Summary
Highlights
The speaker recounts two transformative experiences with Ustad Fayaz Khan's singing. At 13, a particular note in Raag Ramkali moved him and the entire audience to tears. Later, at 17, Raag Darbari Gandhar led to a feeling of temporary paralysis, illustrating music's profound emotional and physical impact. These experiences shaped his approach to music, leading him to unconsciously follow Khan's style.
Vijay Kichlu, renowned for founding India's first gurukul for performing musicians, dedicated his life to Indian classical music. Though not from a musical lineage, his parents were ardent lovers of the art. He began training at five, with his father advising him to pursue music as a passion but not neglect education. Kichlu later worked as a mercantile executive for 25 years before fully dedicating himself to music. He and his brother Ravi, as 'Kichlu Brothers,' gained national recognition and were honored with the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 2007.
Indian classical music aims to reach the listener's soul, leading to a state of supreme bliss (anand) rather than mere excitement. This deeply personal experience is rooted in ancient Indian traditions, where 'nada' (cosmic sound) was seen as the cause of creation and a means for transformation. Tracing back 5000 years to the Indus Valley Civilization, musical artifacts and texts like the 'Ngati Sastra' and 'Datthalam' (300 BC) exemplify its long history. Around the 7th century, music embraced vernacular elements while retaining sacred origins, becoming non-sectarian and attracting musicians from all backgrounds. This art form is spiritual and meditative, focused on transforming the practitioner rather than mere entertainment.
A bifurcation in tradition between the 10th and 13th centuries led to North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) music. Hindustani music, influenced by Persian, Arabic, and Turkish cultures, now thrives globally. Its international exposure grew in the mid-1960s with artists like John Coltrane and George Harrison, largely due to Pandit Ravi Shankar's contributions, notably at the Monterey Festival. The speaker emphasizes that this music, once belonging to India, is now a global legacy, highlighting a 103-year-old musician at the Sangeet Research Academy who still sings for hours.
The science of raga voice production is linked to yoga breathing (pranayama), with sound originating from the navel and vibrations shifting with each note. Indian classical music is distinct from Western music in two key ways: it's a monophonic system, focusing on one note at a time without harmony or chords, making performances essentially solo. Secondly, notes are identified by solfa syllables (sa re ga ma pa dha ni) rather than fixed pitches, allowing the tonic 'sa' to be adjusted by the artist. Arithmetical permutations of these notes form exercises called alankars and paltas to develop musical ability.
Unlike Western music with fixed compositions, Indian classical music has no 'composer' in the conventional sense. Performers improvise instantly, using lyrics as a brief written guide. Training and hard work develop ability, but the artist must create their musical structure spontaneously, acting as both singer and architect. The speaker demonstrates this by creating a melodic and rhythmic structure with audience input, fitting a sentence into an 11-beat cycle, showcasing instant improvisation.
The art of Indian music, being unwritten, is preserved through oral tradition via the guru-shishya parampara (teacher-disciple tradition). In 1977, Vijay Kichlu was invited by ITC Limited to create a unique institution for Indian classical music education. This led to the revolutionary Sangeet Research Academy, modern India's first classical music gurukul, where students live with and are trained by gurus. Kichlu's vision secured renowned veteran musicians who agreed to live and teach there for life, ensuring a prolonged and immersive training experience without syllabi, exams, or degrees, focusing purely on artistic development.
Raga, in Indian music, means 'color' or 'passion,' forming the melodic structure based on rules and nuances. A raga must have a minimum of five notes, include 'sa' (the tonic), have a specific ascent and descent order (aro and avro), and avoid skipping more than two groups of notes. While these rules define a scale, a raga is much more, possessing characteristic phrases, nuances (like gamak), and a 'rasa' (emotion or feeling). Without these, it's merely a set of notes. Virtuosity and speed are secondary; the true spirit of raga comes from the musician's mind and spirit, transmitting its 'spark of life.'
Rhythm is fundamental to movement, nature, and animal actions, inspiring musical compositions. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, for instance, composed tans by observing ocean waves. Indian rhythm uniquely features its own language (vocabulary) and a cyclic pattern called 'tala.' Students learn to vocalize rhythmic phrases with hand gestures, then transform these into drum expressions on the tabla. The tabla, with its 'baya' (left) and 'tabla' (right) drums, produces various strokes and combined syllables. Tala is defined by its number of beats (e.g., Teen Tal has 16 beats), its language (bol), and its divisions (bars), with the 'sum' (beat one) being the crucial starting point for the cycle.
The 'sum' (first beat) is the most vital part of a tala, ensuring the rhythmic cycle never loses a beat, even during improvisation. Musicians constantly return to the 'sum' to maintain the structure. The 'khali' (empty beat, often the ninth beat in Teen Tal) serves as a crucial marker, helping performers in improvisations to gauge their position in the cycle and perfect their return to the 'sum.' Without 'khali,' determining the precise position within the rapid rhythmic cycle would be much harder.
The documentary examines the tabla's role as an accompanying instrument, demonstrating how it enhances instrumental performances with its rhythmic complexities. It then introduces 'Tihaai,' a key rhythmic concept where a phrase is repeated three times, with the final beat of the third repetition precisely landing on the 'sum' (beat one). These Tihaais are spontaneous improvisations by the percussionist, adding an exciting element as both melodic and rhythmic instruments converge on the 'sum.'
The listener plays a crucial role in Indian classical music, actively engaging with the performer's chain of thought, which in turn elevates the performance. An anecdote is shared about an old man who challenged an instrumentalist in Kolkata for focusing on 'riyaz' (practice) rather than performance, prompting the artist to deliver an unforgettable show. Every musical activity aims to return to the 'sum,' the first beat of the rhythmic cycle. The vocalist begins with a 'mukhra' (first part of a line) and performs improvisations before returning to the 'sum,' a process exemplified by a concise 'mukhra' from beat 16 to beat one.
The speaker shares how music helped him overcome life's adversities, especially after the premature loss of his brother and singing partner, Ravi. Music became his anchor, bringing him back to life even when he couldn't perform publicly. Indian musicians believe that one lifetime isn't enough to master their art, often stating that a complete musician is made in three lives. The documentary concludes with the legendary story of Emperor Akbar and his court musician Tansen, who arranged for Akbar to hear Tansen's guru, Swami Haridas, sing in the jungle. Haridas's singing, meant for God, moved Akbar deeply, highlighting that true music transcends earthly performance, existing in its purest form when offered to the divine.