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Shifting scales

Photo: Anu Pushkarna

Promoting a dialogue Peter Lavezzoli

Much has been said about Indian classical music reaching the West, about the explosion of interest when Pandit Ravi Shankar and other legends first collaborated with pop and rock stars . With popular icons like George Harrison experimenting with the sitar and becoming Shankar’s students, the sitar joined the lexicon of pop sounds. Many accused the sitar maestro of ‘diluting’ an ancient classical heritage. Others hailed him as the messiah who took Indian classical music to the world. Neither conclusion, though, reflects the complex reality of those years.

But with the lapse of time comes perspective. Perhaps now is a good time for a serious study of the phenomenon. And Peter Lavezzoli, who is both a pop singer and a student of Dhrupad and tabla, seems ideally suited for the job. Lavezzoli grew up during the heady years when Ravi Shankar, the Hare Krishna mantra, LSD-fuelled trances, yoga and meditation were being assimilated in the popular imagination with rock and pop music as if they were all part of a package trip to a New World Order, anchored in an anti-war movement. His book, “Bhairavi — The Global Impact of Indian Music” (Harper Collins) was recently released at the Ravi Shankar Institute for Music and Performing Arts (RIMPA) in the presence of the maestro.

Lavezzoli points out that musicians like Harrison and John Coltrane were attracted to Indian music not merely for its technique and melody but also for its spiritual ethos. “Those two especially had a deep spiritual attraction to India, and this is what motivated them to learn more about India,” he notes. “Their use of Indian music allowed them to expose millions to Indian spirituality through music.” Before this revolution, says Lavezzoli, “Hinduism, yoga, Buddhism, vegetarian practices — these were only known in the West at a very elite level: artists, writers, intellectuals — a very small percentage of people were aware of them.”

When popular musicians introduced such concepts, even if simplistically (remember Harrison chanting “Hare Krishna” in his 1970 chartbuster “My Sweet Lord”?), Lavezzoli says, they brought them into the popular consciousness. “To the point that,” he continues, “now, the practice of Hinduism, Buddhism, yoga, vegetarianism and even meditation is very mainstream in the West.” He also notes these practices are being implemented without being associated with any particular religion. At a personal level, says Lavezzoli, “This has made it possible for me, coming from the U.S., to be where I am.”

On the reach of music, Lavezzoli, who has also authored “The King of all, Sir Duke: Ellington and The Artistic Revolution”, says, “People hear the sound and feel something on an intuitive level. This is what Indian musicians mean when they say Nadabrahman. This is what Hazrat Inayat Khan said: it reflects the laws of the universe.”

He concludes, “When I talk about the global impact it comes down to the spiritual impact which we see was an all-persuasive impact. Our culture — American culture has changed.”

Besides music, adds Lavezzoli, the area “where India has had a profound impact on the West” is Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha.

“Major shifts in global consciousness happen only once in a while, and the 1960s was such a time,” says the author. But wars still rage, the youth of the world is discontented, and injustices flourish. So did that generation fail? “I don’t think so, because on an everyday level in America and Europe, people are working on their own peace of mind. Musicians are collaborating. It’s happening now more than ever.”

Meanwhile, there is the “overwhelming victory” of Slumdog… and Rahman. Lavezzoli says, “Now people are intrigued by Bollywood. I think we are seeing a western fascination with Indian film music that the West had for classical music in the ’60s.” Even as he concedes that “there have been many great composers” including two of his “favourites” the Burmans, who deserved recognition, and that there may be a strong commercial aspect to the awards, he avers, “That doesn’t mean there isn’t a very genuine impact taking place.” In the long term, the development is a positive one. “Anything that promotes dialogue — that opens people. In the end I think that’s what’s important.”

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