It was the tenth of December yesterday, and I look back on how quickly time seems to have flown. It seemed just like yesterday that I was laughing at a WhatsApp forward, a GIF of a happy Santa Claus holding a vaccine syringe and dancing to ‘Jingle Bells’. The jubilation around the vaccine and the expectation of a ‘final solution’ to the covid pandemic seems like just a recent event. I almost need to pinch myself to be reminded that a full year has passed, and a very eventful one at that, with the second wave, vaccinations and a multitude of variants of the virus springing forth all over the world, Omicron being the latest.
Time is such a curious thing. Sometimes one wishes it moved faster and got us out of sticky situations soon. Sometimes one wishes it moved slower so that good times can be relished slowly. And sometimes one wishes time could stand still and show us the experience of eternity. Classical music can help you experience the third.
It was just recently that a friend of mine called me excitedly, exclaiming that he was listening to a film song in Raag Yaman, and for those few minutes had the experience of complete timelessness. A feeling of being in a totally different plane of existence where there was no past, present or future. It was, he described, one of the closest experiences of eternity that he had ever had. I smiled quietly because I knew exactly what he was talking about. Very often during my Riyaaz or during my concert and even sometimes during a session with a student, I have experienced this timelessness. And with extensive experience of this phenomenon, I can say that music has the capacity to take you to this priceless state of bliss with relative ease. If I were to describe this state further, I would say that it is an experience of being transported to a different world, like a beautiful dream where time stands still. Almost like one is watching a beautiful sunrise at its most beautiful point and has frozen there. One loses connection with everyday life and the drudgery of living life in the real world and has been transported to an ethereal place.
It’s a way to experience ecstasy without the escapism of drugs or alcohol. It is a way of feeling the wonder of love without needing to be in love. It is a way to see beauty without actually having to see it.
The reason, I believe, classical music Raagas have this power is because, in essence, Raagas are connected to the ultimate and liberating spiritual truth of life that can set us free. This deep connection is hidden in the pursuit of Sur or divine sound in every Raaga. I can imagine a Raaga of Indian Classical music as a ladder, with one end firmly placed on the symbolic ground or in the harsh reality of our inner emotional state, and the other end at the doorway of heaven, holding the magical keys to fulfilment and bliss. This connection between the earthly and the divine is what we experience when we engage deeply in classical music. The timelessness comes from being able to finally bridge this gap between reality and divinity, and traverse that distance through the magic of Indian classical music.
This friend of mine who experienced this timelessness was elated as this is the closest that we can get to experiencing the divine on this earth. When this happens, it touches our very soul and allows us to weep in delight. Weep because we can finally catch a glimpse of God. We can finally be sure that there is a truth out there that is more real than our reality and yet so blissful and perfect.
Music is a stamp of God on earth. The subliminal spiritual undertones of Indian Classical music are what enable the experience of timelessness. It is there for every troubled or restless soul on the earth to experience, so accessible and yet so profound. It is time the world takes notice. Because making time stand still can never be easier.
The writer is a vocalist of both Hindustani and Carnatic Classical music, with over three decades’ experience. She is also the founder of Music Vruksh, a venture to make classical accessible for its aesthetic and wellness benefits.