Sounds of India join the global symphony

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A.R. Rahman, performing in Illinois, US, on his world tour. Many musicians credit him for having taken Indian music to the world

Bollywood music hasn’t just arrived, but it’s going places. The inclusion of Bollywood and Indian classical music in Trinity College, London’s curriculum is the latest feather in its hat.
“We are changing our syllabus to keep it fresh, relevant and contemporary. It should reflect global trends and including Bollywood music is a way of doing that. This brings inclusiveness in our repertoire,” Sarah Kemp, chief executive of the Trinity College, said during a visit to Kolkata.
The numbers for Bollywood music — musicians, fans, sales, figures, songs — have increased like never before. And many attribute this to our incorporation of all genres of music and blending it with Indian cultural heritage to create peppy Bollywood numbers.
Music composer Dhruv Dhalla feels proud to be a part of the music fraternity and says, “Bollywood music has definitely arrived as famous international musicians, artistes, directors and technicians are showing a lot of enthusiasm to collaborate with us. I think the reason is that our music defines our sound and culture, which is a new dimension to music for the West. The entire song-dance routines, well produced music and earthy lyrics with Indian melodies define our sound. There’s a colour to what we produce that has its own distinct character.”
Indian music has a rich history and has developed tremendously over the years. Unlike Western music where there are layers and harmonies, traditional Indian classical music is primarily linear and has some really advanced and intricate polyrhythms and ragas. Our music is coming of age internationally. “Instead of imitating the West, we have slowly but surely managed to carve our own identity. We rock and the world is listening!” adds Dhruv.
Factors like the Internet have also contributed to making Bollywood music an integral part of the global music. Shankar Ehsaan Loy among others have successfully integrated the best of both, Indian and Western elements, remarks Lokesh Madan of the band Eka and says, “As musicians we think Bollywood has come up with some brilliant music over the years, however, thanks to its wider global reach and India’s improving socio-economic position in the global scenario, Bollywood is getting a lot more visibility from the rest of the world than in the past. Interestingly, it is at a juncture where it not only has access to some brilliant Indian classical music but it is also adapting the best from the West and what the audience gets is a very interesting amalgamation of the two worlds.”
The fact that there is a Bollywood genre in the popular television show So You Think You Can Dance is proof in itself that the global audience that is used to songs of Michael Jackson and Britney Spears now also dances to the tunes of Bollywood music. “I think Bollywood music arrived long, long back and not when Rahman brought home the Oscar. Kishore Kumar is known all over the world and so is Lata Mangeshkar and reams have been written about her unique voice. What makes Indian music so alluring is its wonderful diversity in its uniqueness. It sounds completely different from anything else in the market,” says music enthusiast Santu Misra.