Mysore/Mysuru: “Indian classical music is the mother of all music. The strength of our classical music cannot be seen in any form of music in the world,” said noted flautist Pravin Godkhindi.

He was speaking after inaugurating ‘Rashtra Punarnirmanakkagi Vidyarthi Samskruti Chaluvali’ organised by Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi  Parishat (ABVP) at Karnataka State open University (KSOU) Convocation Hall here on Friday.

“In the tradition of music, Indian music is very powerful and because of this we all should proudly say that our classical music is the mother of all music. Foreign music has lot of noise and because of this the youths are getting attracted to it. Even in the midst of noise associated with the foreign music, Indian music has the power to attract, captivate and mesmerise the listeners,” he opined.

Exhorting the youths to retain our cultural identity instead of following foreign culture, Pravin Godkhindi felt that it is very essential for building a cultured society and we must all realise our responsibilities in building a cultured society.

“The foreign musicians are projecting their music as one breath art, but it has its roots in Indian classical music and Indians have already achieved expertise in this art since centuries. I have seen conch being blown continuously for 45 minutes in a single breath. I have also done an experiment in playing flute for longer duration in a single breath. We need not blindly follow the foreign culture  but concentrate more on retaining our cultural identity,” he advised.

Asserting that a lot of study and research have been done on main components of Indian music namely Hindustani and Karnatak Classical music, Godkhindi asked the youths not to follow anything blindly and have love for our language, culture and art forms.

“You all must realise your responsibilities in building a cultured society. There is culture in the literature and practises of our ancestors and we must become more cultured by understanding them properly. The entire world is looking towards India for inspiration and we must match their expectations and imbibe new qualities”, he said and played flute for 5 minutes to mesmerise the audience. In the ‘Rashtra Punarnirmanakagi Samskruti Chaluvali’ programme, about 1,500 students from across the State participated and showcased their talents. Competitions were held in street play, folk group dance, group singing of folk songs, classical group dance, group singing of patriotic songs, painting, idol making, reciting of self written poems, debate, essay writing and photography.