Launching the monograph 'Musical Excellence of Mridangam', authored by renowned mirdangam player Umayalpuram Sivaraman, T. Ramaswami and M.D. Naresh, he said, the monograph was like an isthmus small piece of land connecting two large land masses which connected music and science.
"Indian systems of art, music, medicine and many others are built on the convergence of knowledge. The world view of the future is now slowly converging towards the concept of interconnectedness of all knowledge systems as envisioned by our thought leaders," Naidu said.
It strives to enable but not replace tradition with modernity. It has been proved scientifically that our ancestors were able to design, develop and demonstrate musical excellence through human ingenuity, Naidu said.
India had a long, rich musical heritage starting with Samaveda and Natyasastra composed almost 2,000 years ago, he added.
According to him, the classical music and dances of India, like India's philosophical and religious thoughts, have flourished over ages. The unbroken tradition of musical excellence continues even to this day.
What defined India was this rich heritage of music and its unifying role in bringing people together cutting across religions, regions, castes and communities, he remarked.
According to him, like every facet of India, there is a fascinating diversity, extraordinary breadth and incredible depth in Indian music
Appreciating the monograph, Naidu said the tools of modern science were brought to bear service to an ancient instrument, namely Mridangam.
The making of the instrument is largely an artisanal activity relying on family inherited profession. Science had a responsibility to add values to such livelihood craft for preserving and protecting cultural heritage, he said.
( With inputs from IANS )