Over the past few years, NZCMS members have had the wonderful opportunity of listening to many esteemed Vidwans and Vidushis. Performances, workshops, lecture demonstrations were held, mesmerising audiences with flawless vocals or fingering and bowing techniques. These maestros brought out nuances and beauty in ragas and compositions, maintaining clarity and ensuring that each gamaka and akara had its specific place in the whole scheme of the music. In a deceptively simple manner, they charmed their way into the hearts and souls of the NZCMS members.
At the end of every such kutcheri , audible sighs would invariably be heard throughout the auditorium from aspiring musicians wondering whether they would ever reach the heights attained by these maestros. As the euphoria of the music would wear off, despair would set in, causing one to doubt whether as an aspiring musician, one would even be on the scale, let alone be climbing it.
It is quite natural for one to feel this sense of inadequacy on listening to accomplished musicians perform. It is also natural to yearn for the talent that they possess. But rest assured, this yearning in itself is a step in the right direction. In music students, this feeling of inadequacy should spark a sense of motivation rather than a sense of dejection. One may or may not have been born with talent, but this spark must be nurtured. It must be fanned until it becomes a flame, then the fire that burns would light up its surroundings and everyone who comes in its path.
The beauty of an art form is that it is so deep and rich, that it provides infinite avenues for improvement. None can lay claim to exhausting the study of an art form and reaching the end of the scale. Even great musicians would humbly accept that they are still students and have much more to learn.
Music students, young and not so young, when overwhelmed by this sense of dejection or inadequacy, must not worry that they may not be on par with these maestros on the musical scale. Instead, they should feel proud that they too are on the scale. Aspiring students should feel privileged that they have already been given the inclination and aptitude to study music and that very blessing would propel them forward on the musical scale. The rate of progress however depends on arduous practice, fuelled by single-minded perseverance.
Many a time, one tends to think that the maestros we meet on our path of musical discovery have perfected their art easily, as if by a stroke of luck. If one were to ask any musician, there would be no shortage of tales of waking up in the wee hours of the morning and sacrifices made to perfect the art. These are in fact not mere tales but testimonies of the hard work that is required to achieve the siddhi that the art form empowers one with. As Chitraveena Sri Ravikiran so aptly puts it (in the 2006 Sruti Ranjani magazine),
“[There is no substitute for practice], not even talent or genius, knowledge or scholarship, luck or God’s grace included. There are umpteen talented and even brilliant people who are leading unfulfilled or under-fulfilled lives on their failure to translate their talent into tangible results….And the lucky ones are forever unhappy with their guilt about having something that they probably don’t deserve and also live with the insecurity as to how long their luck would hold….One who has not practised is not in control. With perseverance and practice, one can overcome the lack of talent or genius or knowledge or scholarship or luck, and can indeed do much better than others”.
He further goes on to say of the many types of practice from an end-result point of view: Succinctly, the objective of practice could be any thing from polish to perfection, to attainment of confidence or for sheer pleasure.
As aspiring musicians, our admiration of eminent musicians should not only be for their achievements but also for their sacrifices. When one realises that, progress is assured. Then, it is only a matter of time before one scales the pinnacle.
Music is a religion. What essentially is religion? It is a way of life. So as a music student, one must make music one’s religion, a way of life. The only way to progress in music is to implicitly follow its principles and rules taught by the chosen guru. The more one devotes oneself to music, the more music will elevate one on the musical ladder. And when this devotion comes, practice will no longer be a chore but a habit. Then, one practices not out of compulsion but for the sheer love of music, for the love of the tonal quality of the instrument or voice, for the love of the melody in the music and for the love of the meaning behind the sahitya (lyrics). And when one reaches that stage, know then, that one is definitely on the arohanam or upward ascent of the musical scale.
NZCMS SANGEETH UTSAV 2009 SOUVENIR MAGAZINE.
Bavani’s Happy Place 