My Life, A Cocktail

Yet again, I have a problem in my head to solve. It’s funny how every Tuesday evening I go to my music class, expecting to relieve stress and relax, and do that one thing I can never get tired of, sing. And almost every Tuesday, I am awarded with something interesting. A thought, a process, a perspective or a question. “What is good music?” As simple as the question sounds, my mind instantly came up with a simple answer. “There is no such thing as good music. All music is good.” As I convinced myself of my answer, there were varied reactions from the others. Some were dumbstruck by the question, some other questioned the question. “Good music probably depends on various parameters like rhythm, diction, melody and so on. How can anyone quantify these parameters?” Yet others based their answers solely on perspective. “I like what I like. Coz that’s me. Others don’t like what I like, and I don’t necessarily like what others like.” My mind soared…. “How can music be bad? Maybe it can, I do...

Inspiration finds it way to us, if only we want to be inspired. Its amazing how events, emotions, circumstances, people, conversations, art, music, and so many other things can inspire you to do things related or not. I went to this concert yesterday. It was a casual Hindustani classical music concert by Shri. Shaunak Abhisheki. For those who don’t know him, he’s the son of Shri. Jitendra Abhisheki. Ok, never mind. The point being, I went to this concert, and loved it. He sang an amazing bandish, a khayal, a naatya sangeeth, among other ragas. The day ended perfectly with a mesmerizing bhajan. I enjoy music, and anyone who can sing well can have me impressed. And with every great performance, I sense this energy, that urges me to move ahead, do things I have always wanted to do, achieve things I have wanted to achieve. This energy is not new to me. It happens to me now and then. And I love it when it happens. A couple of months ago, I was pushed to join music classes. The music classes...

Yes, I am learning music. Again. Finally. Some interesting conversations that happened in yesterday’s class. I asked, “How can anyone identify the Sur involved in a piece of music, when the concept of Sur is totally relative?” He told me it is one of the most difficult problems in music. People consider the Tanpura as some sort of standard, but it isn’t completely accurate. The solution is being researched, but he said he believed it was one of those non-computable problems. Reminded me of the good great Halting Problem. We were trying to sing different surs in random order. Ofcourse, we faltered. He said, “Understand the problem statement. And then strategize.” We saw we could easily break down the random order into pieces we had already learnt and that made it so much easier to sing. Association and Disassociation. I have always believed, Science, Religion, Spirituality, Art, Music, all these weren’t created to individually exist. They all support each other in some way or the other.