Music in India

Introduction
India has one of the most varied music histories of all countries. The diversity in India means
that even music styles vary considerably from one place to another, and this is why India is
home to a mix of many different genres.

Indian music often has a religious touch attached to it, since that is how music in India
began. The variety in Indian music is not only limited to the genre of the music, but also the
musical composition and lyrical style of the song. Even if the instruments used in Indian
classical music are the same, two different songs often evoke very different
emotions.Ancient treatises also describe the connection of the origin of the swaras, or
notes, to the sounds of animals and birds and man's effort to simulate these sounds through
a keen sense of observation and perception.

Indian music has undergone many changes over the years, both intrinsic and extrinsic. It has
been affected by Persian styles, which arrived with the advent of Islamic rulers. The diversity
of Indian cultures helped in inclusion of different music styles into one, which is why both
ghazals and Indian classical songs are now a trademark of Indian music.

Hindustani Music
North Indian musical traditions are grouped as Hindustani music. Barring a few differences,
all music styles are very similar in northern India, as compared to South India. Both systems
are fundamentally similar but differ in nomenclature and performance practice.

In Indian tradition, music is thought to be a combination of three artforms: in Hindi, these

are described as gayan (vocal music), vadan (instrumental music) and nartan (dance). The
present system of Indian music is based upon two important pillars: raga and tala. Raga and
tala are two unique features of Indian classical music. Raga is the melodic form of the
music, while tala is the rhythm of the music.
Raga may be roughly equated with the Western term mode or scale. There is a system of
seven notes which are arranged in a means not very different from Western scales, which is
why there is a similarity in composition of many western and Indian pieces of music. It also
explains how two instruments, such as the guitar and the sitar, which were developed
independently in different parts of the world, work in such a similar way. However,a closer
lookreveals a whole host of differences.

The “Saat Sur” (saptaswaram or seven notes) form the backbone of Indian music, and are
very similar to their western counterparts.

ARaga in its broadest sense could be defined as a mode having rigid form with infinite
possibilities for improvisation. Ragas have been ascribed to deities, colours and moods.

Hindustani music is based on the interplay of the instruments and the vocals. It is usually
dedicated to a deity, but there are examples of songs on less “divine” topics as well. It is
usually not fast paced, and instils a sense of peace in listeners.
Carnatic Music
The music practised in South Indian states like Tamil Nadu,Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh/
Telangana and Kerala is known as Carnatic music.In a musical treatise
titledSangitsudhakara, we find a first mention of dichotomy of Hindustani and Carnatic
music styles.

There are many composers in Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa (1480–1564) is referred to as
the Pitamaha (respected father/ grandfather) of Carnatic music as he formulated the basic
lessons in teaching Carnatic music, and in honour of his significant contribution to Carnatic
music. He structured graded exercises known as Swaravalis and Alankaras, and at the same
time, introduced the Raga Mayamalavagowla as the first scale to be learnt by beginners. He
also composed Gitas (simple songs) for novice students.

A major concept that distinguishes it from Hindustani classical music is that of Dandi (pillar).
Chaturdandi (four pillars) include alapa, thaya, gita and prabandha. Alapa is extempore
creation of a melodic personality in terms of tonal situations which are comprehended in
the scale and ten vital characteristics of a raga.

Thaya is the second pillar and has no parallel in Hindustani music. It connotes segments or
organ of a raga performed in rhythmic patterns on the veena or before rendering the pallavi
composition. Gita generally means anything that is sung. Prabandha, the fourth dandi, is the
musical composition.

Carnatic music underwent a sort of a renaissance in the 18th century, with the advent of the
famously known “Holy Trinity” of Carnatic Music. The trio of Thyagaraja, Muthuswami
Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri revolutionised the musical styles of Southern India,
reinventing many existing practices in Carnatic Music.

Shyama Shastri was the eldest of them all, and was known for his lyrical genius and his vocal
range. An example of having quality over quantity, Shyama Shastri produced musical works
slower than other contemporary artists, but each work he composed was pure magic. His
claim to fame was his ability to innovate existing Ragas in different ways, each iteration
different from the other.

Thyagaraja’s work was primarily inspired by his religious nature and his selfless devotion to
the almighty. His devotion and utmost faith in God is said to have saved him many times,
and he was one who celebrated each deity of every culture he came to know of, rather than
being monotheistic. Unfortunately, a large part of his compositions have been lost over
time.

Muthuswami Dikshitar, unlike the other two legends, also composed in Sanskrit, had a deep
knowledge of Hindu scriptures, and had visited many cities throughout North India,
including the holy city of Banaras. Extensive touring and exposure meant that he was an
expert in multiple music styles, and also tried to bring in variation in Carnatic music by
incorporating elements of Hindustani as well as Western Music.

With their own individual innovations, this trio heralded the Golden Age of Carnatic Music.
Folk music
Folk music is very raw, as opposed to Hindustani and Carnatic styles of singing. There are
not always a well-defined set of rules to follow in folk music, which is why many folk songs
have many different variations, each having different tempo, music and feel. Singing castes
like Dholi, Managaniyars, etc. in Rajasthan and other places have kept alive the culture of
folk music. In different regions of India, there are different traditions of folk music, be it the
desert of Rajasthan, the fields of Punjab or the forests of Chhattisgarh.

Most folk music is about tales that have been narrated throughout the years in a particular
community or tribe. Folk songs usually just depict the lives of a simple person of the tribe.
They span a wide range of spectrum in terms of musical intensity, tempo and singing style,
as the music varies from place to place. Rabindra Sangeet, Lavani and Bihu are some of the
most well-known folk music styles in India.

Rabindra Sangeet, named after Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, uses a rich array of raga and
raginis, most notably behag, bhairavi, pilu, kedara, kafi,etc. His songs have been classified as
devotional, patriotic, romantic, etc. This tradition still thrives, and is popular. Rabindra
Sangeet is usually considered to be a part of Bengali culture, and is often also mistakenly
called Bengali classical music.

Lavani is a style of music popular in Maharashtra and in cities with a large Marathi
population. Deriving from the Marathi word “Lavanya”, meaning beauty, Lavani contains
high-energy music, and is accompanied by a dance performance, called Tamasha. Songs
usually are from female perspectives, and thus Lavani singers and dancers are primarily
women. Lavani is a popular choice of music in the Marathi film industry as well.
Lavani has music which gets the audience on their feet, and the performers barely get time
to rest in the high tempo dance that goes with the music.

Rajasthan is home to a wide variety of folk music, and the folk music of the state is almost
an extension of its identity. A wide variety of musical castes gives Rajasthani folk music a
unique diversity. Most of the lyrics of Rajasthani music are dedicated to their homeland, and
in the praises of it. Rajasthani folk music uses a wide range of musical instruments, and has
beena favourite music style of many Bollywood music artists throughout the years.
Padharo Mhaare Des – Music of Rajasthan is a welcome song to the land of diversity.

Sufi music

In recent years Sufi music has become popular

Although music does not find an important place in Islam, Sufi mystics have used music for
their prayers. Their Qawwalis have been a form of worship, a call for the union of the
beloved (God). At dargahs, like that of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer and Nizamuddin
Auliya at Delhi, Qawwali has been an integral part of religious activities.

Sufi music reached new heights of popularity due singers like to Nusrat Fateh ali Khan, Abida
Parveen, Runa Laila, etc. Similarly Ghazals became a mass phenomenon, thanks to Ghulam
Ali, Jagjit Singh and other singers like Mehdi Hasan.
Sufi music is a classic example of intermixing of different cultures to create something new,
and is basically the result of Islam adopting Hindustani music. Sufi music usually is sung and
written in Urdu, which itself is a language born out of the mix of Hindi and Persian. Sufi
music is usually very fast paced, and the lyrics are mostly dedicated to the almighty.

Gharanas
A Gharana is a unique concept, known only in the Indian musical panorama. Different
patrons of music and styles gave rise to different schools of music, known as gharanas. Even
today musicians proudly adhere to these camps or gharanas. For example, the Kirana
Gharana has given us maestros like Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Hirabai Badodekar and
Dr. Prabha Atre to name a few. Some of the prominent Khayal gharanas are Agra, Jaipur,
Patiala, Kirana and Gwalior.

Gharanas are usually started by a prominent musical personality, who has a different style
of music from other existing gharanas. Each gharana is identified with a particular music
style, and they are the places where the purest classical music is found. Gharanas usually
focus on a mixture of different music types rather than a single one. These gharanas have
been working under guru-shishya parampara (master-disciple tradition), and great
importance is given to devotion towards the guru.

Close association of guru and shishya is indeed a very effective and time tested way for
imparting music education. However, the number of disciples a guru can undertake makes
music education restricted to a privileged few. Thus, it is a notable achievement for a singer
in India to be associated with a gharana, as it keeps them in the category of the finest of the
country.

Musical instruments
Like their Western counterparts, Indian music instruments broadly belong to three different
categories: wind instruments, string instruments and percussion instruments. While
percussion instruments usually set the tempo of the song and provide a background, wind
and string instruments control the melody of the music. In a simple sense, wind and string
instruments dictate the sur of the music, while percussion instruments dictate the taal of
the song.

Most Indian percussion instruments have a layer of membrane, which is hit by the hand
rhythmically to generate a tempo. While functionally similar to a drum, Indian instruments
are rarely played using sticks, and are mostly played with bare hands. Smaller instruments
such as the dholki have only one side, while instruments such as the tabla and the dholhave
two striking surfaces.

The Tabla, in particular, is much more complicated in working than a drum, since all the
effects created out of 6 different drums in a Western drum sets have to be created by the
two drums of a tabla – called the tabla and the dagga or baaya. Thus, there are a wide
variety of musical taals and strokes that can be created with a tabla and a dhol.

The left drum is called the Dagga or baaya and the right one is called the Tabla. It has been
an important component of Indian music for many decades now.

On the other hand, wind and string instruments work in a very similar way to their Western
counterparts, such as a guitar and a sitar. These instruments dictate the melody as well as
the overall mood of the song.
They work on the same scale as the vocals do, and can be tuned to match the vocal range of
the person singing the song. There is a rhythmic repetition of notes on the instrument, such
as at an interval of 12 frets in a sitar. The bansuri and the sitar have long been associated
with devotional music, and are much more prominent in Hindustani music as compared to
other music styles of the subcontinent.

The sitar is just one instrument in a family of instruments, such as taanpura, veena and
ektara, which all work on the same principles.

Music in Indian movies

Music in India movies has always played an important part, and was involved in movies ever
since the first silent movie was released. The music of a movie today helps in determining
how much business a movie will do. The music sets the tone of the movie, and a single
movie often has songs that cover a wide range of music styles.

In the 1930s, many of the actors and actresses sang their own songs. Along with acting skills
and looks, music had become an important criterion for someone to be an actor, and people
such as Bal Gandharva and Baburao Pendharkar were the select few who could do all of it.
The concept of a ‘playback singer’ did not exist at that time. Songs had to be recorded along
with the shooting, and the entire orchestra used to be present at the shooting. Nurjahan,
Suraiya, Surendra, Ashok Kumar, M.S. Subbulakshmi and K.L. Sehgal were all actors and
actresses who could sing well. Noted music directors of the time were Pankaj Mullick,
Keshavrao Bhole, and Anil Biswas.

In the 1940s and 1950s, the business began to shift away from the big motion picture
studios to independent producers. New musicians and music directors emerged. The
distribution networks began to rely heavily on a certain number of songs, number of dances,
etc. ‘Formula’ music became the trend there were a certain number of songs, with a certain
set variety. The concept of a playback singer was introduced. The earlier artistes acted and
sang, but the movies of this period had actors who did not sign their own songs and instead
had other singers do this for them.

Kishore Kumar, along with contemporaries artists such as Mukesh, popularised the concept
of a playback singer.
Film music derived its melodies from three diverse sources: Indian classical music, folk music
from different regions, and Western classical and popular music. Initial music directors
adapted and modified music from these sources to create a music tradition suitable to the
common man. At this time, the use of the orchestra was minimal and the music director
displayed his musical abilities with the help of very few musical instruments. This did not,
however, take away from the music its melody and charm.

Many new and promising music directors emerged during the 1950s, including S.D. Burman,
Jaidev, and Sudhir Phadke. The role of the lyricists, who drew inspiration from poetry and
literature, played a major role in enriching the music of the time. Songs conveyed a meaning
owing to their rich lyrics. Music during this time was light music, and hugely influencedby
Indian classical music. The lyrics were usually about the love story of the protagonists, or
evoked other profound emotions.

Geeta Dutt, Talat Mehmood, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar were great singers who, in
company with the music directors and the lyricists, produced some of the best music
Bollywood has ever seen. These singers sang not only in Hindi and Urdu, but in other Indian
languages as well. Music in Indian films is generally not conceived as an autonomous entity
within itself, but instead is intimately connected to the storyline.
Sisters Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar ruled the roost inplayback singing for over seven
decades.

In the 1960s and 1970s, playback singers such as Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar, Asha
Bhonsle, Kishore Kumar, and Mohammad Rafi were themainstay of the playback singing
scene. Shankar-Jaikishan, Kalyanji Anandji, R.D. Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal emerged as
the talented and big music directors over the two decades. The music of this time was
usually slow and melodious, and very rarely had fast paced dance numbers that have now
become synonymous with Bollywood.

By the end of the 1970s, film music began losing its golden image. Softness and subtle
nuances of music gave way to fast, loud and orchestral forms, but not necessarily in a
negative sense. Music was slowly becoming more influenced by western music, and genres
such as disco and pop made their way into mainstream Bollywood music. R.D. Burman,
Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri were some of the popular music directors of the 1980s
who tried to adapt their music to suit the new kinds of films that were emerging.

In the years since the mid 1990s A.R.Rahman is one of the music composers to have
revolutionised Hindi film music, and has inspired countless others to add new nuances to it.

Legends of Indian Music

Miya Tansen
The stories about Tansen are fact and fiction mixed together, but undoubtedly Tansen was
one of the very few who had such a strong hold on Urdu as well as Hindustani music. A
member of the court of Akbar, Tansen was a highly respected vocalist, and had mastered
Hindustani music. Born as a Hindu in Gwalior, his position at Akbar’s court help him get
exposure to different kinds of music. He composed several ragas, which are all prefixed
‘Miyan ki’ in his honour, like the ‘Miyan ki Todi’.

It is said that Tansen could do miracles with his music. According to legend his performance
of Raag Deepak once lit up all the lamps in Akbar’s court, while his rendition of Raag Megh
Malhar caused heavy rains, to the delight of distraught people in the kingdom. It is also said
that his music could soothe wild animals. While it is difficult to determine how much of
these tales are true, what is certain is that Miya Tansen was one of the pioneers of Indian
music in medieval times.

Tansen was one of the Navratnas (nine gems) of Akbar’s court.

Kumar Gandharva

Born Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath, but named Kumar Gandharva owing to his
being a child prodigy. He was an Indian classical singer, well known for his unique vocal style
and his refusal to be bound by the tradition of any gharana. A gandharva is a musical spirit
in Hindu mythology.

Ustad Bismillah Khan

Respectfully known as “Ustaad” in the music community, Bismillah Khan was the foremost
exponent of theshehnai, a wind instrument popularly used in the Indian subcontinent. His
concerts singlehandedly made the shehnai popular among the Indian masses, and he loved
his art so much that he often referred to the shehnai as his “Begum”, or wife.Bismilllah Khan
had the privilege of performing at the Red Fort in 1947, on the occasion of India’s
independence from the British. He was awarded the India’s highest civilian honour, the
Bharat Ratna, by the Indian Government.

Ustad Bismillah Khan took an instrument which was relatively unknown, and built his entire
legacy around it.
M.S. Subbulakshmi
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was an Indian Carnatic singer, and perhaps the
most prominent person of the Carnatic music style since the Holy Trinity in the 18 th century.
She started her career at the young age of 13, and never looked back. Most of her
performances were religious in nature, and she would very frequently sing bhajans and give
performances in prominent places of worship.

She was praised by every musician of her era, with Lata Mangeshkar calling her a
Tapaswani, meaning someone who lives a simple life, unaffected by physical pleasures, and
gives herself up to the spiritual and the sublime. She was also the first music artiste to be
awarded the Bharat Ratna. She was one of the leading personalities in the field of Carnatic
and semi-classical music.Despite being at the top of the field, she was humility and
simplicity personified,which was something that she taught newer generations of artistes
and musicians.

She lived a life devoid of publicity, money and fame, and let her performances speak for
themselves.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi was an Indian singer from Maharashtra , an exponent of the
Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his
popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). He was honoured with the
Bharat Ratna in 2009.

Pandit Ravi Shankar

Pandit Ravi Shankar was an Indian musician and composer of Hindustani classical music
from Bengal. He was one of the best-known proponents of the sitar in the latter half of the
20thcentury and influenced many other musicians throughout the world.
He also worked as a composer, creating the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray , and
was music director of All India Radio, New Delhi, from 1949 to 1956.
In 1956, Shankar began to tour Europe and the Americas playing Indian classical music and
increased its popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his
association with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and the Beatles guitarist George Harrison. His
influence on the latter helped popularise the use of Indian instruments in pop music
throughout the 1960s. From 1986 to 1992, he served as a nominated member of Rajya
Sabha. In 1999, Shankar was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

Lalgudi Jayaraman
Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman was a Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He was
awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001. He expanded the style of violin playing by inventing a
whole new technique that is designed to best suit the needs of Indian Classical Music and
establishing a unique style that came to be known as ‘Lalgudi Bani'. Jayaraman composed
several kritis, tillanas, varnams and dance compositions, which are a blend of raga, bhava,
rhythm and lyrical beauty.

Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia

Born in 1938, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia is an Indian classical flautist, who plays the
bansuri, an Indian bamboo flute in the Hindustani classical tradition. He had to learn music
without his father's knowledge, as his father wanted him to become a wrestler. He did go to
the traditional wrestling school or akhada and train with his father for some time, but
simultaneously also started learning music and practising the bansuri at his friend's
house.He has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2000.

Balamurali Krishna
Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna was a Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist,
playback singer, composer, and character actor. He began his career aged 6, and his
concerts combined sophisticated vocal skills and rhythmic patterns of classical music and
were popular across the world. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.

Ustad Zakir Hussain

Known both for his free flowing hair, and his free flowing fingers on a tabla. Son of Ustad
Allahrakha Khan, Zakir Hussain, from a very young age, followed the works of his
predecessors – Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasiya – who were legends
of Indian music in their own right. Zakir Hussain reinvented the art of playing tabla, so that
the tabla player was not just a musician who set the background for the vocalist, but was as
important as the rest of the ensemble.

Zakir Hussain is a part of multiple Grammy Award winning albums, has won countless
awards in International film festivals and has also won a National Award for his work. His
passion for music has led to a younger generation falling in love with Indian classical music,
and Zakir is a role model for many budding artists of tomorrow. He was honoured with the
Padma Bhushan in 2002.
UstadAmjad Ali Khan

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is the foremost exponent of the sarod. Son of a Gwalior court
musician Hafiz Ali Khan and his wife Rahat Jahan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is descended from
the Bangash line, and is a 6thgeneration musician. Interestingly, his family claims to having
invented the Sarod. He has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is India’s foremost and best known exponent of the santoor. He is
credited with making the santoora popular classical instrument. Apart from classical music
at which he excelled, he has also composed music for select Hindi films in collaboration with
Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia- under the screen name ‘Shiv-Hari’. Some films for which the
duo have composed music include Silsila, Chandni and Lamhe. He was honoured with the
Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film music composer, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist,
orchestrator, conductor-arranger and lyricist. He is credited for introducing western musical
sensibilities intomainstreamIndian music. Ilaiyaraaja is equally known for integrating Indian
folk music and traditional Indian instrumentation with western classical music techniques.
He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2018.

Dr L. Subramaniam

Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an acclaimed Indian violinist, composer and

conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music, and
renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion. He is
married to reputed Bollywood playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthi.

U. Srinivas
Uppalapu Srinivas was a mandolin player and a composer in Carnatic classical music. He was
the first musician to use the electric mandolin in Carnatic music: he modified the electric
western instrument, using five single strings instead of the traditional four doubled strings
to suit the Carnatic pitch, raga system, and especially gamakas, or nuanced oscillations. He
was awarded the Padmashri in 1998.

Kishori Amonkar

Kishori Amonkar was a leading Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur Gharana. She
was a performer of the classical genre khayal and the light classical genres such asthumris
and bhajans. Amonkar trained under her mother, classical singer Mogubai Kurdikar also
from the Jaipur gharana, but she experimented with a variety of vocal styles in her
career.She was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2002.