Search for the words “innovation” and “disruption” together and you will find pages and pages of articles explaining why you can’t find one without the other. Innovation and disruption seem inextricably linked, like my daughter and her loudest dance tunes at naptime on a Saturday. I don’t know how much I agree with this notion. I don’t mean to sound grumpy and out of touch, but when did disruption become a good thing? To disrupt means to “drastically alter or destroy the structure of,” right? When I did it to my friend’s hair in school, did my parents say “this child has what it takes to be the next Steve Jobs?” I assure you they didn’t.
I appreciate the great things disruptive innovation has done for the world. In fact, I’m typing this article on one of those great things. However, I’d like to challenge the notion that innovation comes through disruption alone. Sir Isaac Newton said it best when he said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” It’s a principle I apply in my work as a musician and educator, even if Isaac Newton wasn’t thinking of music specifically. Some of the best examples of innovation in my career have happened as a result of grounding myself in tradition.
Our SaPa in Schools curriculum is by no means disruptive. It teaches children about traditional music in India and other parts of the world. It helps them understand cultural practices in different countries. It helps them understand history and social changes. It also encourages innovation. Through our 10,000 deeds campaign, we encouraged children to move towards the Sustainable Development Goals one step at a time. The idea was simple: every little thing counts – whether it’s reducing plastic use or deciding not to waste food. Without turning anything upside down, children were brought closer to sustainable living.
Our band, The Thayir Sadam Project, came to life because four musicians decided to come together and wear our traditional, curd rice eating ways on our sleeve.
We believe that what’s traditional is cool, and we bring that element into every piece we write. We embrace musical styles from around the world while staying rooted in Indian classical music. When we released Crazy Little Thing Called Chakravakam with Carnatic duo Ranjani-Gayatri, we started from a deep-rooted place of tradition but we built on it. We gave listeners the option to create with us and we released a jam track; we received hundreds of entries and were able to make another song out of them.
I’m not saying there’s one “right” way to innovate. In fact, I’m saying the opposite - that you don’t always have to break the routine, or drastically change something that didn’t need more than a little tweak. Don’t let the self-proclaimed cool kids fool you into thinking that life begins after you smoothly slide away from your roots. Stand proudly on the shoulders of giants. And watch out for falling apples.