"Music can heal the wounds that medicine cannot touch"- Debashish Mridha
Even in a consensus across the medical community, the music bears the power to heal. There have been thorough studies across different medical disciplines to link a patient's healing to their relationship with music, and an individual's cardiological health too directly benefits from it.
According to a study by the University of Wisconsin, involving music in everyday life helps improve sleep, calm our rage and enhance cognition in terms of environmental awareness. Most importantly, it helps reduce medical anxiety.
Music-based healing has a more apparent biological effect on coronary heart diseases than congenital ones. Broadly, such interventions are said to aid cerebral flows, moderate pre-operative and postoperative anxiety, improve cortisol levels, and maintain blood pressure and heart rate. Listening to relaxing music helps keep respiration rates in people recovering from heart attacks. Arguably, in music, we find an affordable, non-invasive form of therapy for patients about to undergo or recover from surgery.
However, the association with music goes beyond just the physiology of heart defects. Involving music breaks the dull connotation attached to working towards treatment for children's heart defects. While elaborate studies are pushing the positive correlation between music and socialization, it fundamentally brings people together.
At Genesis Foundation, a heart care Foundation in India for children born with heart problems, they work creatively for Congenital Heart Disease donation. Merging the necessary awareness with community spirit, Genesis Foundation hosts called Kasauli Rhythm and Blues Festival annually in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh.
With soaring popularity, it has been ranked no.4 as “Music Festivals to visit before you die” on NativePlanet.com and has been covered by Rolling Stones magazine too! The festival attracts a lot of music lovers who come together to enjoy music and raise Congenital Heart Disease donations to help underprivileged kids who cannot afford treatment. Artists like Rabbi Shergill, Papon, Ankur Tewari, Usha Uthup, Jonita Gandhi, Leslie Lewis, The Local Train, Parvaaz, When Chai met Toast, Unplugged, Maatibaani etc, have performed in the previous chapters of the Festival.
A pioneer non-profit heart care Foundation in India, Genesis Foundation raises money through uniquely participative fundraising events such as CEOs Sing for GF Kids, CEOs Got Talent, Delhi Rhythm and Blues Festival, the Goa Rythm and Blues Festival Life, etc.
Due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, they were unable to host the festival. However, in lieu of that, they held an online fundraiser in the spirit of Christmas with the Shillong Chamber Choir. Organized on 22nd December 2020 on the Feel it Lives platform, it was a huge success in raising money for one child to get treatment for a heart defect.
The Shillong Chamber Choir, founded in 2001 by Neil Nongkynrih is a multi-genre choir which won the reality TV show India’s Got Talent in 2010. The same year the choir was accorded three gold awards at the 6th World Choir Games for Musica Sacra, Gospel and Popular Music. They also performed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the Former US President Barak Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama during their state visit to India.
Therefore, music bears therapeutic and healing potential through socialisation and medically proven cardiological benefits.
References
https://www.uwhealth.org/news/the-healing-power-of-music
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-music-can-literally-heal-the-heart/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26384629/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/302903#Reducing-pain-and-anxiety
- Contributed by Anjali Mathur
