Beauty and form

Music is beautiful. Very beautiful. As much as it can move, inspire and calm you, it can charm and captivate you leaving you mesmerised in complete awe of its grace, power and splendour.

In Carnatic music, one finds arguably the best example of such uncommon beauty. And if such beauty were to be conceptualized to have a form, it could be best described by the complete harmony of ragam and talam. The talam may be conceptualized as forming the bones, the rigid, crisp structure around which the rich flesh and substance of the ragam is neatly woven around. And to top it all, the lyrics that add so much beauty and meaning to a song are like the choicest, flowing garments and sparkling gems and ornaments that adorn the perfect form.

Needless to say, the early Carnatic composers knew exactly this truth: that the most beautiful words, the sweetest melodies and the most perfect rhythms are most appropriate if they are dedicated to God, the most beautiful. And that is why we are forunate today to inherit the legacy of Carnatic music, that brings together some of the best poetry, some of the highest devotional and spiritual purports into the most beautiful form of music. Beauty may lie in the eyes of the beholder, but when it comes to music, it may lie in the ears of the listener. What's more, when you are ready for it, Carnatic music will turn into a form of beauty that transcends all your senses, and unites into a stream that flows right into your soul.