Music for the mind

As I started writing this note there was soft music playing on my laptop. Soothing, energising, non-intrusive. Soon other sounds went up in the air…the sound of a car reversing to the tune of a stuccato ‘Sare jahan se achchaa’, mobiles going off with all strange ringtunes. But now, these irritants don’t bother me much – for the mind is filled with music already from over the years: the music of my mother and mother-in-law, and other members of the family – many happy afternoons spent listening to Ranjini, Shubhapanthuvarali and Chenjuruti and other ragams; the music of our children – listening to and singing along with all kinds of music; the music of a faraway land – a young niece stunning us with a solo in a school choir; the music of the hills – an evening of kajris and thumris with a petite senior lady singing along at a dear friend’s flat in Delhi – the sweetness that music brings into our lives!

Music knows no borders, they say. Or are there boundaries? For instance, can a washer-boy aspire to learn classical Hindustani music from a maestro? On the occasion of World Music Day, celebrated on June 21 every year, let me introduce a bit of music into your life – in the form of a book ‘Bishnu, the Dhobi Singer’. This happy story is written by Subhadra Sen Gupta and illustrated by Tapas Guha, and at 64 pages, it is the first long book published by Pratham Books. Available in English, Hindi, Kannada and Marathi on our online store here. I enjoyed the book, and the music it brought to my mind!

And so I say, thank you for the music….