Objective neurological reality behind subjective Indian Ragas

Anyone who is a natural singer or taught himself singing will know, there is some reality behind melodies. Melodies are not random. They always behave certain ways. These colours of melodies are called Raga in Indian music. Raga is a very ancient and well-developed concept. There is more to it than singing it. Some 4 or more years ago this occurred to me and I described what I termed as the Neurological Reality to a friend who is an expert in neuroscience.

The set of related melodies that have some very similar character form, a kind of memory in the brain. This I am certain. This can form because of in my opinion based on the very primal neural networks that are related to basic human emotions and our innate ability to vocalize them. Laugh, cry, giggle, sadness anger and other emotions vocalised by us follow a basic musical note pattern. This neural networks can be expanded by simulating the intensity of those emotions, exposure to more melodies and deliberate training etc. Until we reach the limits of our neural networks so formed, we, in my opinion, continue to vocalize "correctly" i.e something that is close to or exactly a Raga/Jaati. When we exceed it, we may be "lost" or may not follow Raga correctly. Yet, the basic emotional ability continues to guide where the Raga goes in some way even though the ability may vary.

Therefore the Ragas are a neurological reality. They are directly represented by a set of memories not just in the representation of emotion but also in the form of muscle memory of the vocal chord and other muscles involved. We are roughly looking at a complex network with several pathways that networks emotion, muscle control program, breathing, rhythm and possibly more. a version of this network roughly maps to a raga of which there may be several (how these physically work is for investigation). This is like a terrain on which we walk where we tend to go in a set path. We may slip here and there but if we are careful can go on a physical trough. This trough is a Raga. This is the basis for raga and our ability to stick to one and create more as we become capable of complex emotions and our ability to vocalize them. 

    

Steve Wozniak's comment on lack of creativity in India and so on!

Steve Wozniak, one of the founders of Apple made a comment on Indians. That has caused some concerned among Indians. Here is a story on it. It has been picked up by both Indian as well as international media. May Indians are not yet aware of the PR effects of such news and adverse effects on the image and the economy. That aside my thoughts below.

Some Indian journalists have some bad ideas about India and they latch on to anything confirmatory. If India was not creative it would not be 3rd richest nation in the world(by ppp and 6th by nominal) even after years of invasions and colonisation. No country in the world has done so well on the scale of India that too peacefully and retaining its tradition and diversity. This is an irrefutable and greatest vindication of India's creativity. To say that only creating companies like Google is creative is very narrow and highly uncreative of Wozniak. Some of the greatest inventions have not lead to forming any company. There is some truth in the education system that has stagnated. The traditional system combined with the latest research in education will inevitably roll in. We need to work on it. I have no doubt Indians will invent great things. Investors do not have any doubt in the prospects of India. Indians themselves should have no doubt in their potential. The spectrum of Indian ideas and vastness of culture is simply unfathomable not only to foreign minds but also to Indians. We have had naysayers for too long. We need people who work on solutions. Working on the quality of education indeed will help. But no cause for concern.

One thing where Wazniak is completely wrong is music! India has unbelievable musicians. But the USA has a huge music industry and pop musicians. However, in India, almost nothing is done in music technology. For example, not much done about electronically augmented truly Indian instruments.

The other important distinction to make is, there is nothing much "Indian" about these concerns. So 'Indians are not creative', is in general, not true at all. I would even say that would be verging on the side of xenophobia, given Indians have done well outside as well as a nation. They are mostly related to the ecosystem that Gajanan Bhat mentioned including the education ecosystem. To say India as of today has some creativity related ecosystem issues is a truism. This, I think is mostly because of the state of the Indian economy where our generation merely tried to get a job. As the west faces some economic hardship we see the peer pressure and job-related study getting back in the west too, suggesting these are economically driven. It is also true as Ananda Hasyagarmentioned, risk-taking is not encouraged. Yes, that is cultural but that is changing suggesting it is mostly economically driven as well. Also, Indian companies are getting more and more product based. Unlike before Indian companies like Wipro TCS are selling products now. Be it datascience/analytics/ML even new startups are showing the way. I am very very hopeful.