When i say “Indian classical music”, barriers go up. People find it daunting, something “that is not for me”. Why?

It is just another form of music. This has always been on my mind to reach out to everyone. Like any other field or subject, it is just a question of understanding.

Think about it, as a new born, we react to music. / lullaby even before we understand or know the language. A small child can tap feet to rhythm before even understanding the complexity of rhythmic patterns. So, then, what happens as we grow up? We still appreciate music, we appreciate film music, jazz, pop etc, but what happens when it comes to “indian classical music”? Why does it feel daunting? Maybe partly conditioning? Maybe partly insufficient understanding? Maybe partly not enough exposure? After all, all music is composed within the same gamut of musical notes within an octave.

”Indian classical music” can be seen as another language, a medium of expression, a form through which an artist explores a story line through the medium of music.

Now, we all know that in order to properly express ourselves in any language, we need to learn some basics of the language. If you are reading this post, it is because, you learnt the fundamentals of this language called English - its alphabets, its grammar, words, forming of sentences etc. These basic skills help us to communicate, read, write etc,. It is not necessary for every English language user to become a Novelist, or a Poet but the basic skills acquired help us to appreciate and enjoy great works written in English.

Indian classical music is pretty much the same. It is a language with alphabets, grammar, words, sentence forming etc. There is a framework, rules defined within which an artist can freely explore and express the music. This framework and rules are what defines the “classical” part of the music.

This can be appreciated at multiple levels. One can enjoy the music just for the sake of the music, the melody that moves you, the rhythmic patterns that make you tap feet etc. One level deeper, one can learn few basics of music and appreciate at a more technical level. And then there is the artist who, like in any other profession, digs deep into the subject, specialises in a particular musical form and then creates great works of music which others can enjoy.

So, keep an open mind, let yourself free to enjoy the melody, enjoy the music, enjoy the rhythm, and don’t get biased with tags like classical, dhrupad, carnatic, hindustani etc. These are for artists to break their head over!

I will talk more in detail about the “classical” part of “Indian classical music” in a separate post.