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Music for the soul
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ISB students put their laptops aside for a session on appreciation of Carnatic music
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Sharing music Seetha Rajan (centre) with her students
On Saturday at 5 p.m., when most of their classmates had called it a day, a small group of ISB (Indian School of Business) students at Gachibowli made a beeline to the Khemka auditorium for a musical break.
The mood was ambient and the youngsters all set for a session on appreciation of Carnatic music by noted singer Seetha Rajan. The world of silence inside the hall was broken by Seetha Rajan’s opening remark: “I’ll try to answer all your questions, and if I do not know, I’ll try to find out the answer.”
The Indian School of Business has had lectures on varied topics but the organisers tell us a session on Carnatic music was a first-of-its-kind on the campus.
“Nature bonds us with music. Melody is all around us. Have you ever wondered how rhythmic our heartbeat is?” began Seetha Rajan as her voice reverberated across the auditorium. She sat cross-legged and struck a melodic conversation with the intent listeners and explained how art and science are inter-related and how music can help one to cope with the pressures of the world.
“When was the last-time you sang your heart out without inhibitions?” Her poser left many in the audience dumbfounded.
Emphasising the need for exposure to music since childhood, she said to the wannabe parents, “Today’s children are missing out on music in their growing-up years. It’s not music but only noise levels, which are increasing now. When a child is exposed to music, he/she does well better in exams with less pressure and is able to channelise the energies positively.”
Calming effect
Did you know that the swaras helps in patterning our breathing techniques? “The seven notes sa, re, ga, ma, pa, da, ni, which forms an octave, facilitates us to breathe correctly. When we sing either Carnatic, Hindustani or even Western classical music, we are doing pranayama unknowingly,” she said with a smile.
If a person can activate his/her blood flow and regulate the heartbeat by singing, music will have a calming effect on the listeners, she added.
The veteran singer explained the power of raga system, a speciality of the Indian classical music and the infinite number of film songs composed on these ragas.
The session then focussed on the differences between Hindustani and Carnatic music and their singing variations, including its nuances and grammar. She also replied patiently to the questions raised by the students. The evening concluded with the rendition of Krishna Nee Begane Baro by the singer.
NEERAJA MURTHY
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