BENGALURU: Music knows no barriers. Whether it’s the rhythm of a drum echoing from a remote village or a symphony performed in a grand concert hall, music has the ability to connect individuals from different backgrounds.
Diplomat-musician Nirupama Menon Rao’s upcoming concert Many World: Many Voices celebrates this unity in diversity featuring songs in English, Spanish, Bengali and Malayalam. “Music and its meaning appeal to the listener regardless of language as the very sequence of music is not deterred by linguistic barriers or competing world orders.
I have chosen songs to sing in different languages because of the intrinsic appeal of these songs – they speak of fundamental human concerns, values and emotions, whether it is our love for home, the impact of days gone by or the simple gifts of friendship, love and longing,” says the former foreign secretary (2009-2011).
Rao shares that her earliest memories of music trace back to the lullabies of her mother, a universal experience that transcends cultures. “As I grew up, and became aware of the wide world around me, I was attracted to both poetry and music. For those of us who grew up in the ’60s and early ’70s, Radio Ceylon was a big influence which introduced me to popular Hindi, Malayalam and Western music.”
For Rao, there is a deep connection between music, poetry, and diplomacy – all forms of art that rely on effective communication. “All three are founded on the critical need for communication as human beings; to build bridges rather than break them, we try to accommodate what seem to be opposing ideas. In all three, we give the impression of leaving a lot unsaid, but you must read between the lines to gauge the multiple meanings,” shares Rao.
The concert will feature songs in a wide array of genres from musical theatre to Rabindra Sangeet. “These songs have been a sound-track for my existence; I learnt the song Puranoshe Dineyr Katha by Rabindranath Tagore when I was a trainee officer at the National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie from a Bengali colleague. It brings back memories of the days when I was on the threshold of my career as a young diplomat,” says Rao, who is also a published poet and will read from her poetry at the concert. “My work of poetry Rain Rising incorporated my fascination with my origins as the child of a matrilineal family in Kerala, and my travels across the world. When I integrate poetry and music in a concert, I do so because they speak to me in a choral manner, each voice building on the other, in point and counterpoint, and ultimately in a confluence,” adds Rao.
(The performance will be staged at Bangalore International Centre, Domlur on Feb 4, 6.30pm. Entry free. Details on bangaloreinternationalcentre.org)