~Indian Classical Music~

It is said that “Music is the universal language of mankind.”, “Where words fail, music speaks.” also It is the art of producing pleasing combinations of tones especially with melody, rhythm, and harmony...

 

(Indian Classical Music through veena instrument )

Today we came across Indian classical music , it is one of the oldest art form that rooted in our country India at the time of Veda’s .There are four Vedas - Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Among the four Vedas, Sama Veda is considered as the origin of Indian music.According to our historians ,Vedic period is considered around 500 B.C. During that period, music was the only medium for prayer in religious ceremonies ,for entertainment and also for social occasions.

The development of musical notes originated in the Vedic period itself. Initially three Vedic notes were used -Udatta, Anudatta and Svarita. Later, they developed into seven Vedic note which finally gave way to the Laukik or Gandharva notes. Various musical instruments were also used during the Vedic period. Among stringed instruments, different types of Veena’s were common. Also, leather instruments such as Dundubhi, wind instruments such as Tunava and metallic instruments such as Aghati were used during that period.

The music used for Yajnas ,Vedic was bound by strict rules, also music that used for social occasions ie Laukik was according to the interests of people. Since Vedic Richas or Mantras were considered for energizing.they were sung at various yajnas using different procedures and methodology for fulfilling wordly and spiritual desires. 

 For Yajnas and religious ceremonies, Brahmins were given specific training in music as they  were considered as suitable for the purpose as they were good singers with a naturally melodious voice, good instrumentalists and experienced in the knowledge of Vedas and Vedic rituals.

Ashrams and Samaparishads were established to gain knowledge of characteristics of melody and pronounciation in music. This rule bound Vedic music can be called the classical form of music of Vedic period.

THE ORIGIN OF MUSIC:

 Among the four Vedas, Sama Veda represents music. For this reason, Sama Veda has been called the origin of Indian music and has been considered as foremost among the four Vedas.

As Lord Krishna has said in the Gita – ‘Vedanam samavedo’smi. Sama is sung on the basis of Richas, i.e. when the Rig Vedic Mantras are sung melodiously, they are called Sama. According to ‘Chhandogya Upanishad’, ‘Sama’ has been derived from ‘Sa’ + ‘amah’. ‘Sa’ denotes Richa and ‘amah’ demotes Alap, i.e., singing of Richas along with Alap. Therefore the singing of Vedic Mantras with melody and rhythm is called Sama Gana. Sama Veda has two parts – Archik Sanhita and Gana Sanhita. Archik Sanhita again has two parts Purvarchik and Uttararchik.

 In Purvarchik, Sama Gana is done solo using a single Richa, whereas in Uttararchik, it is done using groups of three Richas. Along with the main singer, other singers are also present in this. In this way, the Richas or Mantra was prominent in Purvarchik and Uttararchik. However, with the passage of time, an increase in religious rituals saw a simultaneous rise in prominence of melody and the second part of Sama Veda, Gana Sanhita came into being. Though it was based on Archik Sanhita, the element of melody was given priority.

There are four parts of Gana Sanhita – Gramageya Gana, Aranyageya Gana, Uha Gana and Uhya Gana.

In Gramageya Gana, easier metre bound Sanskrit language was used instead of difficult Vedic use. Aranyageya Gana was meant to be sung in wilderness. Uha and Uhya Gana both were considered as secret forms that could only be sung by one who could decipher the meaning of Upanishads. Thus, Archik consisted of the literary aspect and Gana consisted of the melodic aspect of Sama. For the purpose of singing in Yajnas, Same Gana has been divided into seven Bhaktis. The bhaktis are :

 (1) Prastava

(2) Udgeeth

(3) Pratihar

(4) Updrava

(5) Nidhan.

(6) Hinkar and

(7)Pranava .

 The Brahmins who were designated to sing these Bhaktis according to set rules were referred to as Prastota, Udgata and Pratiharta.

  INSTRUMENTS USED DURING VEDIC PERIOD :

There are Four types of instruments that have been mentioned during Vedic period –

• stringed instruments

• wind instruments

• leather instruments and

• metallic instruments.

 

(Instruments used during vedic period)

 These four types of instruments were later called Tata, Sushir, Avanadya and Ghana instruments. Among stringed instruments of Vedic period, Veena held a prominent place. These were different types of Veena such as, Bana Veena, Karkari Veena, Kanda Veena, Apghatalika, Godha Veena etc. Bana Veena was also called Maha Veena’. It consisted of hundred strings During Mahavrat Yajna, this Veena was played using a wooden stick. Among wind instruments the name ‘Tunava’ has been used often for flute. Nadi ( another synonym for flute Among leather instruments),Dundubhi and Bhumi-Dundubhi were specifically important. Dhundubhi was a type of drum which was made by stretching leather over wood and was played using a stick. This was called ‘Ahanan’. Bhumi-Dundubhi was made by digging a pit in the ground and covering it with leather. It was played using the tail of an Panava, Pinga, Godha, Patah and Gargar etc.they were instruments of this category. A category by the name of Gadak was also present. In metallic instruments, the name of Aghati also been considered  same as Apghatalik and Kanda Veena according to some view points.

 CHANGES IN MUSIC AFTER VEDIC AGE :

 During the late Vedic Period, music prevailed in the form called Samgana, which was purely a chanting of the verses in musical patterns. After that music changed its course The epics were narrated in musical tones called `Jatigan.` Between the second to the seventh century AD, a form of music called `Prabandh Sangeet`, written in  Sanskrit became very popular. This form gave rise to a simpler form called Dhruvapad, which used Hindi as the medium.

The first reference to music was made by Panini in 500 BC and the first reference to musical theory is found in `Rikpratisakhya` in 400 BC. Bharata’s Natyashastra (4th century AD), contains several chapters on music, which was probably the first clear written work on music that has divided music into octaves and twenty-two keys. The next important work on music is `Dathilan` that also mentions the existence of twenty-two srutis per octave. According to ancient notion, only these twenty-two srutis can be made by the human beings. Two other important works written during this period were `Brihaddesi` written by Matanga in 9th century AD, which attempts to define Raga and `Sangeeta Makaranda; written by Narada in 11^th century AD, which enumerates ninety-three Raagas and classifies them into masculine and feminine species.

In The early 13th century Sanskrit text Sangitaratnakara  by Sarngadeva patronized by King Sighana of the Yadava dynasty in Maharashtra, mentions and discusses ragas and talas. He identifies seven tala families and  subdivides them into rhythmic ratios, presenting a methodology for improvization and composition that continues to inspire modern era in Indian musicians. Sangitaratnakara is one of the most complete historic medieval era Hindu treatises on this subject that has survived into the modern era, that relates to the structure, technique and reasoning behind ragas and tala.

The significance of music in ancient and early India is also expressed in numerous temples and shrine reliefs, in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. In the medieval period, the nature of Indian music underwent a change due to the impact of the Muslim influence. At this time, Indian music slowly started branching off into the two distinct forms of Hindustani and Carnatic music. These two traditions of music started to diverge only around 14th century AD. The Persian influence brought a substantial change in the Northern style of Indian music. In the fifteenth century AD, the devotional Dhruvapad transformed into the Dhrupad or classical form of singing. The Khayal developed as a new form of singing in the eighteenth century AD. Carnatic classical or kriti is mainly based on the Saahitya or lyric oriented, while Hindustani music emphasizes on the musical structure. Hindustani music adopted a scale of Shudha Swara Saptaka or Octave of natural notes while Carnatic music retains the style of traditional octave. Both Hindustani and Carnatic music express great assimilative power, also absorbing folk tunes and regional characteristics as well as elevating many of these tunes to the status of ragas. Thus, these two systems of music have mutually influenced each other.

 MUSIC IN MODERN INDIA:

Since the nawabs , noblemen and Maharajas lost their powers. most of the musicians move over to other occupations, few gharanas did manage to survive and continued. the government-run All India Radio that has helped to bring the artistes in front of the public, and try to reduce their financial loss. The first Radio star was Gauhar Jan, whose career was born out of Fred Gaisberg's first recordings of Indian music in 1902. With the advance of films and other public media, musicians began to make their living through public performances. With exposure to Western music, some of these melodies also started merging with classical forms, especially in the stream of popular music.

 A number of gurukuls flourished so that classical music should be supported along with these ,corporate sponsorship has also helped to support classical musi also there is parallel development of newer forms of media were now emerging.. Thus, with the advent of television, radio etc western influences started creeping into Indian music.

 There was the spread of popular pop music and this trend increased with the spread of cinema. Classical music too started being exported out of the country in the 60`s, and an experiment of combining western music with the Indian Classical form also took place.

 This gave rise to what is popularly referred to as fusion music. In the 70`s and 80`s disco and pop music entered the Indian musical scene. The 90`s further popularised the pop trend among the Indian audiences. With the further spread of information technology and an increasingly global world.

 we see a host of musical forms existing in contemporary India—rock, Hip-hop, jazz etc. Apart from these western forms of music, traditional forms of Indian music, such as Khayal, Ghazal, Geet, Thumri, Qawwali etc. also find place in the contemporary music. During all this.. there is historical development of music in India, Folk Music continued to keep its existence side by side classical music.

SOME OF THE FAMOUS INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC ARTISTS :

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi :

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi  was born on February 1922 ,he was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka .He is known for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular devotional music bhajans and abhangs. Joshi belongs to the Kirana gharana tradition of Hindustani Classical Music. He is noted for his concerts, and between 1964 to 1982 Joshi toured Afghanistan, Italy, France, Canada and USA. He was the first musician from India whose concerts were advertised through posters in New York City.Joshi was instrumental in organising the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival annually, as homage to his guru, Sawai Gandharva.In 1998, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and drama.Subsequently, he received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2009.

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi

Ustad Bismillah Khan :

Bismillah Khan was born on 21 March 1916. he is  referred to by the title of  Ustad,  he is  popular for shehnai, a reeded woodwind instrument., Ustad Bismillah Khan is credited with elevating the status of shehnai  and bringing it to the concert stage.He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2001, becoming the third classical musician of India after M. S. Subbalakshmi and Ravi Shankar to be awarded the Bharat Ratna.

 
Ustad  Bismillah khan

Dr. Balamuralikrishna : 

Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna  was born on july 1930. He was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded by the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1978. He has granted with two National Film Awards in 1976 and in 1987, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975, and the Padma Vibhushan in 1991, for his contribution towards arts, the Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal from UNESCO in 1995, the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy, and the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani in 1991, by the Fine Arts Society, Balamuralikrishna presented concerts in many countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Italy, France, Russia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, countries in the Middle East, and elsewhere.

Dr. Balamuralikrishna 

 Apart from his native language Telugu, he has also composed in other languages including Kannada, Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, and Punjabi. He appeared as a featured soloist with an award-winning British choir, performing the "Gitanjali Suite" with words from Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize-winning poetry and music by "Dr. Joel", the noted UK-based Goan composer. Also He had sung in French, and even ventured into jazz fusion, collaborating with the top Carnatic percussion teacher, Sri T.H. Subash Chandran, in a concert for Malaysian royalty.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma :

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was born on 13 January 1938. He was an Indian classical musician and santoor player who is credited with adapting the santoor for Indian classical music. as a music composer he collaborated with Indian flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia under the collaborative name Shiv–Hari and composed music for many Indian films .

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Pandit shivkumar Sharma was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, the Padma Shri award in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award in 2001.

 Tansen:

Tansen was born on 1493. His original name was Ramtanu Pande, he is  referred to as Miyan TanSen  .he was a prominent figure of Hindustani classical music.he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pradesh. He began his career and spent most of his life in the court and patronage of the Hindu king of Rewa, Raja Ramchandra Singh,where Tansen's musical abilities and studies gained widespread fame.This reputation brought him to the attention of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, who sent messengers to Raja Ramchandra Singh, requesting Tansen to join the musicians at the Mughal court. In 1562, about the age of 60, the Vaishnava musician Tansen joined the Akbar's court, and his performances became a subject of many court historians.

Tansen

Akbar considered him one of the Navaratnas (the nine jewels), and gave him the title Mian, an honorific, meaning learned man. Tansen was a composer, musician and vocalist, to whom many compositions have been attributed in northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. He was also an instrumentalist who popularized and improved musical instruments. He is among the most influential personalities in North Indian tradition of Indian classical music, called Hindustani. His 16th century studies in music and compositions inspired many, and he is considered by numerous North Indian gharana to be their lineage founder. Tansen is remembered for his epic Dhrupad compositions, creating several new ragas, as well as for writing two classic books on music Sri Ganesh Stotra and Sangita Sara.

 Pandit Kumar Gandharva: 

Pandit Kumar Gandharva was born on 8 April 1924 he is originally known as Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath . he was an Indian classical singer, well known for his unique vocal style and for his refusal to be bound by the tradition of any gharana. The name, Kumar Gandharva, is a title given to him when he was a child prodigy. By his early 20s, Gandharva was seen as a star of music and was praised by critics.
In the late 40s, he was stricken with tuberculosis and was told by doctors that he would never sing again.

Pandit Kumar Gandharva

Ustad Zakir Hussain:

Zakir Hussain was born 9 March 1951.he is an Indian tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer and film actor.He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002, by the Government of India presented by President Abdul Kalam. He was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990, given by the Sangeet Natak Academy, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. In 1999, he was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians.

Ustad Zakir Hussain

 Ustad Amjad Ali Khan :

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was born on  9 October 1945.he  is an Indian classical sarod player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan in 2001.he performed in the United States in 1963 and continued into the 2000s, with his sons. He has experimented with modifications to his instrument throughout his career. Khan played with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and worked as a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico. In 2011, he performed on Carrie Newcomer's album Everything is Everywhere. In 2014, along with his two sons, Ayaan Ali Khan and Amaan Ali Khan, he performed Raga For Peace in 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Concert. 

Ustad Amjad Ali khan

Khan was awarded 21st Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award. Khan received Padma Shri in 1975, Padma Bhushan in 1991, and Padma Vibhushan in 2001, and was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 1989 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for 2011. He was awarded the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2004. The U.S. state Massachusetts proclaimed 20 April as Amjad Ali Khan Day in 1984. Khan was made an honorary citizen of Houston, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, in 1997, and of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2007 .He received the Banga-Vibhushan in 2011.Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in the year 1990.

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan :

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan  was born on 2 April 1902, he was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala Gharana .Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was born in Kasur, of the erstwhile Punjab Province, British India . Following partition of India in 1947, Kasur District was allocated to Pakistan But he returned to India later to reside permanently  in 1957.

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

he started his career by singing a few compositions of his late father Ali Baksh Khan and uncle Kale Khan, Bade Ghulam amalgamated the best of three traditions into his own Patiala-Kasur style.He excelled at more light-hearted ragas such as Adana, Bhupali, Hameer, Jaijaiwanti and Jaunpuri. 

Under the pen name of Sabrang he created many new compositions.he was awarded with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1962 ,Sangeet Natak Akademi fellow in 1967 and Padma Bhushan Award in 1962.His name that truly epitomizes the 20th century Hindustani classical music tradition is that of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Often touted as the Tansen of 20th Century, this music maestro has blended the best of classical music and created a unique style of his own.

There are several  many more Artist of  classical music in india ,they created an aura,enriched the world of music and provided comfort to the hearts through their soulful music. They have created an everlasting impact on the hearts of their audience .

 

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