MUSIC

The origin of Indian classical music can be traced back to the Vedic age. In the Vedic

literature, particularly in the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads, we find references to different
types of musical instruments such as wind, drums and stringed and their variants. These instruments
were played in special social and cultural events, for example, the traditional musical instrument of
the subcontinent ‘veena’ was played in the Ashvamedh sacrifice. We find references to dance and
music jointly as ‘ nrita- gita’ and their placement in the category of art ( Shilpa).

During the Vedic age sacred singing had become intrinsic part of almost all sacrifices and this
became the task of a special priest called Udgatir. It all started with the Sam Veda in which we find
,mainly, the reproduction of the Rig Vedic hymns with musical notes. For this reason, at times, the
origin of the Indian classical music is traced back to the Sam Veda. There emerged a practice of
Saman ( literally means music) singing and Saman- singers also called Talavakaras came to occupy a
prominent position in sacrifices and society with increasing realisation of the great spiritual efficacy
of the Saman-singing. It is generally accepted that all later music developed from the Saman- singing.
A later work, called Gandharva Veda dealing with the science of music is also associated with the
same traditions of Saman- singing and is an Upveda of the Sam Veda.

The music find reflection even in the epics ( the Ramayana and Mahabharata) and we find
references to the minstrels called ‘Suta’ and ‘Magadha’ who independently or associated with the
royal courts preserved heroic ballads, rhapsodies and epics by singing them to the ‘veena’. They
were in demand even at sacrificial sessions. The art has been dealt with in some of the Puranas such
as the Vayu purana, Markandeya purana, and Vishnudharmottar purana.

Moving beyond the religious traditions the most important and the earliest surviving ancient work
on the subject is the ‘Natya Shastra’ of Bharatamuni which is chronologically placed in the early
Christian centuries. The main theme of the work is drama( Mime) but it also deals with music and
dance which accompanied dramatic performances. This is suggestive of the 'inter-related’
development of the Indian art forms.

In the ‘Natya- Shastra’ we find discussion on the fundamentals of music, use of vocal and
instrumental music in dramatic performances, seven ‘svaras’ or notes , eighteen melodic modes
called ‘jatis’. We also find discussion on music compositions called ‘dhruva’ as used in drama as a
part of elaborate instrumental music ( nirgitavadya) used in the old Indian drama. There is an
awareness of metrics, symbolism and appropriateness of melodies sentiments and situations. The
style or school of music that is dealt with in the work was an old style known as ‘ marga’ and
‘gandharva’. The work still remains one of the most authentic work and source for the knowledge on
the Indian classical music representing the cultural continuity of the subcontinent.
By the time of the Guptas music had become immensely popular and a desired element of the
civilised existence. A contemporary work , the ‘Kamasutra’ of Vatsayayan has included knowledge of
music, both singing and playing musical instruments, along with dancing in the list of those art forms
in which a ‘ganika’ (courtesan) was supposed to master herself. It has also been considered as an
essential accomplishment for a Nagrak (a civilised city dweller).

In the subsequent phases the old style slowly started giving way to a new style that came to be
known as ‘Desi’. In this new style we find more specific melodies called ‘ragas’ which replaced the
older melodies called ‘jatis’. Another important difference can be seen in form of ‘Desi’ being more
man -centric unlike the marga which had been mainly used for pleasing the gods. These change has
remained the main characteristic of the Indian music.

The new ‘ragas’ were recognised, classified and defined by Matanga in a treatise called
‘Brihaddeshi’ which is chronologically placed between the sixth and the eighth century. In this work
we also find descriptions of ‘ragas’ prevalent in different regions with some of them named after the
name of their regions. Thus, the mixing of local elements with the recognised ragas by this time had
started reflecting the cultural diversity of the subcontinent as well. Matanga mentions composition
varieties in Lata, Ganda karnta, Andhra and Dravida languages.

In both types of music the vocal and the instrumental, the basic units are the seven musical notes
called ‘savara’ or ‘sur’. The combination of of these musical notes creates various melodies which
are known as the Ragas and Raginis. Still bigger units made by combination of ragas and raginis are
known as Thats. In the South Indian or Tamil regions we notice parallel terms and concepts with
basic melodies called ‘Pan’. A striking feature of the Tamil music was the association of the different
‘Pans’ with different ecological zones. Thus, there were five ‘pans’ for five major ecological zones.

Within the basic framework set in the ancient age as reflected in the above mentioned texts the
progress of music continued even in later days. In the early medieval age apart from numerous
works—which have hardly survived—on the subject,many commentaries were written on the Natya-
Shastra. In this context, commentaries written by Abhinavgupta of Kashmir called ‘Abhinavbharati’
in the eleventh century and by Nayandeva of Mithila called ‘Bharta Bhashya’ in the twelfth century
are particularly noticeable. In the ‘Abhinavabharati’ we also find references to long song- poems
called ‘Raga- Kavya’.

The famous work of Jaideva ‘ Geet- Govind’(Gita Govinda) is a noted example of the ‘Raga- kavya’
which is based on the theme of the love of Radha and Krishna. It was written in the twelfth century
in Bengal. It’s language is Sanskrit and each song of the work was set in a ‘raga’ and the work
became a basic work for music and dance with sweeping influences.

The work deals with most of the legends of the Krishna-Radha traditions, with music as an integral
part of the same. This highlights the role of the Bhakti movement in enriching the musical traditions
of the country ever since the days of the Tamil Bhakti the oldest devotional school of the
subcontinent. In due course of the time the Sufi musical gatherings known as ‘ Saman’ also came to
enrich the musical traditions of the subcontinent. In the medieval age music also enjoyed the
patronage of royal courts particularly in the Deccan and South Indian areas.

In the medieval age the most important musical treatise was ‘Sangita-Ratnakara’ of Sarangdeva, who
is supposed to have lived in the court of the Yadava rulers of the Devgiri, in the 13th Century. In this
work, we find a detailed discussion on different types of Ragas (melodies), their derivatives, called
the Raginis, and compositions based on them. The work is still used for the authentic knowledge of
the Indian classical music representing the cultural continuity of the Indian civilisation.

In the medieval age one remarkable development was branching off of the Indian music into the two
schools of the North and the South which came to be known as Hindustani and Carnatic respectively.
There were exchanges between the two and movement from one area to the other with gradual
collaboration. While the names of ragas remained common to both the corresponding content
varied in each case. Stylistic divergence arose in the intonation of notes, execution of graces and the
method of elaborating and expounding a raga. The Hindustani school began to observe strictly a
time theory of ragas, a historical survival from earlier age when music was dealt with as an accessory
of drama and its varying situations.

The ragas came to be classified in different ways in the two systems. In the Hindustani music six
ragas were accepted as primary serving as a source for derivative ragas called Raginis. They came to
be arranged on the analogy of family relationship—husband, wife, sons and daughters. The basic
‘ragas’(melodies) according to the classification of the Hindustani classical music along with their
timings and major emotions/sentiments (rasas)are mentioned below:

1. Bhairava: Time - Dawn; Emotions- awe, fear, sadness and seriousness

2. Megh: Time -Morning; Emotions-peace and calm

3. Dipak: Time - Afternoon; Emotions-love

4. Shriraga: Time-Afternoon; Emotions- love

5. Kaushik: Time - Evening/Night; Emotions- joy and laughter

6. Hindola: Time-Night; Emotions- Love

In the Carnatic music a more scientific system of classification developed that of parent and
derivative modes, called Janaka or Melakarta ragas and Janya ragas respectively. Under this Mela-
Janya scheme of classification 20 Melas and 64 Janyas have been generally described in older texts.
The famous musician of the seventeenth century Venkatamakhin devised 72 Melraga system under
which any raga old, obsolete, current and of the future could be brought in. This scientific system
was applied by Bhatkhande in case of even Hindustani music.
The Hindustani music developed in the North, after the establishment of Delhi Sultanate, as a part of
the composite culture of the Medieval Age. It came to witness influences of some foreign musical
traditions, particularly related to the Central Asian and West Asian traditions. Thus it developed a
synthetic character. In this context, the famous Sufi poet and the author, Amir Khusrau is supposed
to be the first musician, who started combining the elements of Indian musical traditions with
elements of foreign musical traditions. Relying upon this synthesis, he also developed some new
ragas(melodies)such as Sanam and Ghurra/Ghurrey. In order to meet the new requirements of the
emerging Hindustani music, he also developed some new musical instruments such as Tabla and
Sitar. He is also known for giving birth to a new form of Hindustani music, called Qawwali, mainly as
a part of the Sufi musical traditions of Saman.

The Carnatic Music developed in the South, in relative isolation, and so, did not witness the
influence of foreign musical traditions. It is for this reason, it is considered as a relatively pure form
of Indian classical music, largely based on traditional instruments like, Veena. This is explained not
only in terms of the late arrival of the Delhi Sultanate in the South and its extremely brief stint, but
also in terms of deliberate efforts to maintain the pure nature of the Carnatic music by giving it a
codified form. Saint Vidyaranya is regarded as a fore- runner of the Carnatic music

Some other differences between the two systems are mentioned below:

1. Hindustani music is supposed to be open, liberal and experimental, and so, known for its
dynamism. But the Carnatic music is relatively closed, orthodox, and so developed a relatively rigid
and static character.

2. Hindustani music is supposed to be emotional, but the Carnatic music is intellectual and
philosophical, which requires precise and exact rendition of the norms.

3. Hindustani music is popular whereas Carnatic music is known for its elite audience.

4. Hindustani music witnessed emergence of different forms such as Dhrupad, Dhamar, Kajri, Tappa,
Thumri, Ghazal, Qawwali, Tarana, Khyal, etc. Such diversity is not noticed in the Carnatic music

5. In Hindustani music, we find a very strong tradition of mentors and disciples,giving birth to
different Gharanas, like, Gwalior, Jaipur, Lucknow, Benaras, [Link] the Carnatic music, we do not
notice such Gharanas and it largely developed in the Royal courts.

Some major facts related to Hindustani and Carnatic music—

1. Among the Delhi Sultans, Firoz Shah Tughlaq is known for his interest in music and his reign also
witnessed the maximum number of works on Music during the Sultanate.

2. Adil Shah Sur, one of the descendants of Sher Shah Sur, also known as Adali, was also a musician
and dancer. [ Akbar and Adil Shah Sur fought the 2nd Battle of Panipat]

3. Ibrahim Adil Shah, the ruler of Bijapur, is famous for his Kitab-i-Nauras , a treatise on music
4. Raja Mansingh of Gwalior, was a famous musician of the 15th Century. And he is also given credit
for developing the Dhrupad form of the Hindustani Music. He is also known for his famous work,
Man-Kautuhal or Maan-Kautuhal.

5. Husain shah sharqi , the ruler of Jaunpur sponsored the compilation of the ‘ Sangitasiromani’ for
which scholars were brought together from all parts of the country.

6. The ruler of Malwa, Baz Bahadur, and his wife, Rupmati, were the noted musicians of the 16th
Century. Defeated by Akbar, Baz Bahadur later on joined the Mughal services.

7. Akbar himself was an expert in playing Naqqara (Nagada). The most important musician in his
court was Tansen, a resident of Gwalior, whose shrine is also situated in the same city. He is
remembered as the founder of the Gwalior Gharana of Hindustani Music and is also given credit for
inventing some new Ragas like, Miyan ki Mahhar and Miyan ki Todi.

8. We also find references to Baiju Bawra as a famous musician of the 16th Century, who was given
patronage by Bahadur Shah, (the Ruler of Gujarat - who was a rival of Humayun, defeated by
Humayun and then he took shelter with Portuguese, who killed him)

9. Shah Jahan himself was a singer.

10. Aurangzeb had been an expert player of Veena, before he developed aversion for the art and he
is known for expelling the court musicians.

11. Among later Mughals, Muhammad Shah Rangila extended patronage to the famous musicians of
the 18th Century - Sadarang and Adarang. - known for developing the Khyal form of Hindustani
music.

12. In Modern age, Bhatkhande is known for reviving the classical music on the basis of ancient texts
in his famous work ‘Lakshyasangit’. His contemporary (and also a rival) - Pulaskar, is known for
popularising the Indian classical music. Pulaskar is also known for his famous composition -
‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’

13. Saint Vedaranya (the spiritual mentor of Harihar and Bukka - founders of the Vijaynagar Empire,
is known for his famous work - Sangeetsaar.

14. Purandar Das, one of the Hari Dasis (Bhakti saints in the South), remembered as the ‘great
grandfather’( Pitamaha) of the Carnatic Music.

15. Muthuswamy Dixitar, Shyama Shastri and Thyagraja — formed the famous trinity of the Carnatic
music.