Are you ready? Hold on tightly as the carpet rises smoothly,
as we are propelled forward on waves of sound, rich, vibrant, warm, and
resonant, laden with devotion and emotion and laughter and love. Our journey has begun, and we will travel
through time and space to many lands, nearby ones as well as faraway places.
Just relax, and trust the magic carpet to weave a spell of enchantment as it
carries us away on our voyage.
Where are we now? The carpet has touched down and we are in
front of a soaring gopuram, at the
entrance to a grand temple in South India. As
we gaze in awe at the intricately ornamented carvings, the staggering detail in
the stone sculptures all around, we are nudged forward into the courtyard, wide
open and airy, and then further inwards towards the sanctum sanctorum. We hear
the sounds of tinkling bells, and then a voice, rich, vibrant, warm and
resonant, the same voice that brought our magic carpet here. We hear a song,
singing the praises of the deity of the temple, and the music seems to mirror
the temple itself, with its vocal ornaments, as richly detailed as the
carvings, its soaring crescendos, as one with the gopuram, the calm interludes
that evoke the courtyard, and finally, through the emotions of the song,
through prayer, union with the deity. It reverberates around the temple
corridors, it echoes the beautifully ornamental work all around, creating a
complementary opus of beauty, matching every ornament in stone with an ornament
in sound, creating an edifice that is as elaborate, as complex, as stunning and
as exquisite as what surrounds us. It is a musical monument built from that
voice, and it lingers forever in the minds of the listeners once the last notes
of the song fade away.
We leave the sounds of applause behind us as we wonder where
our magic carpet will take us next. In the space of a few seconds, we are in
the deserts of Rajasthan, a world away from the lush greenery of South India, and the passionate songs of Mirabai suffuse
the air. Her all-encompassing love for Lord Krishna fills our hearts and ears,
and before long, we are back on that carpet, passing through Maharashtra,
where we hear the clackety-clack of a train, and the dulcet notes of an Abhang, a Marathi devotional song,
singing the praises of Vittala and Panduranga. Later, we listen in joyous awe,
our entire bodies moving with the catchy rhythms, as Krishna slays the terror
of the Yamuna River , the fearsome serpent Kalinga.
Where next? It might be a Benedictine monastery in medieval France, where we hear the plaintive plainsong of
Gregorian chants, in harmonious union with the sacred music of India; we might
be back in Tamil Nadu; we might hear Hindi, or Marathi, or Sanskrit, or Telugu
or Tamil. Wherever we might go, whatever we might hear, there will be devotion,
the joyful, life-affirming kind, there will be that richly timbered voice,
strong, steady and oh-so-melodious, there will be perfect sruti alignment where the right notes are hit perfectly all the
time, amazing rhythmic virtuosity, crystal-clear diction, all sung with so much
of intensity, such ebullience and exuberance, that, when the magic carpet
finally lands at the end of its journey with a soft thud, we awaken from our
reverie with a slight shock, the last, lingering sounds of the enchanted
musical voyage falling like glittering jewels around us.
As we gaze around, our surroundings come slowly back into
focus. We might be in a densely crowded sabha
auditorium in Madras or an intimate chamber hall
in New York, an elegant theatre in France, or a colorful festival in Morocco. We might be curled up on a sofa in the comfort
of our home or we might be in a temple somewhere.
We have been listening to the music of Aruna Sairam. Her
music is magical and enchanting, and leaves you spellbound as it transports on
that wonderful voyage I just described. Today, she is one of the world’s top
Carnatic music singers, and deservedly so, because she is a rare and precious
type of musician, one who is firmly wedded to tradition, and yet who is a
far-sighted adventurer, ever seeking, ever curious, ever learning, ever
striving to stretch her boundaries, gathering precious musical gems and nuggets
from all over India and the world in her quest for the sacred, the musical holy
grail.
Aruna Sairam’s music is based on a rock-solid musical
foundation, trained as she was by her mother, and then by one of the greatest
legends of this genre, T. Brinda, from whom she learned the perfect voice
control and emotion-laden singing style that she is renowned for today. Hers
has not been an easy journey, and she has not walked on the rose-strewn path to
easy fame and recognition. For many years early in her career, she sang to
halls that were practically empty, but she never gave up, never stopped
striving and trying.
She set herself apart by exploring and learning the
devotional music of many different parts of India,
the abhangs of Maharashtra,
the bhajans of Mira, the paasurams of the Azhwars, in addition to
the traditional Carnatic music repertory of Tyagaraja, Dikshithar, Syama Sastry
and others. She took voice training lessons in Germany, working in solitude for
years to make sense of the lessons she learned there. She exposed herself to
music from around the world, from Maria Callas to the Gregorian chants of the
Benedictine monks. She collaborated with musicians from other, completely
different systems of music, and proved to the world that all music is one
language, that passion and devotion, whether sung in Latin or Tamil, Marathi or
Sanskrit, in folksy rhythms or rigorously classical styles, all lead to the
divine, however you define or imagine it.
She says, “Music is not what I do, it is who I am”. When you listen to her sing, when you hear
her speak, you realize that this is no empty platitude, that she really does
live her life by these words. I can think of no better ambassador for our country
and our music than this always gracious, always smiling lady of music.
Do listen to her live, or if that is not immediately
possible, listen to as many of her recordings as you can. It will be an
experience you will never forget. You will have the magic carpet ride of your
life. I guarantee it.
