At its worst, it’s a cacophony. At its best, sound can be a soothing companion and even a doctor that cures you to wellness
RUKMA SALUJA
The world was born with sound, we are told. Om, the primordial sound, from which took birth life in its many aspects. Lending this idea credence is what is available on the internet. If you key in sounds of the sun, you will hear what could perhaps resemble the sound of Om. And then came the scientists who threw out all the mumbo jumbo and proclaimed it was in fact the Big Bang that started it all.
Should we take the sound of the mother’s heartbeat to the baby in the womb as the beginning? And there are the sounds of nature – birdsong, whispering woods, wind and rain. Prayers were always said aloud. Elaborate religious services included chants of prayers, choirs and hymns, satsangs and jagratas. You get the drift. Was there perhaps another reason for these apart from the obvious one of communal participation in the religious rituals? Noida-based husband and wife duo, Amandeep, of Soul Setu who hold workshops on Sound Healing, and held one recently in the Capital at KNMA (Kiran Nadar Museum of Art), claim it is was all a part of general health and well being. Well attended by people from all walks of life, the hour-long session was therapeutic and calming.
If we have lost that connect with all things nature and natural, sound being one of them (no, we don’t mean noise), it is understandable that sound healing has become a thing, much like healing through music and art and other holistic treatments. Soul Setu is one of them.
String instruments, percussion with drums in different materials with varying sizes of sticks produce different sounds, from deafening decibels to soft soothing tones. We’ve all heard the deeply resonating twang from the Tibetan musical bowls disappear into softly fading silence. When you are lying prone on a mattress with the gentle fragrance of flowers strewn around the room and listening only to the sound of drums (or any other instrument), inevitably the breathing slows and the mind and body calm down. The first step to wellness, yes, but meditation does that, too. It is what we need, we are all agreed on that. Urban life doesn’t lend itself to anything slow, food, wellness, relationships, what have you. It’s the nature of the beast and we are on its bare back clinging on for sheer survival. Therefore, those preaching back to nature, back to holistic living and wellness hold appeal. It is not surprising at all when after the session several people said they have been relieved of pain, and others that they were feeling good.
Amandeep hold that sound healing is not merely about wellness. “Children with learning and other disabilities like autism benefit from sound healing,” they say. “Also, some cancers and at some stages.” Aman, the husband part of the duo, says he had a fracture on his shoulder that should have taken several months to heal but was mended in a week with sound healing. He raises his arm to demonstrate and admits there’s still a twinge. “But only a twinge.”
For Sanjay Arora, a practicing dental surgeon based in Noida, who performed on the pan drum, drums are a passion. He is a part of a drummers club and is happy to participate at events where he can play. “Percussion is my passion,” he says. “But, I do believe, there’s a healing aspect to music.” He plays music in his clinic and finds it calms nervous patients.
Our bodies and the different organs within vibrate at particular frequencies. For healing to occur the musical instrument in use needs to be at a particular frequency. Experienced practitioners decide on the instrument, its material, composition and the frequency most effective for the malady.
In the meanwhile, stay tuned, and listen to music.
@knmaindia @soulsetu
