmate’s vi...https://latest.thedailyguardian.com/art-culture/classical-music-and-mindfulness/September 19, 2022, 3:23 amhttps://latest.thedailyguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03-Story-3.jpgArt & CultureAs I sit down to write on music and its relevance in our lives, the first thing I am aware of is the cacophony of various sounds around me. Seated on a bean bag with my device, trying to pen down my thoughts, I cannot but feel a tad irritable as t...