Music Unites the People of the World

by Sri Ajit Halder

Music, comprising vocal music with words, instrumental music without any words or a combination of both, is a source of entertainment for the millions of music-lovers hailing from different countries and speaking a variety of languages.  Music transcends all diverse tongues and bridges the language barrier with its own captivating sound, and thus succeeds in connecting people who speak different languages.

It is well known that Michael Jackson’s pop songs and Ravi Shankar’s sitar recital were listened to with great fervour and highly appreciated by music fans all over the world.  The performances of these two artists along with many other world renowned musicians, are very popular among connoisseurs of music as indicated by the sale of millions of their disks not only in the past, but even to this date.  It is therefore true to say that music unites the people of the world.

I wish to narrate here my own experience which supports the view that music carries with it a universal ardour that appeals to people of different lands.  Some years ago in a shopping centre near my home in Manchester, England, a gentleman of European origin, asked me if I were an Indian.  I replied: ‘Yes, I am’ to which he promptly queried: ‘Did you know of an Indian singer named Hemanta Mukherjee?’  I told him I had known and admired the named singer who sang many songs composed in my mother-tongue Bengali.  On hearing this comment of mine, he started humming one of Hemanta’s songs and spoke of the delight he felt while listening to the enchanting sound of Hemanta’s songs. He continued by telling me his name, Mr. Stefan Andreas; he was an Austrian living in the UK.  He even invited me to his home to show me his collection of disks of Hemanta’s music.  I was surprised and pleased to learn that Hemanta’s songs could create such a reverberation in the heart and mind of Mr. Andreas who lived five thousand miles away from the singer’s home in Kolkata.  Music indeed has an enchanting power to bring together song-loving people who live apart in different continents.

We constantly hear speech sounds made by humans and a cacophony of sounds made by singing birds, animals and other objects of Nature which we often ignore; but not the sound of music.  It prompts us to explore the characteristics of music that makes it so much nicer to listen to, mesmerizing a wide variety of listeners.

Music is a pleasant, audible sound event, being an amalgam of lyric, pitch, rhythm and  melody - all blended into an organized structure. The lyric conveys a message lovely to hear, and the pitch of a note means how high or low a note is.  Rhythm is the time element of music, and melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm.  

Of all the elements that make music so exciting, lyric is felt in the listener’s mind and heart and Tagore’s songs are rich in quality lyrics. In his song Gaanbhango implying the song’s end, poet Tagore brings the singer and the listener together thus: ‘gaahibe ekjan khuliya galaa, aarekjan gaabe mone' which quote translated into English reads: ‘as the vocalist starts singing to spread his rapturous voice to the outside, the listener joins in by miming the tune inside his mind’.     

Indian song recitals are usually accompanied by the playing of a range of musical instruments e.g. Tabla, Dholak or Mridangam as percussion instruments and a few others like Harmonium, Sitar or a Violin to add to the sweetness of the recital.

Sitar, Sarod and Veena are examples of stringed instruments. The strings of a sitar are all separately tuned to different pitches but when plucked, the differently generated sounds are combined to produce a music that is rich in quality.  Similar is the experience one gains when a pianist strikes the distinct keys of a piano and generates a sonorous, melodic sound.  So we note that the sound produced by musical instruments has the unique feature of blending different pitches just like Music unites the people of different lands. 

Our love for Music

Music also has other effects besides providing pure entertainment.   A poet wrote: “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts”, and I quote from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: ‘If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it.’ 

Music can uplift emotions such as hope, sadness and serenity. Soothing music, like soft instrumental music or nature sounds, can calm the body, relieve stress, and allows one to concentrate on him/herself alone.  In a concert, music players after many rehearsals develop the discipline of synchronizing with each other and that collaboration may lead to bonding with one other.

It may so happen that in a much publicized musical event you find yourself sitting next to a person who is a stranger to you and speaks in a language different from yours.  This means that socialization through conversation with that person is difficult.  Yet, when the music rises to a crescendo, it is quite likely that both of you will join in to applaud the music.  

No doubt, pop songs entertain millions of fans.  We do, however, enjoy another type of music like Bhajans to bring spiritual joy into the hearts and souls of devotees. Bhajans sung by D V Paluskar like ‘Chalo Man Ganga Jamunake Teer’ or ‘Paoji Maine Ramratan Dhan Payo’ and his other melodies, are often broadcast by the radio and heard by millions.  These and other religious songs pour the holy words of Hinduism into the listeners’ ears and uplift their hearts with a spiritual touch.  

Once I had the opportunity to listen to a devotional song sung by Sri Sri Babathakur at the Fern Road residence.  The tone, the melody and the lyric with a deep spiritual message still ring into my ear after so many years.

Noting the theme of this article, it will be quite in order to mention the names of famous artists who popularised music in the past as well as in modern times.  The legendary singer Mian Tansen was Emperor Akbar’s court singer and famous for creating the raags Deepak and Meghamallar. Composers through the centuries have been inspired by Tansen’s raags to create quality music that has entertained millions of Indian listeners.

Coming to the present era, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Sandhya Mukherji, Hemanta Mukherji and many others have delighted the music loving audiences for several decades.

Music not only unites peoples but also links musicians of different lands to compose music that pleases millions of listeners. Ravi Shankar’s sitar recital and Yehudi Menuhin’s violin accompaniment was recorded on a long-playing disk as their joint musical tribute to Poet Rabindranath Tagore on his birth centenary celebration held in 1961.

Often a singer becomes interested in songs composed in a foreign language and sings these lyrics to amuse and entertain appreciative listeners. Lata Mangeshkar has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian and several foreign languages, and her renditions have been well received.

George Harrison of Beatles’ fame sang several Indian devotional songs like ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Raam….’ which became very popular in the music world.

Famous musician A. R. Rahman directed the song “Jai Ho" (meaning "Let there be victory") which was included in the soundtrack of the 2008 film, Slumdog Millionaire. "Jai Ho” brought worldwide fame to Rahman and became so popular as to win an Oscar and truly unite people all over the world.  He also composed the official theme song: "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto" for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and in the summer of 2012, Rahman composed a Punjabi song for the London Olympics opening ceremony.  Both events were televised and the viewers of the world were laced together to enjoy Rahman’s music.  

We must also mention that the background music (mainly instrumental music) we hear while viewing TV programs, news bulletins, advertisements or serials, succeed in attracting millions of viewers to watch programs on TV.

It is hoped that the above discussion on the theme of this article put forward with several relevant illustrations will vindicate the proposition: Music unites the people of the world.