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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Music as Meditation

Tonight I went to see another of the concerts presented by the Hindustani Sangeet Mandal in Ottawa. What a gem this concert series is. Sharda and Subra bring in world class artists and they perform in intimate settings in Orleans. Tonight's concert by Rashid Khan was in the Centrum Theatre and was well-attended, however, there was room for more people.

If you're interested in yoga, you may be interested in classical Indian music. It is designed to take you to deep states of meditation and the way a traditional concert is laid out it brings you from a quiet, calm beginning to a musical climax and then brings you back to a calm, enlivened state.

Another interesting aspect of many of these concerts is the presence of apprentices with the musicians. Musicians often follow a path similar to the guru-disciple relationship and live with their teacher during their apprenticeship. The relationship is a special one and you can see the love between the teacher and the student as they acknowledge each other during the concert. The musicians all share a bond that the audience can feel and share in with sighs and sounds.

The next concert is Satish Vyas (Santoor) on June 8. For more information contact info@hindustanisangeetmandal.com.

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