Pariksha SaathiLesson 7 of 10 · Indian Art and Culture
Indian Classical Music: Hindustani and Carnatic Traditions, Ragas, Gharanas and Instruments
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Roots and the great split
Indian music traces its origin to the chanting of the Samaveda and its theory to the Natya Shastra. Matanga's Brihaddeshi is the first text to define the raga, and Sharngadeva's Sangita Ratnakara (13th century) is the last major text shared by north and south. After it the traditions drifted apart: north Indian music absorbed Persian influences in the Sultanate and Mughal courts and became Hindustani music, while the south kept a more devotional, composition-centred path that became Carnatic music. Tradition credits Amir Khusrau, the poet of Alauddin Khalji's court, with forms such as qawwali and tarana.
Swara, raga and tala
The seven notes (sapta swara) are sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni, and the octave is further divided into 22 microtones (shrutis). A raga is a melodic framework defined by its ascending (aroha) and descending (avaroha) scale, its most important note (vadi) and the second most important (samvadi); by number of notes a raga is audava (five), shadava (six) or sampurna (seven). Hindustani ragas are linked to times of day and seasons, such as Malhar for the rains. A tala is a cycle of beats (matras): Teentaal has 16, Jhaptaal 10, Ektaal 12, Rupak 7, Dadra 6 and Keherwa 8, while Adi tala, the commonest Carnatic cycle, has 8. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande grouped Hindustani ragas into 10 thaats, and Venkatamakhin's scheme of 72 melakarta (parent) ragas, from the 17th century, organises Carnatic music.
Hindustani vocal forms
Dhrupad is the oldest surviving form, a grave, devotional style with a long alap on syllables like nom-tom, accompanied by the pakhawaj; Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior patronised it, Tansen of Akbar's court sang it, and the Dagar family preserves it. Dhamar, sung in a 14-beat cycle, is linked with Holi. Khayal, meaning imagination, became the main classical form in the 18th century through Sadarang (Niyamat Khan) at the court of Muhammad Shah Rangila, with a slow bada khayal and a fast chhota khayal. Thumri, a romantic semi-classical form, grew in Lucknow under Wajid Ali Shah; Tappa, from the songs of Punjab's camel drivers, was refined by Shori Miyan; Tarana uses fast rhythmic syllables.
Gharanas
A gharana is a family-and-disciple lineage with its own style. Gwalior is the oldest khayal gharana; Agra is known through Faiyaz Khan; Kirana, founded by Abdul Karim Khan, gave Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal; Patiala gave Bade Ghulam Ali Khan; Jaipur-Atrauli, founded by Alladiya Khan, gave Kesarbai Kerkar, Mallikarjun Mansur and Kishori Amonkar; Mewati gave Pandit Jasraj. In instrumental music the Maihar gharana of Allauddin Khan trained Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Annapurna Devi and Nikhil Banerjee. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar opened the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Lahore in 1901 to teach music to the public.
Carnatic music
Purandara Dasa (16th century, Vijayanagara) is the Pitamaha (grandfather) of Carnatic music; he wrote in Kannada and devised the graded lessons still used, beginning with raga Mayamalavagowla. The kriti, a composition in three parts (pallavi, anupallavi and charanam), was perfected by the Carnatic trinity of the 18th-19th centuries, all born in Thiruvarur: Tyagaraja, who wrote mainly in Telugu and whose Pancharatna kritis are sung at the Tyagaraja Aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru; Muthuswami Dikshitar, who wrote mainly in Sanskrit, including the Navagraha kritis; and Syama Sastri, known for his swarajatis. Other forms are the varnam, padam, javali, tillana and the improvised ragam-tanam-pallavi. Carnatic music is voice-centred, follows a single broad style rather than gharanas, and observes the time-of-day rule less strictly.
Instruments and maestros
The Natya Shastra divides instruments into four classes: tata (stringed, such as sitar, sarod, veena, violin and santoor), sushira (wind, such as bansuri, shehnai and nadaswaram), avanaddha (skin-covered drums, such as tabla, pakhawaj and mridangam) and ghana (solid, struck instruments, such as manjira and jal tarang). Famous pairs are Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan on sitar, Ali Akbar Khan on sarod, Bismillah Khan on shehnai, Hariprasad Chaurasia on flute, Shivkumar Sharma on santoor, Ram Narayan on sarangi, Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain on tabla, Lalgudi Jayaraman on Carnatic violin, Palghat Mani Iyer on mridangam and T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai on nadaswaram. M. S. Subbulakshmi became the first musician to receive the Bharat Ratna, in 1998.
Key facts
- Sangita Ratnakara (Sharngadeva, 13th century) is the last major text common to both traditions; Matanga's Brihaddeshi first defined the raga.
- Tala beats: Teentaal 16, Jhaptaal 10, Ektaal 12, Rupak 7, Dadra 6, Keherwa 8; Carnatic Adi tala 8.
- Raga classification: Bhatkhande's 10 thaats (Hindustani); Venkatamakhin's 72 melakartas (Carnatic, 17th century).
- Dhrupad: oldest Hindustani form, pakhawaj, nom-tom alap; patron Raja Man Singh Tomar; Tansen; Dagar family. Dhamar uses a 14-beat cycle.
- Khayal spread through Sadarang at Muhammad Shah Rangila's court; Thumri grew in Lucknow under Wajid Ali Shah; Tappa was refined by Shori Miyan.
- Gharana-singer pairs: Kirana - Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal; Patiala - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan; Jaipur-Atrauli - Alladiya Khan, Kishori Amonkar; Mewati - Pandit Jasraj; Maihar - Allauddin Khan.
- Carnatic trinity, all born in Thiruvarur: Tyagaraja (Telugu, Pancharatna kritis), Muthuswami Dikshitar (Sanskrit, Navagraha kritis), Syama Sastri (swarajatis); Purandara Dasa is the Pitamaha.
- Four instrument classes: tata (strings: sitar, veena), sushira (wind: bansuri, shehnai), avanaddha (drums: tabla, mridangam), ghana (solid: manjira, jal tarang).
- Maestros: Bismillah Khan - shehnai; Shivkumar Sharma - santoor; Ram Narayan - sarangi; Lalgudi Jayaraman - violin; Palghat Mani Iyer - mridangam; M. S. Subbulakshmi - first musician with the Bharat Ratna (1998).
Quick revision
Sangita Ratnakara (13th century) last shared text; 7 swaras, 22 shrutis; raga = aroha, avaroha, vadi, samvadi; Teentaal 16, Jhaptaal 10, Ektaal 12, Rupak 7; 10 thaats (Bhatkhande), 72 melakartas (Venkatamakhin); dhrupad oldest (pakhawaj, Dagar); khayal (Sadarang); thumri (Lucknow); Gwalior oldest khayal gharana; Purandara Dasa Pitamaha; trinity: Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri; tata, sushira, avanaddha, ghana; MS Subbulakshmi Bharat Ratna 1998.