The quest of my life has been the mysterious journey of finding the source of music with in . I have always been intrigued by the out pouring of musical ideas from with in , where in am not aware of the source nor the destination . This fascinating drama is the essence of my musical journey .

Music is the visual and aural reflection of silence . In silence I perceive the essence and beauty of Naada . In the variations of sound , I perceive the variations of Naada as sound and music .

The multitude of concerts , the great many journeys to far and away lands and the nook and corner of the country from a remote village in Tamil Nadu called Eral to Dibrughar in Assam , from Srinagar to Trivandrum , the many awards and accolades , the thirst to attain the stature and climb the summit of the performance ladder , all these and to play along with the biggest of names in the Industry was part of this unique musical journey .

The inner thirst and the external quest have a very strange relationship ,often getting in to a conflict and resolving itself in a beautiful confluence of thoughts and emotions leaving my self with a smile at the frailties of human mind .

Sound of music has been my companion from my childhood . The relationship I have with the sound of music is of a deep bonded friendship. Music has shaped my thought process . It has given food for many of my musical thoughts which in turn has refined my persona and has enhanced and expanded my understanding of life process and nature’s philosophy.

There is so much to capture in terms of what has been done in all these 50 years of my musical journey . But the satisfying and comforting sense is that , the journey has not distracted me from the true understanding of Music , The primordial sound , which we call as Nada . The craving to touch the source and feel the sound within . To feel the throb within and stay connected for a longer period of time within the realm and aura of that sound . To understand the truth that all beings are musical and music is the essence of the universe and multiverse .

Learning the oldest system of music , Carnatic ( Karna ata ) (Bharatiya Sastriya sangeeth) , as it should be called , which is by far the most advanced in terms of refinement of melody and rhythm , has helped me immensely in connecting to the deeper understanding of swara more as an energy than just a musical note . The ingrained philosophies of great yogic composers of the tradition , calling out the true nature of music as Nada , Nada yoga and Nada Brahma , inspired me in to this journey of exploring the source of sound .

The adventurous streak in me also helped immensely in this process of trying out ideas and move in to musical territories that has not been explored before .

Listening to great maestros from different systems of music inspired me greatly in trying to explore the same thought process in my practise . I am a huge fan of my bro Ganesh , Karaikuruchi sir , TNR sir , Lalgudi Sir, MSG sir , TN Rajam ji, Yehudi Menuhin sir , Stephane Graphelli , Ustad Zakir Hussain , Illayaraja , John McLaughlin , Jayanthi Kumaresh and many such great musical masters and listening to their music constantly has given me a very dynamic and multi dimensional perspective of music . Music is one , beyond division. All the division of systems and schools are in our mind which is always a limiting factor . We are unlimited people with unlimited possibilities and music is the best example of that phenomenon .

Music is a dynamic art form . For me it is highest form of expression for the highest form of living beings on this planet . Plants express themselves the best through their flowers , trees through their fruits , we as a race have the highest expression in Music and hence are a musical race.

As mentioned earlier , every musical note is an energy which we in our tradition call as Mantras .
The mantra that music is , gives us the beautiful visual dance of life as yantra and the tool to understand that music is the reflection of divine residing in all of us as the manifestation of the same , as tantra – the tool to unravel that .

Music is the sum total of what is good , positive , divine , and everlasting with in each of us . It is that limitless joy that mankind is looking for . What we see and perceive with our physical eyes are limited but what we see , listen and perceive “with in “ through our inner eye is limited less . It is silence and yet musical . This essence is best captured in this very famous tamil verse in celebration of Shiva “ Ovada Sathathoo Oliye Potri “ –
Praise you the lord of the Sound of Silence .