Indian Classical Music

Indian Classical Music

"Music is the literature of the heart, it commences where speech ends"

Indian Classical Music 

The first reference to the music is found in Rig Veda. A special priest of Vedic period used to sing hymns of Rig Veda who was known as Udgadar.

All such hymns of Rig Veda which were sung constituted Sam Veda. Sam Veda is considered as the Veda of music. It contains near about 6000 ragas and raginis (melodies).

The last part of Sam Veda is known as Gandharva Veda which is considered as the rule book or grammar book of music.

Later, Natyashastra was written which is considered as the earliest treaties on music.

Basis of Indian Music 

1. Swara
2. Raga
3. Tala

Swara (i.e., Note, Tone or Frequency) - Indian music is hepta tonic, i.e., it contains 7 pure swara . These are -

1. Sa - Sadja (Do)
2. Re - Reshabha (Re)
3. Ga - Gandhara (Mi)
4. Ma - Mandhyam (Fa)
5. Pa - Pancham (So)
6. Dha - Dhavaita (La)
7. Ni - Nishada (Ti)

Note - Western music is also hepta tonic (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La and Ti)

Raga - Raga is a different combinations of Swaras. The condition of creating a raga is that it must include atleast 5 Swaras (5 distinct Swaras).

On the basis of number of distinct frequencies, 3 types of ragas can be created -

1. Odhava Raga - It contains 5 different Ragas (no. of combinations - 7x6x5x4x3)
2. Sadhava Raga - It contains 6 different Ragas (no. of combinations - 7x6x5x4x3x2)
3. Sampoorna Raga - It contains 7 different Ragas (no. of combinations - 7!)

Tala - It is rhythmic cycle of the music or arrangement of beats in a cyclical manner. Generally, Indian music has the following rhythmic cycle.

1. Thisara (3 rhythmic cycle)
2. Chatusara (4 rhythmic cycle)
3. Khanda (5 rhythmic cycle)
4. Misra (6 rhythmic cycle)
5. Sankirtana (7 rhythmic cycle)

Classification of Indian Classical Music

The Indian Classical Music can be classified into 2 different types -

1. Hindustani Music
• Dhrupad
• Khyal
• Thumri
• Dhamar
• Ghazal
• Qawwali
• Tarana
• Tappa
2. Carnatic Music

Hindustani Music - 

• Evolution of Hindustani Music
• Different composition of Hindustani Music

Evolution of Hindustani Music 

• Initially, there was no difference between Hindustani and Carnatic music but at the arrival of Islamic rule in India, differentiation started.
• Hindustani music evolved on the basis of time, season and mood theory of ragas and as such initially some principal ragas were created and later many other ragas were created.

Different composition of Hindustani Music 

1.  Dhrupad 

• Dhrupad is considered as the oldest classical musical form of India.
• It evolved from the temples of Braj area.
• Many people believe that it has a Vedic origin.
• The lyrics of Dhrupad were composed in Braj Bhasha (language).
• Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior popularised it in Mughal period.
• In the court of Akbar, there were two famous Dhrupad singer who were Tansen and Baiju Bawra. At this time Swami Haridas (Guru of Tansen) was also one of the finest Dhrupad singer.
• Dhrupad is a simple and sober composition which demands efforts from lungs and vocal cords.
• Dhrupad starts with and Aalap (i.e., the initial part is elaborated like Oooooooom) followed by Jod (which is an interconnection between Aalap and Lyrics) and then 4 composed sections/lyrics which are - Sthayi, Antara, Sanchari and Abhog.
• There are many famous Gharanas in Dhrupad music which are as follows -
1. Dagori Gharana (Western UP and Rajasthan)
2. Darbhanga Gharana (Bihar)
3. Bettiah Gharana (Bihar)
4. Bishnupur Gharana (West Bengal)
• Gharana System owes its origin to the differences in musical attitude, dialects and temperament.

2.  Khayal 

• The origin of Khayal can be attributed to Amir Khusro.
• Khayal is a Persian word which means thought or imagination.
• Unlike Dhrupad, there is more freedom to the singer in structure and form but the emphasis of Khayal is of better execution of the thoughts.
• Khaya is romantic in nature and its special feature is the use of Taan (when the last part is stretched such as Kabiraaaaa) in the music.
• The lyrics of Khayal were written in Urdu and Khari boli.
• Some of the famous Gharanas of Khayal are as follows -
1. Kairana Gharana (Western UP)
2. Agra Gharana
3. Jaipur Gharana
4. Gwalior Gharana
5. Patiala Gharana

Note -

• Dhrupad - It is devotional in nature.
• Khaual - It is romantic in nature.

3.  Thumri 

• It is considered as the mixture of devotion and romantism.
• It is very popular among Bhakti Saints of North India.
• On the basis of temperament 2 different types of Thumri evolved -
1. Purbi Thumri (Slow singing)
2. Punjabi Thumri (Fast singing)
• Lucknow and Banaras are the two famous Gharanas of Thumri.

4.  Dhamar 

• It also emerged from Braj area and it was very popular among the devotee of Krishna.
• A fast version of Dhamar is known as Holi Dhamar.
• Holi Dhamar is very popular in Govardhana.
• It showcases the love affairs between Shri Krishna, Radha and Gopikas.

5.  Tarana 

• Tarana also emerged from Western UP and it was very popular among aristocratic classes of North India.
• It was created only for entertainment as such it had very less meaningful words.

6.  Tappa 

• It was created by camel riders of North-West India.
• They used local idioms and phrases for the purpose of singing.
• Later, Tappa became very popular in Punjab and they started to create fast song under this categories.

7.  Qawwali 

• It is another creation of Amir Khusro.
• It is devotional in nature dedicated to the Allah, the Prophet Mohammad and Sufi Saints.
• At the Sufi dargah, it is specially performed on the festival of URS.

8.  Ghazal 

• It is another product of Persian influence.
• Though essentially, it is romantic in nature but many a time, it also carries an underlying Sufi element.
• Ghalib, Mir Taki Mir and Bahadur Shah Zafar was the famous Ghazal composer.
• Some of the famous contemporary Ghazal singers - Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udas.

Carnatic Music 

• Evolution of Carnatic music
• Features of Carnatic music
• Important personalities associated with Carnatic music

Evolution of Carnatic Music 

• Sangita Sara of Vidyaranya is considerd as the fore-runner of Carnatic music.
• In the middle of the 17th century, Venkatamukhi wrote Chaturdandi Prakashika which became bedrock of the Carnatic Music.
• In this book, he devised 72 melakarta raga system which became the foundation of Carnatic music.
• Purandhar Das popularised the Carnatic music and he is considered as the Grand Old Man of Carnatic Music.
• At the time of independence, Vishnu Narayana Bhat Khande popularised the Carnatic music all over India. 
• Due to his efforts the first music college was opened at Lucknow which was later renamed as Bhatkhande College of Music.

Features of Carnatic Music 

• Carnatic Music is performed in 3 parts -
1. Ragam - It is an improvised Aalapana in free time.
2. Tanam - It is the interconnector.
3. Pallavi - It is the final composed section which sets melody to the taal.
• There are two types of Carnatic singing.
1. Kriti - Here the singing is emphasised.
2. Kritanai - Here the music is emphasised.

Important personalities associated with Carnatic Music 

• Male trinity 
1. Tyagaraja
2. Muthuswami Dikshitar
3. Shyama Shastri
• Female trinity 
1. D.K. Pattamal
2. M.L. Vasanth Kumari
3. M.S. Subbalakshmi

M.S. Subbulakshmi

M.S. Subbulakshmi is considered as the most reputed Indian classical music figure. She was the first person who performed Indian Classical music inside United Nations Assembly. During her lifetime, she received all the important civilian rewards of India which includes Bharat Ratan, Padma Vibhusan, Padna Bhusan and Padma Shree. She also received Ramon Magsaysay Award and Sangit Kala Nidhi Award (highest musical award).

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Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own. 

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