"आज महादेव बीन बजाए...."
(Aaj Mahadeo Been Bajae....)
"आपल्या संगीताचे मर्मच हे आहे की वाद्याने गावे आणि गळ्यातून वीणा वाजावी... "
("The very essence of our music is that the instrument should sing, and the voice should resonate like a veena.")
"बंदिश-चीजेतले शब्द पहिल्या आवर्तनात एकदा म्हणून झाले की, भारतीय संगीत म्हणजे उरतं ते सुरांचं एक ऍबस्ट्रॅक्ट असं सुंदर साम्राज्य..."
("Once the words of the bandish (composition) have been sung once in the first aavartan, what remains in Indian music is a beautiful, abstract empire of notes.")
To define Indian music, one would hardly find anyone more capable than P. L. Deshpande. These sentences that he wrote and spoke on different occasions are themselves sufficient.
According to many linguists, language itself originated from music. The various sounds and resonances of nature came together to form the earliest music, and only later were words added to it, giving rise to language.
The most ancient inheritance of humanity, the Vedas, are also sung. The Samaveda explains how the hymns of the Rigveda are to be sung.
The essence of India’s Vedas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads was expressed by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. While explaining the Gita and describing himself in relation to the Vedic tradition of India, Lord Krishna says: among the Vedas, I am the Samaveda. From this Samaveda arose Indian music, built upon the foundation of twelve notes and twenty-two shrutis.
Although its foundation lies in the Samaveda, its true development can be studied in Natyashastra, in Sangita Ratnakara by Sharngadeva, in the works of Abhinavagupta, and in all the thought and expression that followed thereafter.
Even though Indian music is bound by the mathematics of notes, shrutis, thaats, ragas, movements, and rhythmic cycles, the performer can interpret it in their own way. Without breaking the framework, one can take boundless flights of imagination. This is precisely that beautiful abstract empire of notes.
This expression can be seen in the different gharanas of Indian music and in their styles, approaches, and perspectives of presenting music. Such diversity is not limited only to gharanas.
In music, beyond notes, shrutis, ragas, movements, and rhythm, elements such as rasa, fragrance, emotion, and drama give completeness to a performance. And as many individuals, so many temperaments—this uniqueness becomes visible through the personality of the performer. There one sees the manifestation of the Indian thought: “एकं सत् विप्राः बहुधा वदन्ति” truth is one, though the wise express it in many ways.
Thus, the styles of the Dhrupad gharanas such as Dagar bani, Darbhanga, Bettiah, and Talwandi are distinct, and within them too, different singers and instrumentalists have their own approaches.
Even in khayal singing, the gharanas differ, and variations appear according to the individual performer. Indeed, even two people trained in the same gharana present music differently. All within the framework, yet with creative freedom and that abstract, beautiful empire of notes.
Where traditions exist, where frameworks and rules are laid down, there are always those who go beyond those very rules and create new traditions and unique creations. Such exceptions ultimately prove the rule.
From the sounds and resonances of nature emerged the primordial music. Later, the melodies and tones of folk music were brought within the disciplined framework of musical theory and incorporated into the realm of classical music. One modern musical sage who accomplished this was Kumar Gandharva. Through his immense imagination and creative power, he created dhun-based ragas, brought folk music into the courtyard of classical music, and opened vast possibilities for constructing that abstract empire of notes.
According to the philosophy of Samkhya, Prakriti (nature) and Purusha (consciousness) are the fundamental principles of creation, and the entire world arises and functions through their interaction. This philosophical idea finds symbolic expression in the form of Shiva-Parvati, in the image of Ardhanari-Nateshwara, two yet one, complementary to each other.
Then why does this philosophy not appear in the expression of music, particularly in singing? This question arose. The reason turned out to be the difference in the natural pitch ranges of male and female voices.
Indian music is based on melody, that is, the creation of music within a single tonal framework. Western music, on the other hand, is based on harmony, the combination of instruments operating in different pitch ranges.
The saying, "आपल्या संगीताचे मर्मच हे आहे की वाद्याने गावे आणि गळ्यातून वीणा वाजावी..." ("The very essence of our music is that the instrument should sing, and the voice should resonate like a veena.") reflects this essence. The answer to this question in modern times was discovered by the extraordinary musician Pandit Jasraj through the concept of Murchhana-bhed.
In Indian music there are several such pairs of ragas in which a female singer and a male singer can sing together without abandoning their natural pitch ranges (for example, Abhogi/Kalavati, Chandrakauns/Madhukauns, Bhatiyar/Bhairav, etc.).
If the Madhyam of the raga sung by the female singer is treated as the Shadja by the male singer, and he sings the subsequent notes accordingly, the corresponding paired raga emerges. Thus, the female singer and the male singer, Prakriti and Purusha, without abandoning their natural pitch, can complement each other and sing simultaneously. This concept and unique artistic form came to be known as Jasrangi.
The framework of notes, shrutis, ragas, resonance, and rhythm remains the same, yet through a new idea and creative expression a unique manifestation emerges, forming once again a beautiful abstract empire of notes. The deeper one goes into Indian classical music, the deeper it becomes.
Though structured, it holds limitless possibilities. Those who explore these possibilities through their own thought and vision create new dimensions and become immortal. This music, granting creative freedom and yet possessing extraordinary elegance, is therefore deeply dear to me. As one develops the progression of notes and completes a cycle, the more one reflects upon it, the more expansive it becomes, leading toward the infinite.
As I write about music, creation, and freedom, I do not see any possibility of arriving at the final sam (resolution). Before this itself becomes too abstract, it is better to conclude.
जय हो!
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