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deep in raga . . .
sudden applause
startles the singer
Notes:
In Indian Classical Music, raga means melody with its root word in Sanskrit meaning 'passion'. There is a pun on the word 'raga' in the above poem. Unlike Western Classical Music, which is scored, Indian classical is based on improvisation. Here a musician creates on the concert platform and Jazz comes closest to this. When a musician improvises, there is a natural need to go deep within herself.
Listening to Indian Classical, the audience can, at any given time spontaneously respond to music being created with loud claps or appreciation. This is not regarded as a disturbance but rather, as an incentive to the artist to create better! As expected, a musician, who is deep into the raga / melody, having lost touch with the outside world, is startled by the sudden appreciation from the listeners!
Publishing credits:
Deep in Raga : with explanatory notes-Triplopia, Vol VI, issue 2: 07
SimplyHaiku - Autumn 2007, v5n3
Mann Library: Featured poet for April, 2011
Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years, (anthology) W. W.Norton & Company, May 2013.
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