Indian music is emotional and intellectual. The unique merger of swaras and their partials and mathematically precise Laya and Tala systems, land the music its intuitive as well as intellectual flavour respectively.
It is a well-known fact that Indian classical music attaches great importance to serenity and a thoughtful state of mind as its primary goal. As much, it helps in balancing the left and right hemispheres of the brain, which are assigned the functions of analysis and institution respectively by the neurologists.
Drone and Its Psychic Importance
In the Indian system of music – both in Hindustani and Carnatic – Drone is an essential requirement. The Drone that emanates from Tanpuras can be compared to the state of equilibrium as it fully represents the essence of the musical scale on which Ragas can be conceived. Drone, offers the basic framework akin to a balance mind, which has its inherited capacity to fall prey to emotional upheavals, ascendance for downfall, the same way a raga could meander.
Healing Ragas
According to an ancient Indian text, Swara Sastra, the 72 melakarta ragas control the 72 important nerves in the body. It is believed that, if one sings with due devotion, adhering to the Raga lakshana and sruti shuddhi, the Raga could affect the particular nerve in the body in a favorable manner.
Certain ragas do have a tendency to move the listeners – emotionally as well as physically. An unintended nod of the head, Limbs or body could be manifest when lifting tuned and played. The real impact of sound is more evident when there is a metallic screech, which nails the nerves and make the body undergo a sudden shiver!
Simple melodic structures, slow tempo, low pitched notes which are repeated over and over again, as in bhajans and kirtans have been found to be soothing and relaxing. Such musical pieces are found to impact a sense of relaxed spaciousness, besides reducing stress, deafening breeding process, leading the listeners to consciousness frequencies akin to the earth’s electromagnetic field.
While the descending notes in a Raga (avarohi) is found to recreate inward orienting or introvert feelings, the ascending notes (arohi) represent an upward or expensive mobility. Thus music played for the soldiers or for the dancers have to be more lively and uplifting with frequent use of arohi content. More ascending notes are found in war music or in joyous dance music all over the world. Similarly melancholic songs should opt for ‘smooth’ avarohis. although it may not be a rule as such, most of the Western tunes based on major keys play joyful notes, while those composed and minor keys tend to sound more melancholic or serious. Certain Indian Ragas too have a direct impact on emotions, as they can create awe, joy, suspense or pathos. They can, depending on their form or gait, work even as a stimulant or a depressant.
Some Recent Experiments in India
In India, music therapy is still in its infancy, though tremendous potential exists in its systematic study and application. In other words, Indians are sitting on a virtual gold mine of a great music tradition that promises curative results.
It is only in recent times that some psychologist (Dr. B.N. Manjula of NIMHANS), biophysicist (Srirama Bharathi of Chennai), neurologists (Dr. B. Ramamurthy) and a few other scientists have started showing interest in the ancient art. They exist side by side with spiritual healers such as Sri Ganapati Satchidananda Swamy of Mysore, who for example, has developed his own system of music for healing, which he says soothes 72,000 nerves and 14 essential nadis. The Swamy himself plays a Roland synthesizer to the audience with accompanying musicians.
Music for Asthma Sufferers
Pandurangshastri Deshpande, musicologist-cum-ayurvedic practitioner from Pune has explored the beneficial impact of sound of mridangam and pahadi ragas for those who suffer from breathing problems such as asthma. He has also carried out various experiments with Ragas such as Bhairavi. Records of this raga, sung by nine different maestros were in an experiment, played before nine potted ‘Touch Me Not’ plants daily for a month to observe their impact. The plant that was exposed to Abdul Karim Khan’s Bhairavi was found to exhibit a record growth of 430 percent as compared to others.
Music to Relieve Anxiety Neuroses
Dr. B.M. Manjula, a psychiatrist at National Institute of Mental health and Neuro-sciences (NIMHANS) is reported to have used music (an hour of listening to sitar every day and bhajans at night) along with minor doses of anxiolytic drugs to cure anxiety neuroses effectively. It is reported that this form of therapy can be of great used in in aiding de-addiction.
Music and Herbs of Srirama Bharathi of Chennai
The biophysicist- turned therapist Srirama Bharathi of Chennai has conducted a unique experiment with ‘sound and herbal therapy’, in which patients were made to simultaneously view a picture, eat an herbal paste and listen to music simultaneously. According to him music by itself may not be therapeutic unless combined with other forms of medicine. He follows a traditional form of music therapy called ‘arayar sevai ‘in which the songs traditionally used in the temple rituals are sung.
Stress Relief Programmes for Police and Enforcement Personnel
It has been on record that the police personnel in Maharashtra found listening to music aids in relieving stress.
Music and Ayurveda: Some Recent Research
Ayurveda views all diseases as aggravation of doshas. As each of the three doshas, kapha, pitta and vata refers to scientific functioning such as maintenance, transformation and dynamic action respectively, it as pertinent to have an idea of the approximate time of the day in which each of them would, normally, be found in imbalance. According to Pandit Shashank Katti, who have worked with an anesthetist, Dr. Himalaya Pantvaidya, and an a ayurvedic practitioner, Dr. Sanjay Chhajed, an approximate time chart could be drawn indicating the time of the day when a particular doshas remain aggravated, as indicated below:
| Imbalance of the Dosha | Timing I | Timing II |
| KaphaPittaVata | 7 am to 11 am11 am to 3 pm3 pm to 7 pm | 7 pm to 11 pm11 pm to 3 am3 am to 7 am |
An Interference from the above could be Drone that an appropriate morning raga could help in addressing the problems of Kapha-aggravation, whose imbalance is common between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Similarly Pitta imbalance (predominant during 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Vata imbalance (which is at its peak during 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) could be addressed by selecting appropriate afternoon or evening ragas, as the case may be. After listening to the prescribed raga regularly for about 20-25 days, twice or thrice a day, patients were found to derive desired results. Disorders like arthritis, depression, insomnia, joint muscular pain, sciatica etc., are reported to respond well to music, although disorders asthma, diabetes, and hypertension take longer time to get cured.
Pandit Shashank Katti has also found the premature babies responding to music well and gaining weight. He has also found the role of music for easy delivery of babies in nursing homes. His team has bought out audio-analgesic cassettes for arthritis-back pain, joint pain, muscular pain, spondylitis etc. besides for a host of ailments: acidity, asthma, colitis, diabetes, easy child delivery, health promotion, hypertension, insomnia, liver diseases, migraine etc.
Dr. P. Bharathi and Chaitanya Series.
Dr, P. Bharathi has recently done extensive research on music therapy in collaboration with the Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai. The culmination of efforts is the Chaitanya series.
She has worked with post – operative patients for treatment and management of pain and found that patients in the post – operative stage are more receptive to music. It could be because pain makes one aware of his or her body emotion. Added to this is the deep desire to be cured. All these factors along with physical immobility and lack of mental destruction, contributed to A Remarkable recovery of many patients, when music was made available to them.
Some Therapeutic Carnatic Ragas
To cure insomnia, one listens to bits and pieces of Nilambari raga; likewise, martial fervours are believed to be instilled in people by making them listen to pieces in Bilahari or Kedaram; Sriraga, when sung or listened, after a heavy lunch is said to aid in digestion and assimilation; while Sama raga is to restore mental peace, Bhupalam and Malayamarutham when sung before the dawn serves as an agreeable invitation to people – which include the Lord of The Seven Hills – to wake up from their slumber. Relief from paralysis is reported to be there by listening to two pieces of Dwijavanthi Raga. Those who are prone to depression, are often recommended with a dose of lilt in Bilahari to overcome their melancholy. Nadanamakriya, yet another Raga is supposed to “soften” not only the adamant people but also the hardened criminals. Readers may test the suggestions and see for themselves how far these concepts hold well – the same way a mother could attempt a lullaby with the hope and concern of putting a child to sleep!
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, Nov. 28, 2021