Indian Music

I

Introduction

Indian Music, the music of the Indian subcontinent. Just as there is no such language as Indian, but instead many hundreds of languages, with over a dozen considered major, so there is no single entity as Indian music. The range of musical styles and traditions in the subcontinent of South Asia, which comprises modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, is in proportion to the vastness of the geographical area and the density of population. Nevertheless, the music of the subcontinent is characterized by solo or unison melodies, very often over a drone (either heard or implied), and rhythmic cycles. It is unequalled in its variety of melodic and rhythmic types and of musical instruments. Indian classifications broadly parallel those used in the West: music may be labelled as “classical” or “folk”. The Indian-Western hybrid filmi is used for that uniquely Indian brand of film songs, which accounts for the major type of popular music; it has roots in both the classical and folk genres, as well as pursuing an almost global eclecticism.

II

The Classical Tradition

What is usually understood by the term Indian music refers to the classical tradition, based on the melodic system of raga (mode, generally with a fixed series of notes bound by rules to ensure that the unique personality of each raga emerges) and the rhythmic system of tala (cycles of variable numbers of beats). This music is traced back thousands of years to the Vedic chants of the early Hindu settlers, though it has reached its present form in the last four or five hundred years. Its development over almost the past two thousand years has been documented in theoretical treatises, mostly written in Sanskrit, which enhance its status, whether they elucidate or obscure its actual practices.

Muslim invasions and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century and the Mughal Empire in the 16th century in the northern part of the subcontinent greatly contributed to a bifurcation of classical music by the 16th century into a northern tradition of Hindustani music and a southern tradition of Carnatic (or Karnatic) music, and a gradual shift in both from religious application to courtly entertainment. Both retain their basis in raga and tala and share many other general features, though they are sufficiently different in detail to necessitate separate training. Each tradition has its iconic figures. Especially important in Hindustani music is Tansen, the celebrated court musician to the 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar. Most of the musical lineages today, and a number of important ragas, can be traced back to Tansen. A correspondingly seminal figure in Carnatic music is Purandara Dasa, who also flourished in the 16th century. In terms of repertoire and influence in the present the dominant Carnatic figure was Swami Tyagaraja, who is customarily placed in a trinity of revered saint-composers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the other two illustrious members being Muttuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri.

The 20th century continued to be dominated by singers until the emergence of instrumentalists who almost personify Indian music. Most famous throughout the world is undoubtedly Ravi Shankar, a great musical ambassador and innovator. Although he was catapulted to superstardom through his associations with The Beatles in the 1960s he has remained a staunch traditionalist and champion of the ancient heritage of Indian music. The number of artists, be they singers, instrumentalists, or dancers, who enjoy an equally elevated status among musicians and initiated listeners is vast. As Ravi Shankar represents the Hindustani tradition it is fitting to single out an iconic figure of recent Carnatic music: the revered singer M. S. Subbulakshmi.

The term commonly found in Sanskrit for music is sangîta, with tripartite connotations denoting the primacy of vocal music, with instrumental music largely derived from it, and dance as a further integral element. Although it is not expected that musicians will be dancers, it is still vital that dancers be musicians. Again, the several major classical dance styles (not to mention the huge variety of folk dances) are divided into northern and southern styles, dominated by the southern Bharatanatyam, derived from temple dances, and the northern Kathak, originating from story-telling that evolved into an entertainment in the Mughal courts. Both use ankle bells to give sound to the rhythmically intricate footwork and elaborate systems of hand and eye movements to signify deities, objects, and emotions.

III

Popular Music

As India is predominantly rural, it could be argued that most music is folk music. To generalize about such a huge range is difficult, but the tendency towards a single melodic strand with rhythmic accompaniment still applies. In fact, some folk traditions actually use ragas (with local names), for example the Langa and Manghaniyar music of the north-western state of Rajasthan, which has become widely performed and enjoyed outside India. Group singing, perhaps alternating with solos, is another common feature of Indian folk music, and not something found in the classical traditions. It is also a feature of the two major types of popular devotional song: the Hindu bhajan and the Sufi (Muslim mystic) qawwali. The latter has even moved from its traditional context of a saint’s shrine to become a hugely popular kind of World Music, especially in the hands of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Similarly, bhangra, which originated as a vigorous harvest dance in the Punjab, has been transformed in the UK to become a popular dance genre and form of expression for British Asians. The rapid development of communications and wider access to the mass media have helped to create what is almost, despite the language differences, a pan-Indian popular music, recorded and disseminated electronically. This has emanated primarily from the Indian film industry, the largest in the world, of which the products tend to adhere to formulaic devices, including many songs and dances. Yet there is an element of feedback, as film music from its outset borrowed extensively from folk music. Film songs are heard all over India, in city streets and even in remote villages, and have also become one of the country's major cultural exports. It is a remarkably eclectic genre, borrowing freely from other Indian and popular music from around the world and applying some Western harmonic procedures.

IV

Indian Music Today

Since independence from British rule in 1947 and the demise of the princely courts, India and its music have undergone considerable change. Music has moved from its traditional temple, court, and domestic contexts to the large concert hall, the recording studio, and the world stage. The compact disc allows live recitals to be reproduced without cuts or other edits for the first time in the history of recording. The intimate gathering of cognoscenti seated on the floor in close proximity to the musicians is still the favoured setting but electronic media and the often huge arenas for public concerts account for the majority of listeners. For this reason the microphone has come to be regarded as essential by almost every musician, and amplification (of variable quality) is the norm at concerts. Since it began broadcasting in 1927, All India Radio has emerged as the largest patron of musicians, though many performers supplement their income with public concerts and teaching.

Apart from experimental fusions with all kinds of non-Indian music, from jazz to Japanese, there has been a move towards what may be described as a reunification of north and south Indian traditions. Musicians from the two traditions perform together and borrow ragas from each other. The composition of new ragas, a practice followed by most leading performers, is essentially the blending of two or more existing ones, allowing further scope for crossing the north-south divide. The emergence of the northern tabla player from accompanist to star performer also owes something to Carnatic music, where displays of dazzling virtuosity by the drummer have long been a feature of the performance practice. The move of accompanying performers towards greater equality with the main artist (the one singing or playing the raga) also has much to do with the experience of playing outside the Indian context. Western audiences (and, nowadays, Indian ones too) respond more readily to exciting rhythmic displays than to the more sober and restrained explorations of the raga that nourished earlier generations. At the same time, somewhat paradoxically, the ancient and austere dhrupad style has also found a substantial following in the West, which has certainly helped its revival in India. Despite the rapid changes of recent times, Indian musicians remain fundamentally conservative, viewing their heritage of ragas and talas, their religious beliefs, and the traditional teaching system by which all of these are passed on from guru to disciple (as he or she is tellingly known) as the reason why their art has survived for so long and continues to flourish.