What is music?

Aristotle aptly sums up Music saying:

"It is not easy to determine the nature of music or why anyone should have a knowledge of it."

The power of music to move men has been recognized in all cultures. In India, music was part of religion, right from Vedic hymns at the beginning of recorded history. As music developed in melodic and rhythmic intricacy, religious texts or the guideline of a story determined its structure.

The narrator is central in most Indian music, and his or her skill rivals that of the instrumentalists. The effects created by sounding tones simultaneously as in western music has not developed in South Asian music. The divisions of an octave (intervals) are more in Indian system than in Western music, and the melodic complexity in Oriental music is far beyond that of Western practice. Moreover, an element of improvisation is retained which is vital to the success of a performance. The spontaneous imitation carried on between an instrumentalist and narrator, against the insistent rhythmic subtleties of the drums is a source of excitement, which in large measure is because of the faithful adherence to the rigid rules that govern the rendition of ragas – the melodic patterns of Indian music.

The Music is the art of combining vocal or instrumental sounds, for beauty of form or emotional expression, in accordance to certain standards of rhythm, melody, and harmony. Other major components of musical sound are tone, timbre (tone colour), and texture (instrumentation).
Although there are no sounds that can be described as inherently unmusical, musicians in each culture have restricted the range of sounds that they will admit. Be it a simple folk song or complex electronic composition, all belong to music. They are human composed, conceptual and auditory, and these factors are present in music of all styles and of all periods, be it Eastern or Western.

The mind apparently seeks some organizing principle in the perception of music, and if a grouping of sounds is not objectively present it imposes one of its own. Experiments show that the mind instinctively groups regular and identical sounds into twos and threes, stressing every second or third beat, and thus creates, from an otherwise monotonous series a succession of strong and weak beats. In music, such grouping is achieved by actual stress, by periodically making one note (Swara) stronger than the others, as in Tala employed in Carnatic music. When the stress occurs at regular intervals, the beats fall into natural time measures.

Music is an art that permeates every human society. Modern music is heard in many styles, many of them contemporary, others of the past eras. Music is a protean art. It lends itself easily to alliances with words as in song, and with physical movement as in dance. Popular cultures consistently employ its possibilities, by means of radio, film, television, and the musical theatre.

Kallidaikurichi

Kallidaikurichi, where I live, is a small town (Latitude: 8.7 N, Longitude: 77.47 E, Altitude: MSL + 75 Mtrs / 249 Ft) on the right bank of river Thamiraparani. Aadivaraha perumal temple is the main temple of Kallidaikurichi. I will take you through a tour of South India, its present and distant past - historical and cultural aspects, taking this place, Kallidaikurichi as pivotal.
Like any Indian rural town, this town too is steeped in tradition and has a rich heritage. It is located on the right bank of river Thamiraparni, in Tirunelveli District of Tamilnadu, a southern state of India, struggling to hold on to its past glories. Local tongue is Tamil. Here the modern co-exist peacefully with the bullock-carts and rickshaws of yester years.

This rural town in the south Tamilnadu is located about 70 kms north of Kanyakumari (Cape Comerin). Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai are two towns (twin towns) nearby, about 35 kms away. Indian Railways touch Kallidaikurichi.

This place is easily reachable by road from Tirunelveli and Nagarcoil. Nearby Airports are Madurai in Tamilnadu - about 250 kms away and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in Kerala - about 145 kms away.

Paddy is the main crop here. Other crops are groundnut (peanuts), chilies (red pepper) and cotton, though these are seen less frequently now-a-days. Kallidaikurichi and Appalam are almost synonymous. Appalam making is a major cottage industry here and this Appalam is very famous for its quality and taste and are sent almost all over India.

Like most parts of Tamilnadu, the climate here too is rather hot, except during the rainy season of November/December months. During summer strong gusty winds are a frequent occurrence. Utilizing this energy is the large wind energy farm at Arulwaimozhui, about 40 Kms from here, with over 2500 of windmills generating electricity.

Kallidaikurichi, endowed with a rich heritage, is dotted with many ancient Hindu Shrines. These are of ancient temple architecture style having high-rise Gopurams (ornamental gateways of temples) with intricate sculptures, heralding the past glory of this region. Dikshitar, the Great carnatic composer, whose songs abound with geographic and iconographic references, sings of the curative properties of the river Thamiraparani. To him, The Goddess at Tirunelveli, is Hima-saila-sutaa (daughter of the mountain Hima), and also suddha Tamraparni tata sthitaa while Vishnu in Kallidaikurichi, is bhangahara Tamraparni tirastha. His beautiful composition on the Lakshmi varaha swami of Kallidaikurichi tells all these.

This place, a Brahmin stronghold of the past, was a place of learning and Music. Many scholars and musicians were born here. However, vast changes in the social structure has taken its toll. One of the educational institutions here is established over 160 years back as George English School, renamed Thilakar Vidyalaya after independence of India.

The perennial river Thamiraparni flows through Kallidaikurichi. Originating from Periya Pothigai hill ranges, Papanasam hills nearby, it flows down to Bay of Bengal, after traveling for about 125 kilometers. In the hills there are many beautiful water falls - Courtallam Falls, Banatheertham Falls, Agasthiar Falls, Manimuthar Falls and a few more. All these are very enjoyable tourist spots. Bathing under these falls is very exhilarating and is considered very good for health.

Agasthiarkootam, a peak nearby, is famous for its medicinal herbs. This fag end of Western Ghats, is full of flora and fauna. Kalakkad Mundanthurai Range is a wild life park under the Project Tiger, protecting all forms of wild life in its fullness.