The Jam

One evening after yoga (and dinner!) our teacher Sajee invited some of his musical friends over “to jam”. I didn’t know what to expect. Earlier, Sajee presented me with his daughter’s violin and asked me to change the strings so I could play it. It was a ¾ size fiddle, with a bow that may never have touched rosin. The men came with harmonium, tabla, some wooden flutes and beautiful voices. After an initial “tune-up” improvisation I played in D minor, one man informed me that they would play a raga in C# minor. Now C# minor is very difficult for me to play on the fiddle, so I kind of droned along. After the first raga was finished, he said that for South Indian music, C# is the most natural key, and they mostly play black notes on the harmonium, not white. He suggested I tune the fiddle down a half step so I could play in my more natural D scale. That made a huge difference. Next he schooled me in the raga form, showing me the scale of each raga, having me repeat after him. Then he would say: “This is the BG so now go ahead!” as if I had a clue what “BG” meant. After a while I gathered that BG signifies the main them of the raga, and is used to introduce the melody on a melody instrument – fiddle, harmonium, flute, etc.

Well it’s a good thing I know my scales a little bit as I was slowly able to catch on with his prodding as to when I was supposed to “fly”, and I was for the most part able to stay with the scale without too many flubs. I did the best I could, and they applauded my efforts.

I started the evening facing the other musicians across the circle. After the first few they beckoned me to sit in the middle of their group. And so it went. I could follow pretty well for the most part, and it was great fun.



There I was playing a squeaky ¾ size child’s violin with no rosin on the bow, trying to keep up to these guys, for whom these strange snaking melodies are simple as breathing! What a learning experience!

I’m sure glad I had a fiddle to play – definitely the right instrument to attempt ragas in that gathering!

I remember someone asking me if I planned to study Indian music during our time here. It hadn’t really occurred to me, and I think I answered that I would probably be more involved in Western music, with some exposure to Indian music as well. Well, I did learn a lot about Indian music and the raga form.

The picture below is also from that night, Alycia our Yoga buddy and “adopted” daughter from Vancouver, Amy and Sajee the Yoga Master.