http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/03/12/stories/2009031250990500.htm
Indian music has a spiritual impact at the global level, says musician
Peter Lavezzoli whose book on the subject was recently released
PHOTO: ANU PUSHKARNA
THE INDIAN INFLUENCE Peter Lavezzoli
Much has been said about Indian classical music reaching the West,
about the explosion of interest when Pandit Ravi Shankar and other
legends first collaborated with pop and rock stars in the 1960s. With
popular icons such as George Harrison experimenting with the sitar and
becoming Shankar’s students, the sitar joined the lexicon of pop
sounds. In the process, many accused the sitar maestro of ‘diluting’ an
ancient classical heritage. Others hailed him as the messiah who took
Indian classical music to the world. Neither conclusion, though,
reflects the complex reality of those years.
But with the lapse of time comes perspective. Perhaps now is a good
time for a serious study of the phenomenon. And Peter Lavezzoli, who is
both a pop singer and a student of dhrupad and tabla, seems ideally
suited for the job. Lavezzoli grew up during the heady years when Ravi
Shankar, the Hare Krishna mantra, LSD-fuelled trances, yoga and
meditation were being assimilated in the popular imagination with rock
and pop music as if they were all part of a package trip to a New World
Order, strongly anchored in an anti-war movement. His book, “Bhairavi —
The Global Impact of Indian Music” (Harper Collins), was recently
released in New Delhi at the Ravi Shankar Institute for Music and
Performing Arts (RIMPA) in the presence of the maestro.
Lavezzoli points out that musicians like Harrison and John Coltrane
were attracted to Indian music not merely for its technique and melody
but also for its spiritual ethos. “Those two especially had a very deep
spiritual attraction to India, and this is what motivated them to learn
more about India,” he notes. “Their use of Indian music allowed them to
expose millions to Indian spirituality through music.”
Before this revolution, says Lavezzoli, “Hinduism, yoga, Buddhism,
vegetarian practices — these were only known in the West at a very
elite level: artists, writers, intellectuals — a very small percentage
of people were aware of them.” Mainstream concepts
When popular musicians introduced such concepts, even if
simplistically (remember Harrison chanting “Hare Krishna” in his 1970
chartbuster “My Sweet Lord”?), Lavezzoli says, they brought them into
the popular consciousness. “To the point that,” he continues, “now, the
practice of Hinduism, Buddhism, yoga, vegetarianism and even meditation
is very mainstream in the West.” He also notes these practices are
being implemented without being associated with any particular
religion. At a personal level, says Lavezzoli, “This has made it
possible for me, coming from the U.S., to be where I am.”
On the reach of music, Lavezzoli, who has also authored “The King of
all, Sir Duke: Ellington and The Artistic Revolution”, says, “People
hear the sound and feel something on an intuitive level. There doesn’t
have to be any lyrical religious imagery. This is what Indian musicians
mean when they say Nadabrahman. This is what Hazrat Inayat Khan said:
it reflects the laws of the universe.”
Therefore, he concludes, “When I talk about the global impact it
comes down to the spiritual impact which we see was an all-persuasive
impact. Our culture — American culture has changed.”
Besides music, adds Lavezzoli, who has a degree in Religious Studies
from Florida International University, the area “where India has had a
profound impact on the West” is Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha.
“Major shifts in global consciousness happen only once in a while, and the
1960s was such a time,” says the author.
But wars still rage, the youth of the world are discontented, and injustices
flourish. So did that generation fail?
“I don’t think so, because on an everyday mainstream level in
America and Europe, people are working on their own peace of mind.
Musicians are collaborating. It’s happening now more than ever.”
Meanwhile, there is the “overwhelming victory” of Slumdog… and Rahman.
Lavezzoli says, “Now people are intrigued by Bollywood. I
think we are seeing a western fascination with Indian film music that
the West had for classical music in the 1960s.”
Even as he concedes that “there have been many great composers”,
including two of his “favourites”, the Burmans, who deserved
recognition, and that there may be a strong commercial aspect to the
awards, he avers, “That doesn’t mean there isn’t a very genuine impact
taking place.”
In the long term, the development is a positive one. “Anything that
promotes dialogue — that opens people. In the end I think that’s what’s
important.”
