SOUND WAVES, ONCE produced, do not really perish. Acousticians tell us that, unless met by an equal and opposite wave, a sonic disturbance of the air only loses amplitude, becomes inaudible, but lingers out there—bouncing off the walls of the universe like a tape on loop. It might have been handy for music historians to be able to listen in on what was being sung in 17thcentury Tanjore, or by Sultan Hussain Shah Sharqi as he relaxed in the chhattri above his hamaam in 15th c Jaunpur, or what Matanga muni heard in the Deccan countryside centuries earlier. Presently, they are forced to stitch together a picture of our aural history from fragmentary pieces of text. But any future machine would have it much easier picking up an unholy commotion that disturbed the March air in 2024. As the soft, self-contained world of Carnatic music went into crescendos of rage and spleen, the amplitudes seemed loud enough to rattle the doors of history for a while. Sounds of rupture but also, perchance, after the dust settles, of evolution.
This story is from the April 08, 2024 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the April 08, 2024 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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