‘Nada is music, which plays in the body without strings.’ – Kabir
The roots of therapeutic music in India, though mostly anecdotal, have been firmly established in the Indian soil since time immemorial. Great Sanskrit and Tamil treatises on music, traced back to ancient times talk about the art and science of music and also touch upon its healing qualities. Raga Chikitsa is one such text elaborating the qualities of Indian ragas. Thus, the idea that music could be healing, has remained a strong belief system in the sub-continent.
In recent times, particularly in the post- world war era, America and other advanced nations in the western world have drawn into music as a complementary medicine. The idea of use of Music as an adjunct therapy has also attracted many researchers drawn from various disciplines including psychology, general medicine, physiotherapy etc. and more particularly in lifestyle management.
The hard-core scientific professionals perceive that as a much superior art form, music could be of great help as a complementary medicine. The biomedical approach is thus no longer the order of the day as the role of mind in the perception and acceptance of illness is slowly gaining ground replacing conventional medicine.
In recent years, there has been a call for use of more and more complementary therapies and alternative methods in medicine in the clinical arena, thanks to the shift in health perception by the masses.
Though the discipline of music therapy is still in its nascent stage —as more and more methodical and scientific research needs to be carried out on the healing ragas — thanks to its non-invasive nature and its pleasant impact on the mind, more and more people are going ahead subjecting themselves to the magic of music as a cure.
Varied opinions for and against the therapeutic impact of music exists amidst people who are scientifically inclined. At the same time, the practitioners of Music Therapy are also becoming more and more conspicuous in many nursing homes and hospitals. Medical professionals have started realizing that holistic approaches as in music therapy could accelerate the process of healing.
In a country like India, rich in music tradition with its unique system in the whole world, it is unfortunate that the tremendous potentials that exist in Indian music have not so far been studied in depth. Music Therapy being an interdisciplinary field no doubt is challenging, but for the agile Indians known for their skills and knowledge, it is just a play-field!
Though just being a mere music professional cannot help in making a music therapist, efforts are on the way to evolve an effective training and certification program. While medical professionals could be trained on the nuances in music, musical professionals could be exposed to the medical aspects of music therapy so that both these streams could work together as a single discipline.
Music therapy is much more than the aesthetics one finds in music. Brilliant performance and practice of music therapy badly needs basic and advanced facilities for educating some 25,000 qualified music therapists estimated to be needed in the county in less than 10 years, i.e by 2015.
At this stage, to begin with, to revive our old tradition of healing music and to give it scientific endorsements, renowned musicians, musicologists, psychologists and medical professionals must join together in undertaking scientific research besides involving themselves to do their best to develop a credible and workable system. Indian music promises much more from the therapeutic angle than any system of music, thanks to the flexibility of swaras and gamaka-combinations which make the music subtle and deep to activate one’s healing consciousness. The vast fund of information available on the ragas which have been systematically classified is also of great value for therapists for instant identification of tunes and melodies.
In short, exciting times await ahead for those who believe in music and its therapeutic role.
Bibliography
Sairam TV 2004 Medicinal Music Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai
Sairam TV 2004 Raga Therapy Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai
This article is published in AYURVEDA AND ALL SEPTEMBER 2007 – Pages 34, 35
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, July 14, 2021