Violinist Sunita Bhuyan writes about her love for the stringed instrument and how music can heal, help us innovate and be a medium for social change
Music is a journey that has been a part of my life since I was eight years old. It was a gift painstakingly given to me by my mother. At that time I did not realise the depth of the subject. As a young girl I looked at it as something that took away time from my fun and friends. The violin, which was my medium of learning, is a tough and complex instrument and can be overwhelming for a beginner. It was a blessing that I got to learn the right technique at home thanks to my mother — my guru. I was able to generate a few sounds soon after the initial years.
It wasn’t until my early 20s that I realised the impact music can have on one’s life and environment. Music facilitates internal wellness and inculcates positive social behaviour.
Music and wellness: Melody has been proven to scientifically heal the mind and body. Sound waves from the musician reach the target and as the brain responds to the stimulus it sends signals to different parts of the body. This relaxes the nervous system which in turn produces the feel good hormones called endorphins. These hormones helps in de-stressing and redesigning fatigue. In the corporate world, art and music can facilitate wellness and health thus resulting in enhanced levels of performance. When both the mind and body is calm and composed, we have happy human beings. Engagement in an art also expedites the learning process of the human mind. It gives people a creative platform away from the constant monitoring, deadlines, pressures and quality standards of an operation or project.
Creativity and innovation: Music is one of those unusual crafts that has an equal combination of structure and creativity. Hence it’s referred as an ‘art within a science’. Specially Indian classical music. It has got specific texts, structures, patterns and guidelines. However, every musical piece is unique and different in its rendition and is representative of creativity and the artistic sensibilities of the musician. Melody teaches us to work with various structures and patterns of the seven notes while rhythm is completely mathematical. Compositions are set to rhythmic patterns of different taals or beats of 7, 10, 14, 16 and all melodic innovations of the artiste have to adhere to the numerical boundaries of the taals. This dynamics is very similar to organisations and the processes within it. As much as policies, practices, processes are set, it’s the approach with which the leader executes them that determines its success. How each strategy is aligned to the context and situation defines its credibility. The highlight of a musical performance is how the artist manoeuvres within the permitted limits of the raag, improvises on the spot, maintains the aesthetics of the composition, executes it with the highest quality standards (of sur and taal), engages the audience, gives them what they want (they are the customers) all the while ensuring that it’s different from earlier renditions. Thus, an engagement in music gives an opportunity to the human mind to think out of the box.
leadership and teamwork: There are some unique traits of leadership and teamwork that can be imbibed through this craft. In the workshop called Melody and Harmony the audience goes through few elements of the music world that are very close to leadership and teamwork. The first lesson that music teaches us is to build the depth in our domain. We have to keep playing the same raags all our life. The
deeper the depth in the raags, the wider the flexibility to adapt and experiment with different genres. This is a very critical trait in the business world today. We must encourage young executives to keep building on their domain, no matter what the pressures are for multi and dual skilling. Expertise and deep understanding of their domain will always keep them in demand in today’s market dynamics. The next lesson is the ‘art of partnerships’. A musician can never be an individual performer as his craft depends on the support and collaboration of his team members. Even the most insignificant sound in the orchestra creates an impact in the overall output of the music. We have to have the right people supporting us, partnering with us. Jugalbandis, of Indian classical performance, is an amazing example and medium of mutual respect and dependency.
The third lesson music teaches us is fusion and assimilation. It’s not what we have learnt that matters, but how we align it to the current context. And fusion is all about two entities coming together, each maintaining their own individuality and identity, creating a new synergy when blending the two styles. Similarly, in the business world we have to be focussed on the organisational goals, customer needs and ultimately market demands. Music is the ultimate platform for assimilation.
Medium for social change: It’s not just about corporations, society today needs a lot of compassion and care, love and sharing. Engagement in creative expressions facilitates these feelings amongst people. It makes us tolerant, opens us up to other ideas and beliefs and helps us see another perspective. Schools and parents need to realise that along with IQ, children need to develop the right EQ (emotional intelligence) to become holistic adults. Art and music can be a noble way for corporates to pursue their corporate social responsibility as well as encourage the joy of giving.