History of classical Indian music old as the land itself

History of classical Indian music old as the land itself

Kousik Dutta, Jakarta

The classical music of India is one of the oldest unbroken
musical traditions in the world. Its origins go back to the Vedas
(ancient scripts of the Hindus). The term "Indian Classical
Music" refers to two related, but distinct, traditions rooted in
antiquity, both very much alive in India today.

The North Indian style is known as "Hindustani", while the
South Indian tradition is referred to as "Carnatic". Both systems
are fundamentally similar but differ in nomenclature and
performance practice.

The subject of Indian classical music is rich, with its
historical, cultural, aesthetic, theoretical, and performing
facets. The basis for Indian music is sangeet, a combination of
three art forms: Vocal music, instrumental music and dance,
although these three art forms were originally derived from the
single field of stagecraft.

Today these three forms have differentiated into complex and
highly refined individual art forms.

The present system of Indian music is based upon two important
pillars: Raga and Taal. Raga is the melodic form while Taal is
the rhythmic. As a pervasive influence in Indian life, the music
pervades the big and small events of life, from childbirth to
death, religious rites and seasonal festivals.

Originally, not all musical developments were reduced to
writing. To keep their traditional integrity, they were imparted
orally from teacher to pupil -- the Guru-Shishya tradition. In
the past, there used to be a system of Gurukul Ashram where
teachers imparted knowledge to deserving students.

Raga,the soul of classical music

The combination of several notes woven into a composition in a
way which is pleasing to the ear is called a Raga. Each raga
creates an atmosphere that is associated with feelings and
sentiments. Any stray combination of notes cannot be called a
Raga. A performer with sufficient training and knowledge alone
can create the desired emotions through the combination of proper
notes.

Taal, rhythmical groupings of beats

There is a perfect balance in the universe. This balance is
the essence of Taal -- the theory of time measurement. It has
the same principle in Hindustani and Carnatic music, though the
names and styles differ.
Rhythm has three aspects: Taal, Laya and Matra, the smallest
unit of the Taal. Taal is a complete cycle of metrical phrases
composed of a fixed number of beats. There are over 100 Taals,
but only 30 are known and only about 10 to 12 are used today.

The Laya is the tempo, which keeps uniformity of time span and
is divided into slow (vilambit), medium (madhya) and fast (drut).
Taal can be considered to be the very basis or pulse of music.
The responsibility of a classical musician lies in the mode of
his presentation to the listener, in his capacity to make
"perfect" and "common" listeners understand and appreciate
classical music. The classical musician should have zeal as a
missionary in creating the true spirit and essence of classical
music so that he can help in the growth of appreciative
audiences.

Indian musical instruments can be categorized into two main
zones of India, i.e. North Indian and South Indian classical
musical instruments.

The most traditional form of classification of Indian musical
instruments is based upon percussion (tabla, pakhawaj, mridangam
etc), wind (flute, shehnai, etc), string instruments (sitar,
sarod, violin, veena, sarangee, etc). Another category nowadays
consists, of course, of electronic musical instruments.

Music has always been an indispensable part of Indian society.
With changes in society, Indian music too has undergone immense
modifications over the years, but without losing its Indian
piquancy.

Indian influences have started to travel across the world. In
the 1960s, Pandit Ravi Shankar took classical music to foreign
realms and appreciative audiences. He was also the first to
experiment with mixing Western music with Indian classical music
forms to arrive at what is called "fusion".

By its very nature, Indian classical music is melodious and
allows longitudinal unanimity in its music and musical
instruments.

The art of music practiced in India has a special significance
as it has developed from ritualistic music in association with
folk music and other musical expressions of neighboring nations,
developing into its own characteristic art.

Matured through "thought, experience and expression", Indian
classical music is unique in the world.

The writer is a teacher of tabla at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian
Cultural Center in Jakarta.