Nature has provided us with its gifts in
abundance. But two of the most enchanting form the essence of it, namely, music and color. Music in different forms is
greatly relished and absorbed as the eternal energy for the soul. Whereas,
colors, when applied and absorbed into all that we see around, enhances the
beauty. In this write-up I have tried to bring about the subtle similarities
between the two.
According to the ancient scriptures
there are two types of sounds. One is the vibration of the ether or the sound that
is not produced by striking, such as the sound of the universe. The other is
the sound created by striking of objects present, such as the man-made sounds. Sound
is gathered from the universe and woven together to reach and fuse into the
Supreme.
The origin of Indian music is said to
have rooted from the Vedas. According to the scriptures it is believed that God
Himself is the sound of the universe. Of the four Vedas, Sama Veda is chanted
in definite music patterns. The hymns are sung using three notes. Thus Indian
musical notes are evolved from three notes. These three notes are then scaled
to form the seven primary notes on the basis of 22 intervals. The notes are
named as Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni. These seven notes are not arranged in
equal intervals. The first and the fifth note always remain in their position.
The other five notes change position within their intervals. This leads to the
formation of different ragas.
There is a perfect balance in the
universe. This balance is based on time measure. In classical music this time
measure is defined as Tala.
There is a saying in Sanskrit,
"Ranjayathi iti Raga" which means, that which colors the mind is a
raga. Raga colors the mind through the notes and embellishments. It also flows
according to a specific emotion and the mood adopted by the musician.
On similar understanding, there are two
phases of colors, black and white. All colors are said to originate from white
and are absorbed in black. Black and white are considered as the two ends of
the color line.
According to the ancient color theory there
are three basic colors derived from white. They are Red, Blue and Yellow. Other
colors are derived on the basis of mixing and scaling these three colors. They together
form the seven basic colors namely Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange,
and Red. These colors form the basis of all the colors in the universe. These
colors are further classified into numerous shades of differentiation. Colors are also a powerful communication tool
that can dramatically affect moods, feelings and emotions.
These two special forms of art create an
infinite space of harmony within the limits of nature and beyond! They have a
profound effect and can engross all forms of life in a divine bliss.
