The true measure of Indian classical music lies not only in the skill of the artist, but equally in the depth of the listener. Our tradition calls this sacred relationship Rasikata – the art of refined listening.
To be a rasika is not to consume music as background entertainment. It is to participate in it with attentive ears, open hearts, and receptive minds. Rasikata demands patience: waiting as the alaap slowly unfolds, observing the subtle shifts of a note, or absorbing the silence between beats. In this attentive space, music transcends sound and becomes experience.
In today’s digital world, where instant playlists and distracted listening have become the norm, Rasikata is under threat. A raga played for a few seconds on a scrolling feed cannot reveal its essence. True music requires time and true rasikas offer that time as a form of devotion.
At ABGMVM, we emphasize that without rasikas, music is incomplete. The artist and the listener are partners in creation. A raga becomes alive only when the artist expresses with sincerity and the rasika receives with sensitivity. It is this bond that has kept our tradition vibrant for centuries.
As a pioneer institution, our Mandal not only trains students to become artists but also nurtures audiences to become rasikas. By organizing performances, workshops, and campaigns, we remind society that listening is an art – an act of mindfulness, reverence, and cultural responsibility.
In reclaiming Rasikata, we reclaim more than music. We reclaim the values of attention in a distracted world, depth in a hurried age, and connection in a fragmented time. For 125 years, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal has safeguarded this art of listening – and it remains central to how Indian classical music will thrive in generations to come.
