A couple of years ago, a family friend told me that a musical group would be performing next week in an art gallery in the city. She said it would be lovely to listen to them and that I should check them out.
Under usual circumstances, I wouldn’t have even considered going to the concert because I had no idea about this band and had never heard of them. (I’d later find out this was going to be their first live performance)
But at the time, it hadn’t been long since I had got back from a three-month solo trip, so I was in the spirit of being open to trying out new things and saying yes more.
I asked my brother and my mother if they’d like to come along. Both weren’t keen, and I quickly realised that attempting to persuade them further would be useless.
So, hesitantly I decided to go for it alone, with no idea what to expect.
To my surprise, when I reached the venue, I got a free entry because the family friend who told me about the concert happened to be one of the sponsors of the art gallery.
This made me feel better because even if the performance wasn’t great, at least the fact that I got a free ticket would be some consolation.
The venue was a small and intimate indoor hall that had around a hundred seats for the audience.
Before starting their set, the band introduced themselves. The band, Sanyog was an Eastern-Western fusion group heavily influenced by Indian classical (Carnatic) rhythms and melodies.
The band comprised of a violinist, a saxophonist from Poland, a pianist from Iran and a couple of Indian percussionists who played everything from Mridangam, Tambourine, Kanjira, Cajon and the Drums.
I feel that listening to Indian classical music can sometimes be a profoundly spiritual experience. It has the special ability to take you deep into yourself and touch your soul.
The performance of the band that night was a perfect example of that.
The band beautifully combined distinctive genres such as Indian classical music, Iranian music and Jazz. Even though I had never heard their music before, it was evident they were heavily improvising and doing so phenomenally, which made it even more exciting.
Perhaps what I loved the most about the performance was the mesmerising Carnatic vocal chanting of (TA-KA-DI-MI) known as Konnakol (a musical language) by the percussionists. I couldn’t help but move my body to the irresistible rhythms, and I could see that I certainly wasn’t the only one doing that.
During the concert, there were times when I closed my eyes and got transported into a deeply meditative and euphoric state where I lost track of time and the outside world, and it was just me and the music.
After the concert, I couldn’t help but think what an amazing performance I would have missed if I hadn’t gone, and I felt so grateful that I did.
I had previously seen the Tabla legend Zakir Hussain live in concert, but this was undoubtedly the best live music performance I had witnessed.
In my life, I’ve let plenty of opportunities pass me by because I’ve let the fear of the unknown stop me from exploring my curiosity and saying yes more.
But thankfully, this time, my curiosity trumped my fear, and to my delight, the performance turned out to be better than anything I could have imagined.
Do I mean to say that it will be worth saying yes to every opportunity that comes your way?
Hell no!
But you may find that saying yes more could lead to some of the most memorable experiences of your life.
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