PM Modi Meets Composer, Explores Tech That Could Globalize Indian Music

Ramesh Vinayakam, who has dedicated his life to popularising Indian music, explained that the Gamaka Box Notation System, patented in 2009, provides a precise, structured grid that enables musicians to read and write both Carnatic and Hindustani music with the same accuracy as Western staff notation.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. Not everyone gets the opportunity to meet the PM. I'm glad he has so much commitment, purpose, and focus. He spent about 40 minutes with me to understand the possibilities the Gamaka Box notation system can bring to our country's music," Vinayakam told ANI.

Describing the Prime Minister as a "very attentive" learner, the composer added, "He is a very sweet person, very attentive, and very committed to learning about this. He was interested in how science and technology can be implemented in music while keeping it traditional."

The Gamaka Box Notation system provides a modern and technologically compatible method to preserve and document Indian music, bridging traditional knowledge with advanced tools.

Speaking to ANI, explaining the innovation, Vinayakam said, "There has never been a science and technology for music. This system can be implemented to create a complete knowledge repository of all Indian music through AI and machine learning."

On the oscillation of gamakas, he said, "It's not written, and writable form. For example, in Western music, it is just stepwise movement because, suppose you walk seven steps, which is sa re ga ma.. then where do you keep your feet on? In the centre of it so that you don't fall. That is Western music, they have found a great notation system through which every composer today understands, extracts different types of music from the early days, and centuries."

"Now Indian music is not going from centre to centre. What is this? It's oscillating like, for example, sa re ga ma pa da ni...all these things are moving.. it's all flying, gliding, going up and down. It's more like parachuting or something. How do you express it? So it could not be written," he added.

On anwering whether science and technology are implemented in music, he said Music itself is a science which goes beyond science and logic.

"It's an absolute science. Every art is scientific; it goes beyond science, goes beyond logic. For example, it is the same 12 notes with which we hear thousands and thousands of songs. So that is where art comes. It's not a mere mathematical permutation combination, but everything is a mathematical permutation combination, everything. So it is a science inherently, including our music, including Western music," he told ANI.

Vinayakam further discussed the potential of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to create a global knowledge repository for Indian music.

During the session, PM Modi tried playing Vande Mataram on a tablet under Vinayakam's guidance. The composer praised the Prime Minister's enthusiasm, stating, "You have been the best student, sir." The music composer also gifted PM Modi a pencil, a rubber, and a blank manuscript, a tradition he follows whenever someone learns from him.

The meeting concluded with Vinayakam performing a devotional composition, leaving the Prime Minister visibly delighted.

Ramesh Vinayakam's work has been widely recognised for merging traditional Indian musical knowledge with modern technology, and his Gamaka Box system is seen as a pioneering step towards globalising Indian music.

Earlier, PM Modi also shared a video of the interaction on his social media account, describing the system as an "innovative way to take Indian music to the world."

In a post in X, PM Modi wrote, "In the midst of election campaigning, had the opportunity to meet Thiru Ramesh Vinayakam and his family in Chennai. Ramesh is a music composer and has devoted his life to popularising Indian music. He gave me a glimpse of his work in making the Gamaka Box Notation System. This is an innovative way to take Indian music to the world."

- ANI