The principal objective of listening to music is to disassociate the mind from the worries and anxieties and sordid selfish interests of this transient world, and to help the artists and audiences to concentrate on the matrix of music and to attain spiritual consciousness. How true it is, when our mind is disturbed, we see the ideal of music is, therefore, to get the sweetest means to rescue the people, from the dark den of delusion and confer upon them, the blessings of permanent peace and eternal happiness, even in no doubt, music of India, has preserved the solemn of tradition and ideal, all through the ages and so the composers of music, have laid, the greatest emphasis upon its spiritual side, bhakti, which enriches the effect of the music.
These lead us to a moot point. Is there a deterioration in Carnatic music now, bereft of bhakti? If so, is it due to the sudden jumping from the place, into the open streets, and the musicians had, perforce, to pick up the trick of pandering to the tastes of commoners, delivering without even caring to learn the purport of the songs and adding his/her accursed swarm gymnastics. Let me assure you, I am not, however opposed to appending swaras, for solfa passages to songs. Indeed, such an appendage enhances the attractiveness of the style. Of course, the change from lyrics to solfas, is particularly Thyagaraja Swamigal himself, successfully employed them in many of his kriti.
But he knew, when and how to introduce them. His employment of swaras, looks like well-cut diamonds. But the modern singers, employment of the same, as an appendage, to earn fame and name makes the music commercialised, as it drives the musicians, to adjust their arts, to suit the taste of a few of the commoners, I opine, the total taste of commercialisation of music has virtually infected. The question virtually arises, wherein lies the uniqueness of the art of music. The answer is that it's not merely lies in the fascinating combination of words (sahitya) and tunes (swaras) of music, but in the proper representation of its spirit, that brings out its real significance and value. The greatness of music depends upon its efficient and artistic rendering and creation and consequently upon the selective faculty of the intuitive artists. Needless to mention that the artists should be fully aware, as to how to create and represent the art of music, with their minds wide open, to the sense of proportion, beauty and the real value of music.
