A path to divinity

Thank you for featuring an article on living legend Pandit Ravi Shankar, India's most famous sitarist, in your May 26, 1996 edition.

Ravi Shankar's music indeed has, as the article states, "a very soothing, very spiritual and very meditative" effect on listeners.

I didn't know that this musician had twice undergone heart surgery. Yet at his advanced age of 76, he continues to play the sitar, using his imagination to create new things, and new ideas through the medium of music.

It is typical of Ravi Shankar to say that he has still not completely mastered the instrument as one lifetime is not enough to do so.

At this point, I'd like to apprise readers of an anecdote concerning Pandit Ravi Shankar. In an interview with an American journalist, Ravi Shankar was asked whether he practiced daily. Ravi Shankar replied: "I believe in the saying that if you miss one day, you notice it. If you miss two days, the critics notice it. If you miss three days, the audience notices it." That is the level of dedication, concentration and commitment he brings into his divine music.

A passage from the great Beethoven's life history is not out of place here. The story unfolds at Vienna, on May 7, 1814. On that day, when the renown composer concluded his legendary ninth symphony, he didn't hear a single round of applause.

"As the last strains of Beethoven's ninth symphony draws the mesmerizing performance to a close, the audience bursts into tumultuous applause. The maestro, however, completely deaf, remains oblivious to the crowd behind him -- until a singer directs his attention to the sea of appreciative faces.

As the significance of this single action dawns on the audience, a wave of pure emotion sweeps through the hall. With tears in their eyes, they cry out his name in an explosion of sympathy and admiration."

Good music should uplift you to greater happiness, and leave you with a sense of fulfillment and enjoyment. Truly great music does not only give listening pleasure -- it's an emotional experience, yet another path to divinity.

D. CHANDRAMOULI

Jakarta