The golden mean of music

Nobel Laureate and Irish poet William Butler Yeats said Indian music was "not an art but life itself". It is this connection between the Indian approach to music and the philosophy of life that will be underscored in the unique Madhya Laya –Rhythm of Life concert that brings together legends Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Zakir Hussain and classical vocalist Pt Venkatesh Kumar.

"The name of this concert is inspired from a workshop by the late, legendary vocalist Kumar Gandharva I had attended. He had explained the importance and role of madhya laya (medium tempo) not only in the world of music but also in the day-to-day life of every creature on earth. One felt that the performances by these stalwarts is befitting the concept and insight which came from Kumarji," explains Shashi Vyas, whose Pancham Nishad is organising the concert.

According to him, the idea of rhythm in sync with the required and desirable pace for better life is central to Indian philosophy. "After all aren't we all looking for a sustainable equilibrium which will energise us to attain optimum operating efficiency across spheres? I think it's a blessing that music offers us a way of doing that in an easy soothing way," Vyas told dna.

The philosophy of Indian music has always been rooted in its classical Indian philosophy and thought, echoes Venkatesh Kumar. "Since the earliest times, music has been seen as a manifestation of the divine and also as a medium that helps one understand all-pervading divinity," he says. "This land has also created schools of thought which spoke of the golden median or middle ground shorn of all forms of extremism. The madhya laya musically goads us into thinking on these lines."

Flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, who is away in his gurukul in Bhubaneswar, points to the words of the late Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist and a foremost virtuoso of his generation: "We would find all, or most, strands beginning in India; for only in India have all possible modes been investigated, tabulated, and each assigned a particular place and purpose. Of these many hundreds, some found their way to Greece; others were adopted by nomadic tribes such as the Gypsies; others became the mainstay of Arabic music."

Pt Chaurasia says, "Indian classical music, compared with our Western music, is like a pure crystal. It forms a complete perfected world of its own, which any admixture could only debase. It has, quite logically and rightly, rejected those innovations which have led the development of Western music into the multiple channels which have enabled our art to absorb every influence under the sun. Freedom of development in Indian music is accorded the performer, the individual, who, within fixed limits, is free to improvise without any restraint imposed externally by other voices, whether concordance or discordant – but not to the basic style, which exclude polyphony and modulation."

Getting into dialogue

All praise to Vyas for coming out with the concept of a madhya laya concert that will give expression to Menuhin's words, Chaurasia says. "It will be creatively challenging to stick to the madhya laya in the compositions we play at the concert. Since Zakir is still abroad and I'm away, what the three of us will do with Venkatesh will be extempore and spur-of-the-moment. I'm also excited and eager to see the audience's reaction," he says.
 

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, who has also highlighted the give and take between music and life, also underlines the madhya laya connect. "It's like the primary role of the tabla, which is saath-sangat. It instils in you the value of listening, assimilating and then reacting. Which is why I enjoy being on stage with Shivji (Pt Shivkumar Sharma), Amjadbhai (Pt Amjad Ali Khan) or Pt Birju Maharaj. I look forward to these concerts. Unlike a solo concert where I am my own boss, here I have to strike a dialogue in the music-making process. This enriches and makes me a better musician and tabla player."

He points out how the madhya laya brings about a heightened sense of self-awareness. "In the slower tempo, the first 45 minutes can be very involved, intense and slow. You have to concentrate and focus as each beat is magnified a thousand-fold. Even a small chisel at the end of a beat stands out. In the faster tempo, one tends to quickly get the timing right and arrive at the first beat of the cycle."

Cultural historian and music enthusiast Mukul Joshi finds this completely in keeping with the teachings of ancient philosophers and seers. "Buddha's golden mean between religious asceticism and worldly indulgence; Confucius' way of calling all excess, deficiency of a kind and Tiruvalluvar's advocacy of the middle state to preserve equity are all essentially linked to the same world view which madhya laya comes from."

(On September 20th, 2016 at Shanmukhananda auditorium)