With a global culture evolving, some people feel that traditional music is getting superseded by international music. Do you agree with this statement?

People listen to music for various reasons like to change the mood, to relieve stress, to be nostalgic or simply for entertainment. It has always been a source of inspiration to many artists. Due to its therapeutic value, it is also used as a cure for many psychological disorders. Music, thus, is intangibly dissolved in our lives. Talking about the variations in music, in India itself we find different music in every region, every state. Due to globalisation, our folk music has disseminated to different parts of the world and is getting worldwide recognition. In this scenario, it is obvious that even music from other countries would be adopted by our country. Some people think that the youth are highly influenced by such foreign music and so are forgetting their own traditional music. I slightly differ from this opinion. I feel music has only one language, be it national or international. The kind of music does not make any difference as the end result is the same - a soothing effect. Due to technological progress, people are now exposed to a multiplicity of music. As far as folk music is concerned, it is still played on social occasions like marriages and even on festivals when youngsters dance to its tunes with great exuberance. In fact, it is also getting highly popular internationally through movies. Therefore, it would not be right to say that it is losing its popularity. A lot of Indian classical music maestros, like Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, have also highly contributed to making our music international. Mother nature has provided us with beautiful music like the sound of chirping birds, flowing water, blowing wind, and even silence of nature has its own music. It is a language in itself and knows no boundaries. A healthy exchange of music has done nothing less than bringing people closer and giving them a chance to know other cultures.