Whole Tone Scale in Western, Hindustani & Carnatic Music

This scale uses only whole tones & no semitones. All tones are the same distance apart & as there is no leading tone, it creates a blurred, indistinct effect. Though it was used as early as by Bach to end his Cantata BWV 60, it was also used by Mozart in his "Musical Joke." Though the Russian Composers used it extensively, it was mainly associated with the Impressionist music of Debussy, his "Voiles" being almost within the whole tone scale.

In Hindustani music, it is called Raga Sahera & used in a Ghazal by Mehdi Hasan & played on the Sarangi by Sultan Khan. "Raga Junglism" points out that this raga is "Self Murchana" (rotationally symmetric) & palindromic (same intervals forwards & backwards.)

In Carnatic Music, it is called Raga Gopriya, a janya of Melakarta Rishabhapriya, with the Panchama being dropped. Also  Rishabhapriya itself is the Pratimadhyama variant of the popular Charukeshi. Vidwans Suryaprakash Ramachandran, Ramanathan Muthuganapati & Madurai N.Sivaganesh have performed compositions in Gopriya.

The Three Quotients

The first one of these three, Intelligence Quotient is widely known as an index of one's intelligence. The second, Emotional Quotient  is the ability to manage one's emotions in a positive way. It is more effective than the first in navigating one's way through life, the most popular example being "Forrest Gump" who though having a below average IQ, lived a successful life.

The third, which is quite neglected, is Cultural Quotient, which really enriches a truly human life. Here, it is timely to remember the root of the word "Culture", which is "Cultus" or Divine Worship according to Josef Pieper, a German Catholic, who wrote an influential book "Leisure, The Basis of Culture." It was in reaction to the frenetic reconstruction of post-war Germany, which was in accordance with "The Protestant Ethic & The Spirit of Capitalism" by Max Weber earlier. Pieper's message was "The idolatry of the machine, the worship of mindless knowhow, the infantile cult of youth & the common mind are drifting us towards the slave society." (New York Times Book Review.)

Pieper felt that the core of Culture (Cultus) is Divine Worship. It is noteworthy to recollect that music & literature also began as a part of Divine Worship. (Gregorian Chants, Samaveda etc.,) In the West, Divine Worship is being sidelined with increasing social aberrations as collateral damage. In the East, it is just used to procure what the IQ or EQ cannot.

Pieper's book has become more relevant than when it was first published half a century ago as religion has been pushed out & overwork glorified beyond its worth. Generations are coming up who are not even aware that they are culturally severely challenged.

Dr.Zena Hitz, a Ph.D from Princeton, also buttresses similar ideas in her "Lost in Thought - The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life." She also spent some time in a Catholic Community, leading a Thoreau like life. She writes that few experiences are so fulfilling as the inner life, whether that of a bookworm or amateur musician, or someone who takes a deep interest in one of countless other subjects.

Rat Race: To enter or Not

The term "rat race" means to compete with peers for Wealth & Status. On in other words "To Keep Up With The Jones". This instinct is prevalent in animal societies also, as they compete for territory & mates. It is called "Pecking Order." The advantages of entering the rat race & succeeding are, it satisfies the inbuilt ego factor. But it also entails a lifelong chase after futile goals as evinced by suicides among conventionally "successful people."

The other, more interesting option is not to enter the rat race at all, but be content with the basic requirements of life. This invites the opprobrium of being labelled "A Loser" by all & sundry. As Thoreau, probably the most famous person to opt out of the rat race, said that "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, it is perhaps because he hears a different drummer."

But in order to so, it may require one to be free of family commitments, as otherwise it may be unfair to the family to deny their normal aspirations. Here, it may be pertinent to note that Thoreau & all his three siblings remained unmarried & none survived beyond 60 years.

Here it is important to note that one should march & not remain idle, but only "to a different drummer". The goal of the march need not be wealth & status as with the majority, but may be spirituality or cultural pursuits, which are uniquely human & not shared with animals.

By doing so, one may leave the rats to race & be a cultivated human being.