A battle of souls and soles

We are a family of music buffs. Our eclectic taste in music ranges from Hindustani and Carnatic to anything that is western, the choice of my children. Add my obsession with classical music and yesteryear Bollywood songs, and the debate invariably veers around Indian vs Western music.

I grew up hearing the wonderful compositions of Madan Mohan, Naushad, Roshan, SJ and the incomparable Sachin da. Whether it was Talat’s Mehmood’s Phir wohi din, wahi raat and Pyar par bas to nahin hai mera dil lekin or Rafi’s evergreen numbers like Man re tu kahe ko dhir dare and his nonpareil romantic song from Hum Dono, Abhi na jao chhod kar ki dil abhi bhara nahi. How can I leave out Lata’s immortal number from Anpadh: Aap ki Nazron ne samja, and Lag jaa gale from woh Kaun Thi? All soulful enough to literally transport one to an ethereal world.

My idyllic bliss, as I’m lost listening to these songs on a Sunday morning, is soon shattered, when my daughter hollers: “Dad, why do you have to begin the day with these depressing songs? Let’s hear some vibrant and lilting music.” Seizing the opportunity, my son quietly slips in a Linkin Park compact disc into the music system. Then follows their discourse on how western music is superior to Indian music. I’m schooled about the wide range of variety offered in western music – from classical, jazz, pop, rock, hip-hop, to rap.By now, the battle lines are clearly drawn.

I try my best not to succumb to their onslaught. I begin extolling the mystical nuances of Hindustani classical music, and the immortal Hindi film songs based on famous ragas like Ahir Bhairav, Bhupali, Piloo, and Malkauns, and how these songs even today leave a deep and lasting impact on one’s psyche.

Even the great R D Burman, a connoisseur of western music, became famous only with his unforgettable composition Ghar aaja ghir aaye, based on Rag Malgunji, I tell them.

Moreover, how can Western music match the vast repertoire and genre of our classical music: pure classical, semi-classical forms like Tumri, Khyayal, Tapa, Dadra, Qawwali, Ghazals, Bhajan, folk & Sufi music?

My daughter now jumps to a different line of argument, “You know that we Indians emphasise individual virtuosity, and this shows in every walk of our life-whether it is politics, music, or sports, and, for that matter, even in your own corporate world! On the other hand, western music is all about teamwork and symphonies. In western music, all the artists have to play their pieces in perfect synchronisation, for one false note can ruin the entire show.”

To end the argument, I tell her that both Indian and Western music are soul-lifting. This catches their attention. “While Indian music is soul-lifting, western music is sole-lifting.” Before they could react, I beat a hasty retreat.