Team Ahimsa Blog Relay, Various Contests

Peace and Harmony

377 WORDS

4.) With what great musician did Andre study?

Andre had the good fortune of growing up in the jungle. He studied with the best musicians ever – the natural musicians.

Early in the morning, he heard the birds in chorus. His day began to a rousing tune. Through the hours, he heard the music of nature – the leaves rustling in the wind, the water gurgling, insects buzzing and all his fellow creatures at work or play. Footsteps, wing-beats, slithering, hissing, beak-snaps and splashes surrounded him at every instance. Squeaks and roars, trumpeting and barking sometimes created their own concert.

The sounds of nature echoed the rhythm of his heart, the melody of his soul. He did not need to have any formal training, he had music seeping through his conscious mind when he was awake and sub-conscious mind when he slumbered.

Andre’s parents were musically inclined, and encouraged him to understand the harmony and contribute to it. Sometimes, the monkey family invited the cicadas and nightingales for a sing-song round the water hole. Occasionally, the crickets and bats joined in. When owls and hyenas yodeled in time, even the youngest creature in the forest quivered with the excitement of the music.

We’ve said that Andre didn’t need any formal training, but he did have some. In India, he learnt to play the Jal tarang with Vidushi Shashikala Dani. He learnt to sing devotional songs with Vidushi Aditi Kaikini Upadhya.



He had a few tabla lessons with Pandit Yogesh Samsi.


And, of course, he learnt the Bollywood song, Yeh Raat Aur Yeh Doori, from SP Balasubrahmanyam himself. He has learnt the popular songs of at least nine other countries form the famous artistes there.

The mix of simplicity in everyday learning as a youngster and disciplined practicing as he grew has helped Andre in all aspects of his life. “Sometimes it’s simple and spontaneous, at other times, it’s designed and rehearsed,” he says. He is also happy to understand the culture and philosophy of various regions of the globe, via music. “What they sing is what they think and feel,” Andre says. “Everything they care about, everything they want to tell the world, is in their songs.”

Let us all raise our voices in peace and harmony.