to-day, refuses to be handicapped by traditions which belong to yesterday.
There are various practical ways in which enthusiasts can help in the progress and development of Indian music. The first thing to do is to study and practice it for oneself. There are books to-day, both in English and the vernaculars, which will help in this. Then it is good to make a habit of training the children in Indian music, and to see that they can play at least one Indian instrument. Every cultured family in the west aims at this, and in the large towns of India at any rate it is becoming quite possible to-day.
It is possible also to render aid to the different musical societies which are growing up. Princes and wealthy men can liberally help the All-India Music Conference and the Academy of Indian Music now established in Delhi with its ambitious programme.
We can also help in a great extension of musical knowledge among the people generally. There was in the last half of the nineteenth century a great growth of musical knowledge in England, largely through voluntary associations, which grew up all over the country. The different musical festivals which were organized also contributed much to this; and there seems no reason why, in association with some of the annual festivals of India, there should not be organized musical festivals, which would attract artists and choirs from all over the country.
The ancient Greeks are said to have made a point of teaching their children music, because they believed that it made them more unselfish, and helped them to see better the beauty of order and the usefulness of rule. Lord Lamington, Governor of Bombay, at the opening of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, said :
'Music has in the past played a part in the education of the people of India. I believe that it may do much more in the future if it is made an object of reverential study, and thrown open to far greater numbers than at present, and if it is allowed to take its proper place as an elevating influence.'
In music, as in all other things in India, co-operation and real comradeship between East and West is needed,
