Music speaks!

I am sitting in a Zakhir Hussain concert called Masters of Percussion, my eyes closed and my head bent back. As the instruments play, I feel these sensations. I feel as though the beat of the drums, the hum of the string are saying something. As I fall deeper and deeper under the spell .... I can hear them talk to me.

The drums start playing. Each beat is distinct from the other. Its like our thoughts, our decisions .. our mind. The rhythm, the precise beat are akin to the activities of the brain. It starts out as a simple beat, a single thought. Then the beat becomes complex, more than one thoughts mingle. As the tempo builds we get a rhythm consisting of a myriad of simple beats. An idea is born, a decision is made, a realization germinates ... all these are the amalgamation of multiple threads of thought. These instruments - the Tabla, Western drums, Doyra, Nagada, Dholak .... all THINK!

As I think about these instruments that think .... I feel something stirring inside me. Thats when I realise that my ears are picking up a soulful strain of music. The Sarangi and Sitar have joined in the melody. The beats settle down to the background and the strings take over. I feel open and exposed as though my soul has been bared. I feel emotional. They start out with a frisky melody that makes me feel bright and happy. As the piece ends and the next one starts, the change in mood is apparent. Because I feel tears sting my eyes and my heart going heavy. Its as though the string instruments are expressing pain. And this is where the brain butts in again. I think .... these string instruments are actually a form of expressing feelings.

The grandeur of the music reaches its peak when the beat joins the sound of the strings. On a similar level, its when thought meets emotion that we feel a confluence that brings about harmony. The music wraps up around me, cocooning me, making me feel relaxed and blissful. Not heady nor drenched with emotion, but a comfortable balance of both. I take in these magical moments, the music heightens and comes to a stop. I sit back and take a deep breath, as the echoes fade away and I am pulled back to reality.