Learning Music and Understanding Heritage – Without Losing Sleep

by Ram S. Sriram
April 25, 2009

I pulled into the Hindu temple parking lot at 8:30 A.M. on a Sunday morning. There

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was hardly anyone around the parking lot. As I was getting out of my car, I heard the sound of another car pulling in. Ten-year old Vani gets out of the passenger side clutching a violin case in her hand and greets me, “Hi Uncle.” She looks tired and not-too-happy. Perhaps, being a Sunday, she prefers to be in bed getting a few extra hours of sleep instead of showing up this early at the temple.

As I was trying to engage Vani in a conversation, her mother, Durga, steps out of the car, opens the boot of the car and takes out dance costumes out of a Pullman. Before I could greet Durga and ask her what she was doing this early at the temple, she responds with a bright smile, “Hello Sriram; Vani has classes at the temple every Sunday. She takes violin lessons from 9 A.M. to 10:30 and continues with vocal music classes from 11 A.M. to 1 P.M. After finishing at the temple, I drive her to Duluth for her Bharathanatyam lessons starting late afternoon.”

I cannot help but comment, “That is all Durga! How come you have not enrolled Vani in flute and Veena classes?” Durga ignores my bait and does not respond. Although my heart goes out to young Vani, I also admired Durga’s motivation and enthusiasm to make Vani an accomplished musician, Bharathanatyam exponent, and more.

Regardless of our desire to make our children proficient in Indian music and arts because, as parents, we believe that it makes them acquire our rich culture and heritage, we should stand back and ask ourselves a few questions, “Are our children learning music and dance and everything Indian because they are motivated or because, we, as parents, are passionate about making them truly “Indian”?” Do our children recognize the fine arts lessons as valuable? Does our responsibility stop with driving the children from one music class to another or does it also extend to making them understand the value of “Indian heritage?”

What makes training in the fine arts or learning our mythology and scriptures valuable? Is it because they are thousands of years old and somehow their age makes them, valuable? Or, are there explicit or subliminal attributes that make them valuable? I believe that each parent has an obligation to think through these issues. Only when parents discern how learning the fine arts or our scriptures contribute to cultural and spiritual enrichment, they can, in turn, make their children recognize the value of their heritage.

Heritage is everything that was involved in the lives of our ancestors – works of art to scientific to spiritual discoveries. It is heritage that also distinguishes us from animals – dogs and cats do not have heritage or family traditions. It is heritage that tells us who we really are and why we act and think in a certain way. It is a living and dynamic component of our lives and our children.

"One can find answers and guidance to everything from basic etiquette and social manners to the essence of Vedanta and Bhagawad Gita."

Regardless of where one lives, what profession one pursues, or who one marries, an individual cannot escape his or her heritage. Heritage and culture are not anachronistic vestiges that are like work of art hung on the living room of an Indian household. It is an integral part of our everyday life’s thoughts and behaviors.

One of the many meaningful ways for us and our children to learn about our heritage and its values is through an understanding of Carnatic music (because of my own limited knowledge of other music systems, I will restrict my future discussions to Carnatic music). Carnatic music subsumes within it several attributes of our heritage and provides answers to questions about ethics, morals, philosophy, religion and rituals, patriotism, social relationships, community laws and more.

One can find answers and guidance to everything from basic etiquette and social manners to the essence of Vedanta and Bhagawad Gita. In this sense, Carnatic music is somewhat like an ocean. An ocean facilitates a mariner to travel from one country to another, a scientist to study its currents, a biologist to understand and learn about sea creatures and a lover of nature to just admire its beauty.

Similar to the ocean, Carnatic music allows us to navigate through life. Whether it is ten-year old Vani, a student of music or an eighty year old musical scholar, each can find answers to questions that he/she has about life and spirituality. And, it is not even necessary, like Vani, to learn to sing or play a musical instrument to benefit from the music.

One need not be a connoisseur of music or attend every concert or become a musicologist to benefit from Carnatic music. With today’s technology and online knowledge bases, there is enough information to understand the music and make sense of it. With a certain degree of interest and with a certain level of effort, we can learn about the philosophical context in which compositions are set and the spiritual messages that they convey.

While Vani, at ten years of age, would be least interested in the philosophical insights of a Carnatic composition, she would listen when Durga, her mother, points to her that her musical learning would augment her learning, not only in music, but also in other areas of her life including, educational pursuits. In the West, both parents and school administrators observe children who take music-related courses in school to perform better also in courses that require analytical skills, e.g. math and science. This is because there is a causal connection between music and spatial intelligence.

"Researchers observed that students learning music to be less likely to use addictive products such as tobacco, alcohol, or drugs."

Spatial intelligence refers to an individual’s ability to perceive the objects of the word and form a mental picture of the relationship between objects. A child requires spatial intelligence not only when learning math or science but also when performing rational thinking and problem solving (e.g. preparing for SAT). Musical learning also develops a child’s creativity (The Mozart effect) because it exposes the child to ideas of harmony, melody, and teamwork and gives an opportunity for self-expression.

In the long run, musical learning also impacts a child’s behavior in a positive way. Researchers observed that students learning music to be less likely to use addictive products such as tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. These children were better at inter-personal skills and were less violent or erratically behaved. They also appeared to recognize the value of sustained efforts and how such efforts would make them successful.

But, to derive the benefits music provides, Vani must continue to learn and Durga, her mother, must make the learning process interesting and enjoyable for Vani. Durga must first change her perception that when she enrolls Vani in more fine arts classes, Vani will inherit more Indian heritage than the rest of the children of Indian Joneses.

Durga must also recognize that it is more important to let Vani learn an art form that Vani finds interesting and eager to learn. When Vani has that freedom, she will recognize that learning music is not only fascinating but also beneficial to her life. And Vani will not only continue to pursue her music lessons, but she will also catch an extra hour of sleep on a Sunday morning.

Ram S. Sriram lives in Atlanta. He serves as Controllers’ Roundtable Distinguished Professor at the Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. He is also a Mridangist and routinely accompanies professional musicians visiting from India. He learnt Mridangam from two illustrious gurus, Sri T. V. Gopalkrishnan and Srimushnam Raja Rao. He writes on music philosophy and his articles on music and other topics are available at the website www.vidyarthi.org.

Comments on this Article

ananda vardhana [Portland, ME. May 10, 2009 9:54:22 AM]
Hi Sriram, Wonderful article written in very good chaste English. Why did I comment on the language instead of the subject matter? The reason is the article just flows like a honey flowing out of a pot. As I often comment to Niranjan I use the Grama Sabha articles as model writing for my daughters. As you aptly said relating to music one need not be an English professor to appreciate good language. Your article is a classic example I shall be using to guide my daughters. Thanks Now to the subject matter, you have vocalized my thoughts with Arunima adding seasoning to it!! Nothing could be better on a Sunday morning!! Let me add my Oggarane(Thadka in Hindi) To inherit the heritage the first door to open is Language. If the child is robbed of that essential key then the essence of the heritage is lost. On the other hand culture can be imbibed to a great extent without the aid of the language. To be concise there is a Purandara Dasa song wherein he says he does not want anything but all he wants is "Parara bedadanthe madennna hariye" I dont want the riches of the sea just give me the power so that "I don't have to beg others of help". If the child can get the power behind this last punch line of Purandara Dasa then the essence of learning that keerthane is accomplished. Yes Sriram as you rightly said and my father back in India a music critic(Late G T Narayana Rao) always wrote music is the path to divinity. Hope to see more articles from you in the future. regards ananda vardhana

Arunima Menon [Portland, OR. May 5, 2009 12:31:56 PM]
Wonderful article. I want to add that it would really help Vani too if her mother also reinforced her culture and heritage in her daily life by living it herself. Its hard for children to understand just from a class what their culture is. If it is something that envelops them while at home too, then it helps to understand and reinforce the same.