In the 95th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address, Prime minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the craze for Indian culture and music is increasing all over the world.
He said that in the last 8 years the export of musical instruments from India has increased three and a half times.
“Talking about Electrical Musical Instruments; their export has increased 60 times. This shows that the craze for Indian culture and music is increasing all over the world.” said PM
The PM said that the biggest buyers of Indian Musical Instruments are developed countries like USA, Germany, France, Japan and UK.
“It is a matter of fortune for all of us that our country has such a rich heritage of Music, Dance and Art”, he added.
Recalling ancient India poet Bhartrihari for his ‘Niti Shatak’, the PM said that one’s attachment to art, music and literature is the real identity of humanity.
“In fact, our culture takes it above Humanity, to Divinity. In the Vedas, Samaveda has been called the source of our diverse music.”
“Be it the Veena of Maa Saraswati, the flute of Bhagwan Krishna, or the Damru of Bholenath, our Gods and Goddesses are also attached with music.”, the PM said.
He said further that “we Indians find music in everything. Be it the murmur of a river, the raindrops, the chirping of birds or the resonating sound of the wind, music is present everywhere in our civilization”.
The PM said that the music relaxes not only the body, but also gives joy to the mind.
He said that Music also connects our society. If Bhangra and Lavani have a sense of fervor and joy, Rabindra Sangeet lifts our souls.
Tribals across the country have different musical traditions. They inspire us to live in harmony with each other and with nature.
“Our forms of music have not only enriched our culture, but have also left an indelible mark on the music of the world. The fame of Indian music has spread to every corner of the world”, said PM.
To substantiate his points, the PM also played a bhajan kirtan from Guyana, a South American country thousands of miles away from India.
He said that in the 19th and 20th centuries, a large number of people from here went to Guyana. They also took many traditions of India with them from here.
For example, as we celebrate Holi in India, in Guyana also the colors of Holi come alive with zest. Where there are colors of Holi, there is also the music of Phagwa that is Phagua.
In Phagwa of Guyana there is a special tradition of singing wedding songs associated with Bhagwan Rama and Bhagwan Krishna. These songs are called Chautal. They are sung on the similar type of tune and at a high pitch as we do here.
Not only this, Chautal Competitions are also held in Guyana. Similarly, many Indians, especially people from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, had gone to Fiji too.
They used to sing traditional bhajan-kirtans, mainly couplets from the Ramcharitmanas.
They also formed many Mandalis associated with bhajan-kirtan in Fiji. Even today there are more than two thousand Bhajan-Kirtan Mandalis in Fiji by the name of Ramayana Mandali. Today they can be seen in every village and locality.