Western and Indian classical music

I have heard people rave about western music, Indian classical music although I have never felt any inclination towards any of them. That does not mean I do not like them. I just don't appreciate them as much as I appreciate other forms of Indian music - Indian film and folk music.

When I was in my teens, most of my friends in school were into western music. Absolute peer pressure led me to listen to this music. I wanted to be part of the group and participate in those conversations that revolved around western music. I tried very hard and failed miserably.

My knowledge was limited to only Michael JacksonJ. Even with MJ, I had not really listened to any of his albums. I just knew he was a popular singer. That is all. That was the time when two bands were popular - Backstreet Boys and Boyzone. I must admit that I did like a few songs. I gradually heard two other names - Ricky Martin, Celine Dion (Titanic is the key here J).

I finally gave up trying to understand and appreciate this kind of music. I told myself that if this means people are not going to be friends, then so be it.

There was a different problem when I joined college. Almost all my classmates were well versed in Indian classical music. I was lost when they talked about the nuances of Carnatic music. This time, I did not even try to understand Carnatic since I was sure it would never interest me. The irony was that one of my close friend was a great Carnatic singer. She was the only Carnatic singer I could listen to. That was my limit.

Both my parents are music lovers although they come from families that have no music affinity. I think my love for music came from them. At home, you can find them singing to the tunes of their favorite film songs. We don’t have any expertise on music. We don’t understand what these mean - raga, melody, harmony, scales. We just like to listen to music!!

My childhood was spent in listening to those old Thamizh movie songs - late 60s and 70s. I remember my dad used to sing some of the old Thamizh film songs as a lullaby to me when I was a kid. My mom used to play the radio or the tape recorder all the time. Later I started listening to Hindi film songs and music albums.  

When I first listened to Thamizh folk music (Naatupura Paatu), the rich form of music amazed me. The music was so refreshing, beautiful and connected me to my roots.

Why this post on music?? A series of conversations in one of the whatsapp group reminded me of my failed attempt to like western music😉