Lucknow: From creativity to concentration and consciousness, Padma Shri awardee and SPIC MACAY founder Kiran Seth explored the relevance of classical arts at a ‘baithak’ (meet) titled ‘Our Classical Arts’ at Lucknow Bioscope on Thursday evening.At the event organised by Addebaazi at Sanatkada, Seth spoke about the Indian classical tradition’s therapeutic and innovative role in ordinary life, recalling how his teachers made him practise ‘Sa’, the basic note, for hours.“When you regulate your voice, the mind synchronises automatically,” he said.Connecting this practice to students’ daily struggles with anxiety, depression and educational pressure, he noted that listening to ragas like ‘Darbari’ and ‘Bhimpalasi’ can soothe the brain.Moving to the artistic dimension of the discussion, he described the weight of human emotions as ‘Mount Everest’ and said ‘shastriya sangeet’ enables one to transcend ordinary perception.Quoting Sufi mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan, he said art is an expression of the soul, adding that Indian music now recognises 22 microtonal intervals, or ‘shrutis’.Audience member Rishika Tiwari said this form of music creates a deeper connection than other genres, striking a stronger emotional chord.To take this heritage to the young, Seth suggested schools play ‘Raag Bhairavi’ or ‘Multani’ instead of bells to announce periods and breaks. “Let children experience the ragas daily and talk about how they feel,” he added.
