'Coltrane, Ravi Shankar introduced rock music to ragas' 23 Mar 2009, 0000
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When A R Rahman was lifting the Oscar in LA , Peter Lavezzoli from
Florida was launching Bhairavi: The Global Impact of Indian Music in India.
The musicologist talks to Ratnottama Sengupta :
When did the West come alive to ragas?
I'd say 1952, when Yehudi Menuhin came to raise money for famine relief.
Nehru invited Menuhin as he was a well-travelled, socially conscious
musician.
He met Ravi Shankar who played at the reception. Raviji had not yet toured
US: as a classical musician he first travelled in 1954, in a delegation to
USSR.
Menuhin was taken aback by the technical brilliance and improvisational
aspect of Indian music. He returned to Europe and started educating people
about it.
In 1956 he invited Raviji, he couldn't go but suggested Ali Akbar Khan.
Menuhin explained the music and eventually recorded it. Then Raviji went, he
also recorded, and subsequently connected with the jazz community. That
changed everything.
Hadn't Indian musicians performed before that too?
Indian musicians had played in Europe and the US but with dance
performances. Until Ali Akbar Khan's tour no music performance had been
recorded and preserved for posterity. The real impact was that the Beatles
and rock musicians started composing songs based on khayal, bhajan, Carnatic
music.
What was the long-term impact of Indian music?
That was spiritual and cultural rather than strictly musical. Even before
1952, western elite were aware of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. With the
Beatles the influence reached popular level.
It is hard to overstate the significance of George Harrison composing songs
based on ragas, playing sitar, travelling to Rishikesh. People were seeking
alternatives to Judeo-Christian philosophy.
When the phenomenal Beatles went beyond music and embraced the spiritual
life of India, it introduced millions to, say, the practice of yoga.
So Ravi Shankar was a cultural ambassador?
The importance of this role too cannot be overstated. With highly skilled
use of language including French he communicated with western audiences. In
1960s he took upon himself to connect with jazz musicians starting with John
Coltrane.
The cutting-edge innovator with a crossover appeal beyond jazz was, like
Harrison, eager to learn about Indian spiritual traditions. Their coming
together introduced rock music to ragas.
Hasn't globalisation reversed the process?
Yes, but it's good if Indian film and pop music, influenced by western pop
music's freedom of expression, draws on rock, jazz, reggae.
Classical music has to carry forward a heritage, so those blending raga with
pop rhythm must respect traditional structure. But pop music must be
rebellious, funny, sexy, for everyday people to express their frustrations.
Else, they will release it through violence.
Will Rahman's Oscar also have an impact?
It certainly will. It's a big thing that has happened. Exactly what the
impact will be, we'll know only later.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articlelist/articleshow/4300501.cms
--
regards,
Vithur
