Music, a gift of God

Musical instruments used to be around in our house ….. a harmonium, a set of tablas, a sitar, a guitar… my father always hoped at least one of us three kids would pick up something seriously … my youngest brother does have a very good natural ear for music, and plays a number of instruments well, like the guitar, or keyboards, or tabla.  But all impromptu, he doesn’t read music. Plays really good jazz, just makes it up as he goes along.

I was exposed to some amount of music within and on the fringes of my family. My mother and also father's sister played the Sitar. As a child I remember attending music performances with my parents (this was in people’s homes), where kids would sit and listen, or otherwise drop off to sleep on their mothers’ laps out of sheer boredom, more like being serenaded to sleep. One of my mother's brothers is quite an accomplished Sitar player, and gives performances.

So it was natural that as a teenager I learn to play the sitar.  But sadly, after three years I gave up.  I often wish I had taken my training more seriously, and continued with it. But with this little exposure to music I’ve at least become a fond listener, if not a player!

I listen to Indian classical music, and some evenings, depending on the mood, some western Jazz. And of course a lot of Bollywood music. I enjoy going to concerts whenever I get a chance.  There’s nothing quite like attending a live performance. But I always envy people with knowledge about different styles of singing Ragas, etc.

I wish I were a singer. Not the performing kind but one who can at least break into song and sound reasonably in ‘sur’. I do often sing along with songs played on the radio or TV, though sounding quite besura.

Anyway, the nice thing is that having had some little exposure to music in my family, I’m now getting to know about the musical side of IS’s family!

As a child IS learnt to play the piano, but didn't keep it up beyond junior school.  Since the days of The Beatles he's always enjoyed listening to Western pop/rock/blues.  His father used to enjoy Western music contemporary at that time (a favourite being "Eternally", composed by Charlie Chaplin, with first line of the song "I'll be loving you eternally ...").  As someone put it, Music is a connection to people who've gone ...  His mother was more comfortable with Indian classical, as seems to have been the case with most of her family.

IS's niece Vrinda is a Hindustani classical vocalist. This is not a recent discovery, we’ve known she was training to be a singer when I first met her in the mi-80s. IS's mother’s side of the family (Konkani Saraswat Brahmins) had more or less severed relations with his mother when she married his father, a Muslim. But a few relatives did make efforts to get back/keep in touch with IS’s mother and him, this niece’s family included.

Before a visit to Bombay a couple of years ago IS made contact with Vrinda again, and she (and her husband) visited us in Bandra. Such a warm, knowledgeable person. After she updated us on some of IS’s mother’s family background our conversation converged to music.

She explained her style of singing very simply, singing little examples to us in the process.

Vrinda’s mother Aruna Rao is IS’s first cousin, an artist herself in the field of literature, painting and music.  IS met her many years ago in Bombay, and when much younger, he also remembers briefly meeting Aruna’s mother, his mother’s sister!  Though she lived till 1986 (when she was 89 and IS was 33), imagine they met just once or twice!

I listen to Vrinda now and then and although we hardly meet, keep connected to her through her music.  At this stage in my life I seem to be getting more inclined to immersing myself in music.