The Meditation of Sitar

For me, its got to be the drone. That all too familiar note, heard so many ways, but yet somehow always the same. Whether its the chanting of the Buddhist monks in the high mountains of Tibet, or the drone of the Aboriginal Didjeridoo proclaiming its message to the Australian outback, its all somehow the same and connected. Its something primal, something that beckons to our core, the indiscribable feeling of ultimate Zen.

The Sitar is the perfect example of this Universal note. As I listen to Ravi Shankar begin his performance, he begins with this drone, the sympathetic note that so defines this beautiful music. He is accompanied during this concert with a Sur Bahar player, which is a deeper bass version of the Sitar, and a Tampura player providing the sympathetic drone . Also joining them are two Tabla players.

After establishing the drone, we are lead on a journey as the Sitar notes play along, like a butterfly carelessly flittering in the wind. The notes just seem to to naturally fall into place, and the bends add a sense of emotion and feeling. Like the Sitar is telling its sad tale of suffering and hardship. It is truly an instrument with a voice.