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Findings

This book is a compilation of thoughtful essays and insightful observations that delve into a wide range of topics, offering readers a glimpse into the author's perspectives on diverse subjects. more

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Kathleen Jamie

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“I started with the first note, sa. On the first day, to my dismay, Dhondutai made me sing only the base note- the tonal pillar of Indian music which remains unchanged, constant, reliable, and stoically oblivious to the whims and fancies of the other notes. It is the foundation, the first and last note, the point at which the circle begins and ends. Within the boundaries of sa, one can play out all of life's dramas and moods. But every time one gets back to it, there is a sense of closure- like coming home after a long and exciting journey.”

MusicHindustani Classical Music
Book:The Music Room
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“The most common cycle used is the sixteen beat cycle, called teentaal or tritaal. Dha dhin dhin dha. Dha dhin dhin dha. Dha tin tin ta. Ta dhin dhin dha…sixteen beats divided neatly into four times four. The sixteen-beat cycle starts and ends and stars and ends, creating a repetitive circularity; the melody has to accommodate itself within its scaffolding; it has to negotiate with the parameters to find a happy balance between freedom and responsibility, rights and duties, exhilaration and restraint. There is scope for risk-taking, within reason, as long as one came back to the line of control in time, and hit sama, the drum stroke where one cycle ended and the new one began; a point of arrival and of departure. This is a musical metaphor for life as it should be lived. Truly great musicians can swerve into unchartered bylanes, but still find their way back to the destination. On time”

MusicMusiciansHindustani Classical Music
Book:The Music Room
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“When she went back for her first lesson, Dhondutai automatically greeted het teacher by touching her feet. Kesarbai held her shoulders, lifted her gently and said, "You are a Brahmin's daughter. There is no need for you to do that." But this was something Dhondutai would not compromise on- even though she knew that she and Kesarbai occupied two ends of the social order in which women were either 'good' or 'bad', respectable or indecent. These were labels that had been stuck on by men, by society, and Dhondutai would not fall into that trap.”

MusicSocial JusticeGenderPatriarchy
Book:The Music Room
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“[…on a Corncrake call…] Fairy music is said to do this; to lead a man on in his confusion and drunkenness, to start, then stop, then begin again from another place, ever luring him on. This was not a beautiful music, it has to be said; hardly the art of fairies. Mind you, it could be a goblin carpenter, sawing away at his little workbench, if you’d had a few too many at the island disco and were of a fanciful mind.”

NatureMusicScotlandOutdoorsFairy MusicBird CallCorcrake Call
Book:Findings
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