Commentary
Sound is a sensation and a stimulus; reflected, refracted, and humbly attenuated by its medium, the sound wave propagates. Only the frequencies between 20 Hz and 20KHz comes in the hearing range of us humans.
Voices, calls, laughs, and whispers fill this range of ours, from morning to evening. We consider, approve, discard, ignore, and absorb it as and when we understand the hidden meaning.
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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The hidden meaning…? Yes, the message that every sound wave carries is the hidden meaning, it shapes this very understanding of ours.
And what an exuberating elusive message a melody is, a wonderful wordless story that nevertheless is discernible, more than that in fact, as it touches and soothes our heart and soul.
Bansuri, a bamboo flute, taps a tune, using wind as the source and wind as the medium, carrying the message as far as possible, resonating beyond the visible, accepting all, conquering all.
Two and a half ample octaves and the bansuri deciphers happily the message using the Sargam (solfege); a subtle and soulful tune reads it to us.
Lord Krishna, the Jamun coloured Hindu deity with a peacock-feathered crown, is always depicted with a bansuri in his hands. Various stories tell us how Krishna, the charmer, used to mesmerise the listeners, stopping the time as if to unveil the beauty of the cosmic play.
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The leading character in several ancient Hindu religious, mythological and philosophical texts, Krishna plays his bansuri to win Radha’s heart, to celebrate the victory over evil, to turn impossible into possible and routinely for shepherding cows (he played a melodious tune on the bansuri and the herd of cows themselves returned to him).
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Natya Shastra as well as the other Vedic texts associated art and music with the Supreme, calling it the spiritual means to rise above, concentrate on and connect to one’s consciousness, witness it and attain Moksha (enlightenment, release).
Why would one make a creative artist’s job tougher by leaving the great responsibility of enlightening the receiver on her? Let art be for art’s sake.
Right! But apart from just being true, pure art, what if say a tune played on a bansuri leaves a listener illumined, will this not add to the beauty of the melody? It absolutely will.
If it deciphers the message for the listener, showing her more than what is on the surface, by additionally doing absolutely nothing, then surely the message is intrinsic to the composition.
Wonderfully it all also depends on perception. Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses, such as sight, thus, in such cases sound involuntarily evokes an experience of colour, shape, and movement.
Read what the first recorded case of synesthesia was about –
“The earliest recorded case of synesthesia is attributed to the Oxford University academic and philosopher John Locke, who, in 1690, made a report about a blind man who said he experienced the colour scarlet when he heard the sound of a trumpet.”
Wikipedia
And so everyone perceives it (the message, meaning, and life) differently, one feels, sees, and hears differently.
Vibrating air… that is what sound actually is; a sound wave cannot travel in the vacuum of space. Sound, an exclusive phenomenon on earth, then is indeed truly special.
And maybe that is why music is therapeutic in nature. It heals a troubled heart, it enlivens the mood, it calms a tired mind and often transcends the listener to a blissful state.
Instrumental musical compositions evoke for every individual a ‘thought’ within, yet to be uttered. The message it then delivers is always a favourable one, a high spirited one.
And a bamboo flute always keeps the message sweet, earthy and peaceful.
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Listen to the spellbinding bansuri notes (that acted as a catalyst for this post) played by the maestro, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia –
May it help you to be kind to yourself in these difficult times.
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We generally read blogs for leisure (i do), and to find concrete information we turn to expert source websites. However, this piece to me is the first of it’s kind – perceptively informative, and at the same time penetratingly reverberating. It simultaneously refreshed my mind and heart, which is an extremely rare phenomenon. And hence, my heartfelt gratitude to you writer. Thanks a ton for the depth of logical information combined with the element of magic.
Thanks for the appreciation, that too with a touch of magic.
I am delighted! XOXO
Thanks, thanks, thanks!
Ya-hoy!
Informative and so much peaceful! Flute is my most favourite instrument in classical music followed by tabla. Thank you so much for this post specially adding YT in the end. I reread it with the melody in the background this time. The joy of reading this was phenomenal.
I know, right? The soothing raga Brindabani Sarang and raga Madhuvanti helped me while I researched and later when I wrote this post; I played this Jukebox on repeat.
It makes me so happy that you enjoyed the post and read it twice. Thanks!
Keep writing and keep reading my blog Shaunak.
Cheers! Ya-hoy!
Yes, definitely!
I played this on loop too whole yesterday night. Reminded me of my early childhood when my Nana would listen to classical music over the radio at night. Haven’t lost that essence yet!
Wow!!
Classical music rocks (in a Ti-ga-dha Ti-ga-dha classical way)!! 😀
Hehehh (can totally hear it🤣)
Cheers then! Hahahaha! 😀
🤣🤣🙈
😀 😛
Thank you for introducing me to Pandit Hariprasad Charasia. You’re right, he plays beautifully.
You’re most welcome!
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Cheers!
Beautiful writing.
Thank you!
hearing the notes unplayed?
well
“the medium is the message”
they say
nonetheless, thank you for the beautiful introduction to Jamun and other colours J 😀
Indeed, the medium is the message… an important part of the message if not the whole.
Thanks my friend for reading and commenting.
Cheers, ya-hoy!