Sing, string a song

Kuldip Dhiman

Without music, life would be a mistake, said the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and city music lovers could not agree more. 

  Like Amanjot Singh, who runs Amanjot International in Sector 17. A trip to Europe during his college days changed his perception about the sound of music. “They had a very good music culture. People were singing and playing instruments in the streets and squares. I thought Chandigarh is such a beautiful city, why not usher in this kind of culture there as well. I thought of encouraging live bands instead of DJs. You must have noticed, now we have more and more live bands in malls, hotels and lodges.” 

Amanjot strongly believes that the government should step in to encourage awareness. “There should be music festivals where artistes should perform live, and musical instruments should be exhibited in stalls. For example, week-long music festivals should be held near the lake. Parents should encourage children to take up music apart from their regular studies, as music is a great stress buster.” 

Pt Yashpal Sagun Piya, who has learnt music from great masters such as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan, says, “I have never heard of  World Music Day. Why is it celebrated, I don’t know. All this is linked to consumerism. In India, the concept of music is totally different. Here it is associated with devotion, it is not just entertainment. We are not interested in agitating the mind through fast music, rather we are interested in making the mind tranquil through music, be it classical, light classical, folk, film, bhajan, or ghazal. And this we do through 12 notes.” 

Regarding the introduction of music in schools and colleges, he says that this has proved to be counter-productive as music can be learned properly only through the guru-shishya parampara. “Now, it has become part of the syllabus in schools and colleges. They earn post-graduation, but cannot sing a line properly. What was once the greatest art form, has become a medium of getting degrees and jobs.” 

As you enter Amrit Sports and Musicals in Sector 15, you wonder what has sports got to do with music. Amardeep Singh, the third generation entrepreneur in his family, says, “My grandfather, who started Amrit Musicals in 1960, had a firm belief that to live a full and meaningful life, one must be physically as well as mentally fit.  The body affects the mind and the mind affects the body. This is the reason why you see that we sell both sports goods as well as musical instruments.” 

He says that there has been a tremendous change in the attitude towards music in the past four decades. Earlier, people looked down upon music as an inferior profession, of the lowly classes and kothas. However, music got respectability through Gurbani. The ragis changed the negative view of music by showing its divine qualities.” 

On World Music Day, Prof Saubhagya Vardhan Brahaspati, who taught music at Government College, Sector 42, and comes from a family of nationally recognised musicians, observes, “This is basically a Western concept that has gained popularity in the past two decades. Anyhow, as music creates peace of mind, it is alright to celebrate it no matter where the concept came from. Change is the rule of life, and we must keep pace with it. However, we must never forget the fundamental values.”

Regarding the ever-increasing popularity of Western music, especially among the youth, Harry Gill of Simla Music House in Sector 27 says, “The inclination is more because more teachers are available. Customers show great interest in learning the sarangi, sarod, rubab, etc, but as teachers are not available, the interest wanes.” 

All the persons interviewed agreed that parents should encourage their children to learn music because it helps reduce stress related to education, cut-throat professional competition and fast life.

They are right as research shows that music training can greatly improve motor coordination, visual attention and reasoning skills.