A CUP OF MUSIC , A GALLON OF LIFE
Catharsis through Raagas - a route to wellbeing
Written by : Nithya Rajendran , a dual Indian Classical vocalist in Hindustani and Carnatic music with over 3 decades training . She is founder and curator of Music Vruksh , an initiative to spread awareness and appreciation of Inidan Classical music for its aesthetic , spiritual , wellness and transformative potential .
A lady at a music concert found herself weeping uncontrollably after hearing Raag Todi ( Raagam Subhapanthuvarali in Carnatic ). She went up to the musician after the concert , elaborating why she could not control her tears after the moving presentation . The compellingly heart-tugging notes in the Raaga had resonated with her inner emotional state , a state that had been one of pregnant pain and unexplained loneliness . Her tears were those of relief and happiness . As paradoxical as it might sound , this is indeed the essence of emotional and therefore physical wellness .
The Webster dictionary defines catharsis as ' the process of releasing , and thereby providing relief from , strong or repressed emotions .' In this lie two important words - release and relief . Music , and especially Indian Classical music , has an immense role to play in these two processes . When we hear music that allows us to emote , we do so through two means - identification or transformation .
Identification happens when the Raaga we hear resonates with what we are feeling at that moment . Through our ability to identify our emotions with something profound and beautiful outside of us , we feel a release . No longer are we alone with our feelings . We have something outside of us which is powerful and compassionate , almost as if there is another person who knows exactly what we are feeling and is saying ' Its ok ! I understand '. We feel understood and loved . We no longer feel alone .
Transformation happens when we are under the grip of a powerful emotion and are unable to change the way we feel by ourselves . Then , a Raaga which evokes a dramatically opposite emotion , transforms the mood to a completely different state , like a tool from the outside which allows a person to control how he or she feels . So , a person who might have otherwise felt helpless and at the mercy of his emotions , now feels empowered by the music to change his inner state . This is not much different from what we expect of psychological therapy or counseling . We hope that a force , in this case a person , can have access to our emotions and can change how we feel , first by understanding in a nonjudgmental environment , and then by teaching us to think and feel differently about the same things .
Looking at things in this context , it seems like nothing short of a miracle that a mere bunch of sounds arranged in a certain way can have such a profound impact on us and on our wellbeing . Maybe this is because Raagas are more than just a bunch of pleasing sounds . Looking at the way they have evolved over time , from the Vedic period right up to now , we see a very organic process at play . The fact that musical notes have emerged from the sounds of nature , and that the interval between notes that constitute Raagas are also the result of an organic evolutionary process , explains why it is so therapeutic .
Raagas need to be accessible to everyone . Each person and being on this planet responds to music . And in India , we are blessed with two beautiful forms of classical music , Hindustani and Carnatic , that are uniquely ours . It is time that this music spreads its wings and brings within its healing fold the countless weary souls that long to be uplifted .
The Score Magazine
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