Scope of Music [Classical/nonclassical]

The scope of music

At present music has many dimensions. Folk music, film music, popular music, light music [Bhajans, ghazzals, Qavvalis etc], regional music [rabindra Sangeet, Bhatiyali, music of northeastern India etc] and last but not the least classical music.

 

Classical and non-classical music:

 

There has been a debate over what classical music is and what non-classical music is. If we take the word meaning, the classical music is that music which is meant for classes and not for the masses. But this meaning does not present a clear picture of classical music. Generally, in the subcontinent, it is said that the music based upon the Raga is classical music. As the Raga is based on a set of rules which are well-defined in the Shastras, the music governed by certain set of rules may be called classical music. Others say that Ragas have a specific ethos of their own which make the music special. It is because of this spatiality of music created by the rendering of Raga, that the Raga music is supposed to be classical and all other music is considered to be non-classical.

 

Matanga's views on classical and non-classical music:

 

Some scholars suggest that the Marga and Desi described by Matanga in his work "Vriddesi" may be considered as classical and non-classical music respectively. Desi: belonging or pertaining to desa or country. It was the art music of the land. This is different from the folk music, which was current amongst the lower strata of society. Whereas marga sangita [music] was in conformity to strict lakshana [science, theory], desi sangita was in conformity to both lakshana and lakshya [practice]. The Vedic music of the present day represents the survival of marga sangita. The art music of the present times represents the cream of desi sangita and signifies the accumulated musical wisdom of centuries. That is why; it does not look fair to ignore the value of Desi Sangeet by denoting it as non-classical. In his subsequent discussion of the evolution of the concept of tala (the umbrella term for rhythmic/metric activity in Indian music), it looks that there has been a significant change in emphasis from early to later Sanskrit treatises: The contrast is striking: structural and suprastructural topics have vanished from the list, and in their place we see a number of concepts designed for the synchronization, control and perpetuation of the cycle, which has now become an implicit assumption of the system. The formal basis of the entire system has shifted from a set of complex modular formal structures to an integrated system designed to facilitate improvisation over a repeated rhythmic cycle. This is essentially the difference between marga and desi and between the prescribed forms of the ritual tradition and the great variety of regional patterns and procedures which began to be codified during the second half of the first millennium. While through most of its history the marga/desi distinction has meant something quite distinct from classical Vis a Vis folk or popular, there are signs that marga/desi has been reinterpreted in this century, semantically moving much closer to classical/non-classical. In a review of recent literature Carol Babiracki found that today "[marga]" sangit is often taken to mean the major, canonical, classical traditions, and desi sangit has come to mean all regional, localized village little traditions." In sum, the classical/non-classical dyad as used in India has a multiple intellectual lineage, incorporating colonial European alongside indigenous Indian modes of thought. Scholars have drawn from both sources evocative and useful meanings for their purposes, though as mentioned above it seems an impossible task to measure their relative importance as progenitors for the twentieth-century classicist discourse. My sense is that in South India, the frequency with which the terms marga and desi are used today in the sense of classical/non-classical is significantly less than in North India. This is a general feeling that there were nothing like classical and non-classical in the music circles before the medieval period. The music of the Durbars of various Navabs developed a special kind of music, full of romance and filled with the compositions which suited to the Navab concerned, created a different kind of music. It was not popular among the masses. In fact there was no access of common person to the Durbars and thus the masses remained far from this "Durbars" music. Later, the musicologists called "Classical" music the above assumption is supported by the book, "Bombay Hindi Film Songs".

The Censor Board considered traditional Indian music to be North Indian classical music, which in fact, was not widely popular, nor was it the music of the masses. According to Naushad Ali, a prominent film music composer, "Classical sangeet [music] has never been the art of the masses. It flourished in the glamorous courts of the Rajas, Maharajas and Nawabs. The common people, who had no access to the great durbars [courts], were never offered the opportunity of listening to classical music. They could not, therefore, acquire an appreciative ear for it. Thus it looks agreeable that the term "classical music" is the creation of modern musicologists as well as eminent artists of music.

 

The Hindustani and Karnatik music:

 

Likewise, the division of Hindustani and Karnataka music was also not visible in the ancient period. It was during the period of great Navabs that the above division cane into existence. As a matter of fact, the Mughal and other invaders who came from west Asia in the medieval era did not know Sanskrit language in which the lyrics of most of musical compositions was rendered. That is why, as they conquered the territory, the music to their liking was developed. As the south India remained unperturbed from this invasions, musicians there maintained the old tradition of Bhatia Sangeet or the devotional music. Clearly, the construction of a classicist discourse earlier this century, envisioning a basic separation of the world of music into classical and non-classical realms (the latter serving as a catch-all for a myriad of diverse traditions), served some vitally important roles. The definition of the venerable South Indian art music tradition known as Karnataka, a term containing semantic resonances of "ancient" and "southern," was updated and augmented, in the English language, as "classical" in a uniquely South Asian way music simultaneously sophisticated, systematic, ancient, and sacred. This definition, fusing European with indigenous Indian concepts, gave focus and impetus to the ultimately successful transplantation of Karnataka music from its former court and temple setting into an urban milieu (primarily the city of Madras/Chennai) where the public concert would become the primary occasion for performance. The classicist discourse came to play a vital role within the nationalist movement, presenting a vision (however mediated) of India's great ancient artistic traditions to contemporary Indians, effectively.

Countering colonial British claims of cultural superiority at a crucial time in the evolving nation's history Partly as a result of this classicist discourse, the Hindustani and Karnataka traditions are today revered as national treasures within India, and recognized and appreciated around the world. Yet we might slightly rephrase John Blacking's memorable "Must the majority be made 'unmusical' so that a few may become more 'musical'?" to ask if, in the process of emphasizing the pure classical-ness of Karnataka music, other forms of (perhaps quite intimately related) musical expression had to be made less so, if something conceptually approaching hermetically sealed spheres of musical practice had to be created in order to maximize the effectiveness of "classical" music within the context of the struggle for independence. In this respect, the dyadic discourse may have incurred costs as well as benefits, leading me to ask how its maintenance into the twenty-first century will serve scholars in their attempts to understand and describe South Indian cultural life. One might argue that the English-language dyad of classical/non-classical has become by 1898 a deeply entrenched, hegemonic, received terminology in South India, a point of departure from which people tend to begin processes of thought and analysis, rather than a carefully considered place of arrival reached after such processes. To the extent that we tend to use phrases like "classical music" without unpacking them or assume an either-or relationship between musical genres, our terminology may be steering us towards certain types of analytical insights and away from others. Specifically, it may inhibit insights with respect to mutual influences or "convection currents" flowing in multiple directions between the multitude of musical expressions (the perceived classical and non-classical) found in South India.

In the discourse which surrounds Karnataka music today in its official organs such as the Journal of the Music Academy of Madras, in newspaper reviews, in formal panel presentations, in informal discussion between rasikas (connoisseurs) a dyadic division of music into classical and non-classical is much in evidence. Classical music is conceived as "of the classes" or "reflective few" (a phrase somewhat ambivalently embraced by Robert Redfield and Milton Singer All the other musical styles falling under the non-classical label are conceived as "of the masses," Redfield's and Singer's "unreflective many."

Before further characterizing what I feel is a dominant trend, I'd like to take note of other currents within the discourse. The hierarchical implications of the classicist paradigm have been revisited, scrutinized, and attenuated by a succession of scholars of both North and South Indian music. Devoting a chapter to "borderlines" in his book Indian Music, B.C. Devavisualizes a continuum of genres "with more or less strict grammar" lying "between the two extremes of gradation." A 1977 paper on "country musicians" and their "city cousins" by Daniel Neuman (published in 1981) attenuates hierarchical implications by rotating the axis of a perceived performance continuum from the vertical to the horizontal Analyzing sociomusical exchange along a continuum from urban to rural, Neuman found the music at the rural or "folk" end to be as cultivated, sophisticated, or reflective as that on the "classical" end. In discussion after the panel at which his paper was presented, remarked that the music of the (rural) Manganiyars of Rajasthan was so close to art music that it was "difficult to make a distinction in other than social ways," and that it shattered his "neat distinctions of folk and classical, urban and rural." To Neuman's comments fellow panelist Nazir Jairazbhoy added: "When I first heard this kind of village music, I had to change all my preconceived notions about village music. It is very highly sophisticated." A report by Stuart Blackburn on an interdisciplinary symposium on South Indian performing arts also raises the issue that what perception we get in the concept of the "classical" is certainly sociological as well as intrinsic or formal: The most heated debate centered on the invidious distinction between 'folk' and 'classical' in the performing arts. Several speakers pointed out interactions, borrowings, and mutual influences between these supposedly separate traditions, although few were able to dispense with these labels altogether. Realizing that some distinction is useful we explored possible criteria for classification by posing a series of questions: Are there formal, intrinsic criteria for differentiating performing arts? Or, should we group them according to public perception of their social status? Further, Carol Babiracki has posited, tellingly, a parallelism between perceived separate genres of music and a very tangible separation of genres of scholarship. She argues that interaction between perceived classical and non-classical musics has been ignored.

Difference of opinions:

 

Different sets of scholars tend to study different musical forms from different perspectives and with different motivations. According to Babiracki,the dichotomy between great and little traditions in musical performance has found its counterpart in a "great-little dichotomy of musical scholarship."

Within the discussion on Karnataka music, there is a widely held belief that the most classical music is that in which the pure, unfettered play of sound is the focus of attention. P. Sambamurthy makes the following statement in his Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians regarding the primacy to be given to the musical element in performance: All musical compositions wherein music is the dominant factor and compositions which are primarily remembered and enjoyed for their musical setting come within the sphere of art music. Art music is also referred to as pure music. As opposed to this is applied music, wherein music is only applied or used for a specific purpose. Religious music, dance music, and operatic music come under applied music. Applied music does not imply that the quality of the music of these compositions is inferior. The term Art music is also sometimes used to signify all musical compositions that do not belong to the sphere of folk music ( any musicians and rasikas specifically caution that attention to the sahitya (text) of a song must be subsidiary to attention to the sounds. Making this point in an exhortative manner is musicologist Sandhyavandanam Srinivasa 28 / 1998 YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC. Rao, here speaking during the 1967 conference of the Madras Music Academy:

In all forms of high class music there should be a minimum of words and a maximum of music . This unfortunate trait of listening to sahitya [text] and trying to get food for literary thought even while listening to art music made the listeners unduly sahitya-conscious ... I appeal to all lovers of art to listen to raga and tala in music primarily and bestow only secondary thought to words while listening to their musical rendering. Examining the texts for their import should be a secondary study In contemporary South Indian, as distinct from North Indian, performance, a corpus of texted devotional compositions [kritis] forms the basis for both vocal and instrumental repertoire. Whether a concert features a vocalist or instrumentalist, rasikas in the audience will be aware of the texts of the compositions. Here it is note-worthy that the basic scale of Karnataka music and the Hindustani music are different, but when we come to folk music, this difference vanishes. The difference is that of language and accents. This difference is more climatic than of scales. That is why; the prominent music composer A. R. Rahman composes the same tune for Hindi as well as Tamil lyrics. Here I think I should present the viewpoint of one of my friends Rakesh Jain, who teaches English language at Lucknow University. This will show what is the general perception about the classical music. According to Rakesh Jain, "The term classical music is an illusive one. However, it simply means a strict compliance of the rules and regulations with regard to production of fine arts including music, literature, etc. Any divergence from these old rules (ragas) may be considered as being a disregard to classical music, but does that mean no new ragas have been "evolved" over a period of time? Orchestra is a form of presentation of notes and if it produces any music in strict compliance of ragas, why can't it be called a piece of classical music? Did any of the rules of classical music prohibit orchestra from playing / presenting of classical music? It is, however, possible some of the musical instruments that we make use of in orchestra were not available at that time and classical musicians did not give them the status of a musical instrument, for example, sitar has been in our country since long but guitar and Congo are inventions of modern times. Notwithstanding, music is music, be it orchestra that is producing it?"# Apparently, those who are not musicians or musicologists and simply appreciate music like Rakesh Jain, hold that the music based on Raga is classical and all other music can be put in some other category. But the point that new Ragas innovated by the finest performers of music of modern times should or should not come in the category of classical music. If our classical music has adapted itself to the new musical instruments and western instruments like guitar, Mandolian, harmonium, and other such examples have become an integral parts of our classical music, then why is it not possible to accept the popular music of the present era as classical music. All music which is composed on the basis of a set of recognised rules and is pleasant may by all means be called the classical music. There is no harm in it. This way, only we will expand the scope of our classical music and in the long run, it would benefit the world of our music. On the basis of the above study, it can be concluded that all music which is governed by a set of rules laid down by eminent artists and musicologists, supported by cultural traditions and recognised by musicians as well as by Rasikas or the learned appreciaters of music is classical music. It may or may not be based upon Ragas. As before the advent of Ragas themselves, the Shastra had existed and if hypothetically we assume that Ragas give way to another musical form in future, the Shastra will still remain. Hence, it is the Shastra, [theory] and not Raga or for that matter any singing form which is important. Thus any music based on Shastra, which abides by the rules set by shastra, is classical music.

 

Literature and music

Most of the vocal musical forms are woven around some poem or words arranged in meters giving a rhyming touch, thus giving a rhythmic-meter on which the musical notes or Swaras are decorated creating the melody. Some vocal musical forms are based upon meaningless words like Taranas. Although some musicians insist upon that Taranas have some meaningful inferences. Famous Tarana rendered by Ustad Ameerkhan Sahib composed in Raga Darbari Kanhada, is based upon some Soofi poetry. Likewise, some times, Sanskrit words are also inserted in Tarana. But broadly speaking, Taranas have no wordily meaning. They may have some abstract inferences, but the literature of Taranas is more or less based on meaningless words.

Taranas apart, vocal music is based upon a piece of literature. All vocal forms need words to be set in a musical pattern. Thus the vocal musical compositions have two components: 1. Dhatu [literature], and 2. Matu [melody]. That is why; it is said that music and literature have interdependence. In ancient times, when the writing scripts had not been developed, all literature had been based on poetry. These poetic works were sung some times by specifictrained singers and some times by masses. This way the literary works of great importance, were memorised by various persons and were orally transferred to the next generation. This transfer of literature and music from one generation to another, was called the oral tradition. Great epics like odyssey of Homer, Ramayana of Valmeeki, Mahabharata of Vyaas, were created in poetical forms so that they could be sung. The word lyric was derived from Greek musical instrument lyre, which was accompanied while these literary works were sung. In the Middle Ages also this trend continued. Literature used to be created in such a way that people could sing the same. Barah mMasa of Mallik Mohammed Jaysi, Heer Ranjha of Vaarik Shah etc are some of these examples. Soofi romanticist stories like "Laila Majnu" have been and are still sung by folk musicians of Indian as well as Pakistani side of Punjab. Movies have been made on the stories of Heer and Ranjha, Laila Majnu, etc. this shows that poetry when composed in music, attains more power. Thus the relation of literature and music is very old. From the Vedic period, till date, literature has been an important part of music. Bharata clarified it in the Natyashastra that music plays a very significant role in "Rasa Nishpatti" that is, creating Rasa or pleasure in the minds of Rasikas or audience.

This relation of music and literature was so strong that Geeta which was defined as melody in Sangeet Ratnakar was adapted in literature also. Today, many poets compose these geetas and Prageetas. In Urdu and Persian languages, most of the classics are written in poetic form or Shayiri. Ghazals of Ghalib or Meer Taki Meer are popular amongst the singers as well as listeners of so-called light-music till date. Many folk-theatrical forms like Nautanki of Uttarpradesh, Saang of Haryana, and Karyala of Himachalpradesh etc are filled with songs which are sung by specialist musicians. In Parsi theatre, dialogues were written in poetry so that they were easily remembered and there were many songs in the plays based on the Parsi theatre.

To wind up, it can be said beyond doubts whatsoever, that the fine arts , music and literature, have been intermingled. Music is supposed to enhance the effect of literature and literature provides the basis for the compositions of vocal forms of music. Hence, both of these arts are interdependent.

There has been a long debate amongst the musicians over the question whether the words [Matu] or the musical notes [Dhatu] is more important in a musical composition. Although in the lighter forms of music say, Bhajans, Ghazals etc, the words are more important yet in the music which is based upon the Raga, words do not have much significance. Then comes instrumental music. One may call it the music without words. But the Karnataka style of music may be an exception. In Karnataka music, it is the vocal forms like Kritis etc, which are played on the musical instruments too.

In contemporary South Indian, as distinct from North Indian, performance, a corpus of texted devotional compositions [kritis] forms the basis for both vocal and instrumental repertoire. Whether a concert features a vocalist or instrumentalist, rasikas in the audience will be aware of the texts of the compositions. What is being argued by Srinivasa Rao is not that instrumental concerts are superior to vocal concerts or that music without words is superior to music with words, but that the true initiate-connoisseur focuses more on the music than on the text. We can see the currency of this feeling among performing musicians as well, in statements by stalwarts such as the eminent vocalist Musiri Subramania Ayyar that listeners shouldn't "go overboard for sahitya" and violinist D. Venkataswamy Naidu that "It is true that sahitya in Karnataka music has a minor role which however cannot be said to be negligible"

A strong emphasis on the importance of direct contemplation of sound is certainly not at all surprising in the South Asian context, given the antiquity of the concept of nada and the centrality of sacred sound in the practice of yoga Further, this sentiment was certainly reinforced during the colonial period by the elevation of instrumental music in the nineteenth-century European imagination. At the same time, an irony presents itself when we consider this stream of thought alongside another equally venerable and valued one, in which Karnataka music is celebrated as a corpus of sacred sung poetry. As hymns to Hindu deities, the texts of the ubiquitous concert genre kriti are by definition of a devotional nature, and major composers of the tradition such as Tyagaraja have been canonized as saints. The felt need to downplay the bhakti (devotional) Hindu texts in concert performance creates what we might call a cognitive dissonance for some observers, such as Raghava R. Menon, who suggests that even in the Karnataka school where a great deal is made of the saintliness of its composers technical virtuosity is the chief preoccupation of the qualified student. The sad, despairing call of Tyagaraja, asking to be quenched of his thirst for [the Hindu deity] Rama becomes a frond of leaping Solemnity, syncopations and cross rhythms, masses of intricate Gamakas [ornaments] and exploding Arpeggios . It would seem that Hinduism did not want to use music without first sanitising it, making it all into Raga and Tala Vidya [knowledge of melody and rhythm] and offering it through the complex drill and format of the performance. So that even where a tradition almost exclusively of singing saints exists as in the Karnatak school where not a whisper of an earthly or a profane concern is allowed to enter music, it becomes difficult to experience the piety and the vision of Tyagaraja without having to fight your way through thickets of Swaraprastharas [manipulation of tones], through whole gaggles of grace and trills, through too much obscuring skill and craftsmanship. So that you have a situation in which even after the most exalted concert, the listener gets Bhakti only at second hand, slightly shopworn and tried on by too many customers

The diversity of opinion on this particular issue speaks to the complexity of the discourse on Karnataka music and the multiplicity of voices that have an interest in it. While with equal wit and passion Menon advocates close attention to the texts of Tyagaraja's kritis, many rasikas would clearly answer him that such attention properly moves the experience from the realm of classical concert music (kriti) to the category of kirtana or bhajana, devotional group singing. An implicit tension between substreams of the discourse also reflects, I think, the resituating of Karnataka music performance over the last century and the resultant synthesis of formerly separate performance traditions.

 

Vocal and instrumental music:

 

But twentieth century witnessed a drastic change as far as the instrumental music is concerned. Instrumental music or music without words, as some of us may call it, has got more and more prominent in the last century and this march is still continuing. Not a single factor can be held responsible for it. There are many aspects which led to this forward march of the instrumental music. Science and technology is one of them which will be discussed later. Here we would like to impress upon the fact that instrumental music has got an edge over the vocal music not only in the subcontinent but all over the globe. It has been a universal phenomenon. It is the tune [melody and harmony] which has got importance over the words. Even in the Raga music, the vocalists do not bother the meaning of the words they are singing. Neither does the Rasikas [audience] trouble their brains to look upon the meanings of the words sung by the vocalists. Their only preference looks to be the pleasant patterns of notes of the sweetest melodic value. In this era of the globalization, artists have to give their performances round the world. They have to encounter an audience which is multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. Therefore, words of one language may not be understood by the audience speaking a different language. That is why, in the performances beyond the subcontinent, instrumental music is getting popular.

In fact the scope of music is so intricate that it is very difficult to sum it up. We have seen that the classical music has so many dimensions. Film music, folk music, regional music, devotional music, tribal music etc are many kinds of musical permutations and combinations. Then these days, Indipop is also getting very popular. Pop music is the short form for the popular music. Now-a-days, so many experiments are being done on musical compositions and music itself that it has been very difficult to ascertain the scope of music. With the advent of the satellite channel of televisions and spreading of cable-TV-network, a kind of cultural invasion is being done upon us. Everybody in the subcontinent is getting influenced by this cultural invasion of the west. Indian subcontinent, having been affected by the colonial regime for hundreds of years, is more prone to such invasion. We in South Asia, have a general inclination towards the western culture. That is why; we have adapted many good as well as bad facets of the western culture. These days, our music is also getting affected by this invasion. We are going away from our own folk traditions and indiscriminately copying the west. Our rich folk music is in danger thanks to the globalization. On our festivals, disco music is played instead of the traditional music. Masses are forgetting the sweet melodies which for centuries echoed in our folk tradition. Music of the masses is fast-changing let alone the music for the classes that is the classical music. In the field of the classical music also, many new experiments have been taken up. These include the fusion of the Indian and the western music, orchestration, forming new musical groups to perform universally etc. these experiments has expanded the scope of our music. We can say that the music of the subcontinent has become the music of the world. Our artists are going in all parts of the world to give a performance. We are exchanging cultural tradition within ourselves through SAARC [south Asian association for regional cooperation] cultural exchange programme. In all, music-scenario in the subcontinent is fast-changing. Some of these changes are in the right direction. Some may be considered not so good. But it is a fact that we have to recognize these changes. We cannot deny them. That is why, it would be better for us to adapt these changes to the betterment of our music.

Voice Over

Those who are the masters of a pleasing voice, those who are capable of hypnotizing the listeners with their tonal strength, have the privilege to offer their voice overs to the countless videos as well as other features. Voice dubbing as well as voice overs are quite familiar with the recording Industry. In Mass Communication as well as the journalism courses, this art has been recognized. For an example of voice over, Watch this video.

World Peace

The source:

UNI

Redefining world peace on World Music Day

Kolkata:

 

World Music Day should be celebrated every day of the year and not just on one single day, so we can redefine world peace in a much simpler and harmonious note, say Kolkata's musicians in unison.

Almost every singer, musician and dancer- everyone related to the World of Music- had the same opinion and message to offer on the occasion of World Music Day.

Incidentally, World Music Day was a festival that first came to be celebrated in France in 1982 as the Fête de la Musique. It was celebrated every year on the summer solstice. For more news, analysis click here>>

The idea was conceived by the French Minister of Culture Jack Lang in 1981. Today it has spread to Belgium, Britain, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, China, India, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan and many other countries.

In this connection, santoor maestro Tarun Bhattacharya said, ''If we all started our day with music, by simply listening to the strings of Pandit Ravi Shankar or Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, we would never have ill feelings in our mind. Then we can all become musical and would be able to channelise the power of music to find world peace.''

Another aspect that the santoor maestro talked about was that classical music today needs a better packaging. It should be sufficiently highlighted before the new generation so that they will be able to accept it more easily, he said.

He also urged the media to promote Indian classical music among the youth in our own country ''when there is such a good audience for it in other nations.'' Echoing his thoughts, renowned classical dancer Mamata Sankar stressed on the proper utilisation of the power of music which can make people laugh, cry, heal or hurt.

''Music should be such that it touches the soul. World Music Day is a day when we celebrate the union and meeting of different kinds of music from all over the world,'' she said.

''If we can come together in music, why then do we still fight amongst ourselves? she mused, while adding, ''Keeping my own culture and its heritage and classical music in mind I can still say that we need to promote world music and let the chords meet, because it has the capacity to bind people together.'' The term World music includes traditional or folk music or even root music, played by indigenous musicians.

In musical terms, ''world music'' can be roughly defined as music which uses distinctive ethnic scales, modes and musical inflections, and which is usually performed on or accompanied by distinctive traditional ethnic instruments, such as the kora (West African lute), the steel drum, the sitar or the didgeridoo.

Speaking on the essence of the day, famous tabla player Bickram Ghosh said, ''This is a day which brings musicians and music lovers from all over the world together to celebrate the union of so many kinds of music. This in itself has the capacity of redefining world peace.''

Another young percussionist and music composer Abhishek Basu said, for him World Music means that it should have a touch of Indian classical music, since Indian classical music has the power to open one's heart and free one's mind and communicate in a manner that no other language ever could.

World Music is, most generally, all the music in the world. More specifically, the term is currently used to classify the many genres of non-Western music, which were previously described as ''folk music'' or ''ethnic music''. However, ''world music'' does not have to mean traditional folk music, it may refer to the indigenous classical forms of various regions of the world, and to modern, cutting edge pop music styles as well. Succinctly, it can be described as ''someone else's local music''.

Examples of popular forms of World Music include the various forms of non-European classical music life Japanese Koto music, Hindustani Raga music, Tibetan chants, eastern European folk music and the many forms of folk and tribal music of West Asia, Africa, Asia- especially India and Pakistan - Oceania and Central and South America. In this connection, mention may be made of Pandit Ravi Shankar of India and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan of Pakistan.

Yet another famous Indian classical dancer Aloka Nanda Roy threw light on the universal character of music. She said, ''Music cannot be divided by geographical boundaries or caste or religion. Music is the language of brotherhood and peace, of the delicate emotions of love and warmth.'' ''Nothing can bring unity and harmony like music and dance.

This creative art has the power to bind people of all nations into one great brotherhood,'' she iterated. In similar fashion another renowned tabla player Subroto Bhattacharya said, ''Music can alone unite this world.'' Reputed classical singer Jojo Mukherjee appreciated the efforts of those who have tried to promote this day so that musicians, singers and dancers from all nations can come together and enrich the world of music.

However, musicians and curators of music have now come to dislike the term ''world music''

An interview with Shubha Mudgal

Source of the interview

 

In Her Own Voice: Vocal Virtuoso Shubha Mudgal

Interviewed by Shikha Malaviya

 

The recital hall at the University of Minnesota is packed on this breezy Fall day, reverberating with the heat of many bodies, squashed together in narrow seats, and the coughs and sputters of seasonal change. In our hands, a baby pink brochure promises us a lecture/demonstration by one of India's finest young vocalists. And in our hearts, a sweet slow ache for a slice of the ancient and modern, the near and far; a desire for the sounds of India, the rumbles of her ancient soul. "She will not be singing any pop music," I hear someone whisper. I smile. Pop Music is how I had found her, her full-bodied voice tucked in the middle of a folksy rock song titled Dhoom Pichuk by the Indian pop group Euphoria. I recall the first time I hear her voice, a commingling of rasa and bhakti, 'hey manjhi re…,' circling then sweeping my ears and heart. My mind spills forth a collage of all of her songs that I have ever heard, from the haunting Toona Song in the film Kamasutra to the fast-paced rhythm of Ali More Angana that my daughter and I often danced to. And then a glimpse of her dancing in the rain, belting out the hard-rocking Ab Ke Sawan. I was ready to hear her: rebel of the raga, saint of swaras. The hall suddenly falls silent as we stretch our necks, straining for that first glimpse of vocal virtuoso Shubha Mudgal.

The versatile singer that we know today was strong and spirited from the start. Born in Allahabad, in 1959, to a family that embraced literature as well as Indian and western music, Shubha grew up in an artistic atmosphere of variety and innovation. As a young girl learning Kathak in Allahabad, she replied to a dance examiner's routine query of "Aap kis gharaane ka naachti hain (what gharana (house) do you dance from?)" with the retort "Hum apne gharaane ka naachti hain (I dance from my own gharana)". That attitude would carry her through the world of Indian classical music, giving her gurus as diverse as Ram Ashray Jha, Vinay Chandra Maudgalya, Vasant Thakkar, Naina Devi, Jitendra Abhisheki, and most notabely, Kumar Gandharva, whose eclectic approach resounds in Shubha's performances, especially renditions of Bhakti and Sufi poetry. On this particular day, she is singing raga Pooriya Dhanashri, Aaja Na Din Dooba, one of my favorite Kumar Gandharva renditions. I gasp in amazement as I hear the same inflections, the exact same pauses, knowing that he lives through her.

As the lec-dem comes to an end, we all stand and clap. With strains of raga Pooriya Danashri still buzzing in my ears, I walk towards Shubhaji as she packs her tanpura, a black sleek wooden one minus a tumba, which she covers gently, as if putting a winter coat on a small child. I approach India's music diva, quietly and nervously. Shubha Mudgal stands in front of me, with her kohl-lined eyes and trademark tika bindi. Her face is innocent and childlike, much smaller and younger than the images on TV or in magazines. And then she smiles. My nervousness melts as I bring both of my hands into a namaskar. We set a time to meet the following day.

Shubhaji and I are seated on a grayish blue velvet sofa, in the home of a music-loving gujarati family in Minnesota. She is dressed in an understated cream salwar kameez and gold earrings. She teasingly asks the daughter of the house, 'Have you finished your homework?' Shubhaji greets me warmly, thanking me for coming. At once I am at ease, so much so, that an hour passes by like a minute. In sixty minutes, we dive into the world of Shastriya Sangeet, from gharanas to gurus. In a voice so soft that I sometimes have to strain my ears, Shubhaji candidly talks about her life as a musician, revealing a self that is passionate, dedicated, and determined.

Monsoon Magazine: How has having different teachers with different styles developed your outlook and meaning of music?

Shubha Mudgal: You know, in a way, with traditional master-disciple/guru-shishya learning, it's not very common to change teachers. In fact, I haven't really changed teachers. It has been possible for me to learn from several people because almost all the people I learned from had an eclectic approach themselves. My first teacher, Pandit Ram Ashray Jha, in a recent conversation with a certain music firm in the United States said, "Maine bahattar guru kiye the (I learnt from 72 gurus)" Normally, saying this would be considered quite blasphemous. But I think what he meant was that even though he physically didn't learn from 72 people, he took and adapted things from them to formulate his own style. I think that is the best part of learning from different people. Each one has focused on a certain aspect of music. And these aspects I learn from all of them. It becomes far easier for me to become open about gharanas, to follow and emulate their ideals, and to see how one can actually borrow from different styles, forms, gharanas and enrich one's own experience.

It is a little difficult to read about yourself in an article on classical music and have everybody labeled Gwalior or Agra or Jaipur and have yourself labeled as eclectic. But at the same time, it has given me an openness of outlook, which I value very greatly.

MM: I know this is a vague question, but what does music mean to you? How does one make a living as a 'commercial' musician and be true to the inner, more spiritual aspects of music at the same time?

SM: It's like life. You decide that you want to be honest and have a certain integrity about your work. And yet you are human and you fail at certain times. Sometimes deliberately, but mainly because it is human to err. Similarly with music, I try--and I am sure that every musician shares this sentiment-- is that one tries to be as honest as possible. There are times when you comprise, willingly, and sometimes you are forced to compromise. There is no doubting the passion and the obsession and the love for music that I, like so many music lovers, have. I mean, it's like a compulsion. I don't do music because that's the only thing that can earn me a livelihood. It also happens to be my profession. But even if it didn't earn me money or fame or concert tours to the United States, I'd still be doing that, which I have done. When one learnt music, it was because one felt compelled to learn. Perhaps one of the greatest things that you learn from music is a sense of humility. When you see other people who perform, you realize this, not just from maestros, but from a child as well.

MM: And what about spirituality and music? Could you shed a little more light on the connection between the two and also tell us a little bit about your own research?

What I am trying to do in my research is see how bhakti sahitya (devotional literature) can guide one's music: Is there a way of feeling saguna (a God with more physical properties)? And is there a way of feeling nirguna (a God that is abstract)? What are those differences? Can one at any point sing both in the same fashion? Because I feel that a lot of times, and this may surprise you, that one tends to mystify everything. Certainly the spirituality and grandeur of music is there, but that doesn't mean we keep harping about that. Today I may sing words, which are connected with a religious ritual, even though I'm not a very ritualistic person. It's only recently that I have started some pooja rituals. If bhakti (devotion) is a certain surrender, a certain focus and concentration on a particular subject, then even the act of trying to hit the correct note is an act of worship. If this is true, then we have to think about sahitya. How is it that so many of these medieval devotional texts (sometimes very erotic also) pervade, and are actually the most singable?

MM: And also the most reachable. It touches everybody.

SM: Yes. Its somehow seems to fit so perfectly. There are concerns and issue that I want to write about. For example, classical music has never been a form of protest. Poetry has. Literature has. But not Indian classical music. (In this vein) there are many issues that I would like to address-to not just put words to a melodic scheme, but to also write my own words. If the words truly reflect who I am, then it doesn't sound like a khayal. If I try to bring them into Braj and Avadhi (Hindi dialects), then I sound 500 years old. These are concerns that have drawn me towards literature, as well as a natural desire to look up sahitya and put words to music, and to see for myself, how the bhakti tradition has emphasized music, especially the Vaishnava (Lord Krishna) cult. In this cult, they say there are only two kinds of seva, bhog seva in which you offer something, as in money or food, and then there is raga seva, which is an offering of music. I think the idea of raga seva is wonderful.

MM: Your research must have inspired you to compose and write a lot?

SM: Yes, the ancient poetry that I've read has compelled me to compose. A lot of what I sing is from the texts that I have been studying. The words are from say, a Vaishnava text, and the tune that it's sung in, is my own. I guess what I haven't really done is to announce at every concert that this composition is mine. Because in a way it isn't, and yet it is. If I announce its mine, I feel that very often people would say 'oh, it's hers. Forget it.' Because we like to think that the older, more antique a thing is, the better it is. In fact, I've received reviews saying 'Shubha has a great stock of old traditional compositions,' and they don't know that it was composed, for lack of a better word, in 1996 or 1997 or 1998 or even in 1999. I guess it just goes to show that we have pre-conceived notions, about what a bhajan is or what makes a composition. If I were to say 'this song was written by Surdas and rendered in my own style', people would say 'you can't sing it that way.'

MM: This brings me to the next question. Through your so-called 'eclectic' style, one could say that you are redefining Indian Classical music and opening up a dialogue on what exactly music is. Your comments?

SM: I think the possibility has always existed. Just take a look at the different kinds of influences that have crept into Indian classical music. If you look at thumri dadra, Naina Devi used to say that the quwwalli influences it. In a quwwalli, you start the composition in fourteen beats and then the refrain towards the end goes into an eight beat cycle. That is also what we do in a thumri. Or for example, in haveli sangeet, we have the same situation present. There has obviously been borrowing from various styles. I think the nature of the music is such that it has always allowed adaptation from different influences and sources. It's just that we fail to acknowledge them. Or we decide to say, 'no, this is pure. It is untouched.' I don't think it is possible to be truly original in that sense, because somebody somewhere has already tried it. But yes, one should allow their artistic urges and compulsions to come through-I mean if you're a musician, how can you say, 'this one is from devotional poetry, so I'm not going to sing it.' I've studied khayal and thumri. But if I like Vaishnava poets, why can't I bring that into my music? Its been done before and it will continue. As long as the basic nature of the poetry and style is not really challenged-and if it is challenged, you are obviously making a place for a new adaptation. Perhaps in my lifetime nothing will happen. Or someone else will pick up on a thread many years later. I think it is necessary to be able to study within a discipline and yet try different things. You shouldn't have to be held captive. At least that's my feeling. But I may be completely wrong.

MM: I feel you're absolutely right. Maybe that's why there will always be critics that say 'she doesn't have a gharana.' I think you have shaken up the Indian music world and that you have given people something to think about.

SM: I think I have just followed what has already happened. It's not just me who has learned from several gurus. If you look at the life sketches of artists living today and gone by, they have been criss-crossing between the gharanas for ages.

MM: So why has there been so much attention focused on you?

SM: I don't know, frankly. I really have no idea. I think the only thing that I have done, although personally I feel that even that is not new, is my willingness and desire to work with different forms. Instrumentalists have had parallel careers in the film world and the world of classical music, like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, etc., in which they have still retained their reputation as maestros of the classical music world. But classical vocalists have not really ventured into the Indian film world to that extent. Of course we have some, like Parveenji (Sultana), Kishori Amonkar, and Shobhaji (Gurtu). However, I think I've been unabashed about these things. I feel that I'm first a student of voice rather than a student of only khayal or only thumri. I feel its necessary for me to try. I have an imperfect voice, you know. My voice has many limitations. As other voices do. Mine perhaps more limited than others. And this is not an attempt just to sound good, you know, or humble. But the fact is that I have a flawed voice. I want to know how to either overcome those limitations, or to see how with those limitations-it's like being born with a round face. There's little you can do about it, you know---you learn to be happy with what you have and work around the limitations and use what you have to the best advantage. I want to see how I can use my voice, with all its limitations and imperfections-can I adapt it to other styles? For me it's the study of voice. But very often I am asked insulting questions like, 'Did you do it for the money?' or 'Did you do it for the fame?' These are questions that would insult any artist's sense of integrity.

MM: That is ridiculous and sad. If an artist makes a significant achievement, they should be appreciated, not questioned.

SM: You know, one of the prerequisites of being a classical musician is that you must dress a certain way or talk in a certain way. We are all contemporary people. There is no need to hide from that fact. We must take pride in being modern people.

MM: Speaking of modern and ancient, one of the things that you've achieved as an artist is a cross-generational audience.

SM: Yes, that is a positive way of looking at this. Young people do come to my concerts, although they may be confused about what I am going to sing. Is she going to sing Ali More Angana or Ab Ke Sawan? Its great fun though, to have people of all kinds appreciate my music.

MM: Yes, it's wonderful. In fact, it makes me feel that your singing in different areas has also created more interest in Indian classical music among younger people.

SM: Well, I must confess, that there was no such noble motive. I just felt that recording technology was very special and needed to be studied carefully. Singing to a track without having live musicians has a challenge of its own, and I needed to see whether I could do that. So my motives (to record songs in various styles) were entirely selfish, I have to admit.

But yes, I do feel very good about the fact that in India (its too early to say anything about the audience here, in the US), I get kids, even six and eight year olds, who attend my classical music concerts and sit quietly. I hesitate to say these things, especially in interviews, because it almost sounds arrogant (but then (laughing) so what). These children do not ask for the popular music. They sit with sketch books, sketching quietly while I sing. After the show is over, these children come up to me for autographs, and I ask them, 'Were you disappointed that I didn't sing Ab Ke Sawan?', and they say no.

MM: I wanted to ask you a little more about your work as a composer. I have not seen too many women composers in the Indian music scene. Why do you think that is?

SM: It's not the custom, especially in Indian classical music, to acknowledge the composer. Normally the composer's pseudonym is acknowledged in the composition. I don't use a pseudonym, because I don't write the poetry that I sing. But, for example, my guru, Ram Ashrey Jha ji, uses the pen name Ramrang. So if you hear a composition done by Ramrang, and you're a musician, you know it's him. Similarly, there's Sadarang, Adarang, etc. But in my experience, all musicians compose for themselves. There are women composers like Kishori Amonkar and Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar. But for some reason, announcing compositions is just not a part of concert practice.

It does seem surprising that there are very few woman composers that one can turn back to, but at the same time, I feel that music is beyond the issue of gender. Even men, who have written, have always taken up a feminine voice to write. Compositions, whether made by males or females, have always been addressed in the feminine. In the end, it really doesn't matter who's composing, as long as the musical statement is made.

MM: It was a wonderful surprise to see your personal presence on the web, through your website:Shubha Mudgal. Can you tell us why you started it and what you hope to achieve with it?

SM: I found that the web was a wonderful way of communicating (in the area of Indian music) but largely used by recording labels to advertise their wares. Or you have sites put up by fans/followers/friends with a photograph and some information, or perhaps a concert schedule. But there was no interaction. I mean, why would you want to visit a music site just to download a picture of an artist? The web seemed like a wonderful opportunity to be able to have an interactive dialogue with music lovers. I think that there is a great need for that, to have a place where people and musicians could ask questions: a democratic space not governed by some group or a recording label, which gives you answers not from a text book, but from personal experience. I also felt as a musician, that it was necessary to articulate this divide between the performer and the theorist, to start discussing things in a simple manner--not too esoteric or academic. It has been a struggle to maintain it though. As an individual, there is so much time and money that one can devote to it, because I am a musician first. And yet I feel that I need to do this too. I guess, unless it's a collective effort now, it's going to be difficult for me to maintain.

Our conversation ends with a discussion of what type of music Shubha favors. "I am keen on listening to all kinds of music," she shares. Although Indian classical music is the most dominant form of music in her life, Shubha Mudgal strives to bring other sounds into her world. And ours.

Come dusk and Shubhaji and her two-man troupe, tabla player Aneesh Pradhan and harmonium player Sudheer Nayak, are seated on a maroon carpet, bathed in a halo of yellow light and fresh flowers. Soon this magic carpet takes off, lifting us, the audience, through flights of musical fancy, making us never want to come down.

The little Einsteins

Though the following entry is not related to music, still I am posting the same on my blog.

Internet is a tool to either be used positively or negatively. These days, especially, the children are becoming more and more intoxicated to it. Keeping this in view, I have created a list on the net, which will strengthen the positive attitude of the youngsters.

This Group is aimed at searching and sharing Talents, Ideas, Innovations etc amongst the school-going adolescents. The school-going kids who wish to join
such forum as this one, should keep in mind that the children are the Future
of the Nation. Their Unique and Positive Ideas can make world a Heaven.Join this group.

Music For A Cause

I agree that "music is the universal language". Regardless of geographical location, social status and personal convictions, music has a way of bridging gaps and bringing people together. One group is proving that this is true as they tour the world and share their music while spreading the message of unity in diversity.

Roads to You Tour History

The Roads to You Tour was founded by an Arab musician/composer named Zade Dirani. Zade was in the US when the September 11 attacks happened. He was supposed to give a house concert in Maine, which was postponed due to the events that transpired that day. This tragedy struck a desire in him to touch as many people as possible through his music. Zade later on decided to bring his house concert to many different venues. His efforts continued for three years, attracting supporters along the way.

It was in 2004 when Zade and a friend, while hiking, discussed the roles of musicians and how they can contribute on a global level. They pondered how musicians can merge leadership with music and spread the message of unity and peace. This became the foundation of The Roads to You Tour.

About The Roads to You Tour

The Roads to You Tour joins together 45 young musicians and leaders from different parts of the globe. These musicians perform together and tour different cities in the hopes of showing the world that despite our differences, we are all connected. Musicians are chosen not only for their musical ability but also for their leadership. The music they perform are composed by Zade and other international composers.

Their goal is to tour the world with a different group of musicians each year. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss issues with fellow musicians and in the process build friendships and gain a better understanding of each other's culture. The musicians who participated will become a part of the International Musicians Assembly. At the end of the tour, each musician will be asked to give presentations in their own communties, sharing what they have learned through their experience. Musicians will also be able to keep in touch with fellow musicians through email and newsletters even after the tour has ended.

Educational Workshops

Aside from connecting with other musicians and with the audience through music, members of the International Musicians Assembly may also give presentations and workshops for schools and local communities. These workshops lasts from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the target audience.

Musicians Who Participated

Among the musicians who participated are:

 Argentina: Ignacio Long - Bass

 Canada: Andrew Beer - Violin

 England: Ben Powell - Violin

 France: Fabrizio Mazzetta - Cello

 Greece: Anastassia Zachariadou - Flute

 Israel: Uri Sharlin - Accordion

 Korea: Daniel Hanul Lee-Violin

 Lebanon: Joe Namy - Percussion

 Palestine: Tareq Abboushi – Bouzouk

Music is an art which has the potentials to bring the world closer and together. The negative expressions like the terrorism, the separatism, the extremism etc can easily be curved through the music tenderness. But before going through all these aspects, let us first study the great Indian culture, which is a perfect example of 'the unity in diversity'.

India, the great civilization:

India, also known as Bharat, is a big country. Her Civilisation is 5000 years old. She has given birth to the world's most important religions. The Hinduism, the Jainism, the Buddhism, the Sikhism and many other religions with many philosophical interpretations have originated from this land of wisdom. She provided refuge to other leading religions. People of many races have come to India and settled here. She absorbed them all into her blood and fraternised them as her children. Unity and synthesis are the embodiments of Indian culture.

Physical Diversity and Unity:

India is a vast country extending from the Himalayas in the North to Kanyakumari in the South. The Himalayas separate her from the rest of Asia. The Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean make her a peninsula. We find endless diversity in the Indian Subcontinent from the physical point of view. There are wide differences in its climate, temperature, rainfall, soil, agriculture, flora and fauna etc., yet the fact that Indian economy has been primarily agricultural led to the development of common characteristics and common outlook. Today India is divided into 28 States and 6 Union Territories. Her population, according to 2001 census, stood at 1,027,015,247. The States of India are divided on the basis of the languages spoken by the people. India has been often described as a multicultural, multilingual, multireligious and multifaceted, pluralistic society. Her pre-history tells us about the Harappan people who lived in the Indus River areas prior to the coming of the Aryans. The Vedas speak about the Aryans and their spread in the Indo-Gangetic regions. The Sangam classics bear testimony to a well developed culture among the Tamils, even during the pre-Christian Era, in the extreme south of India. Apart from these early settlers, the Persians entered India in the North West. The Greeks, the Sakas, the Huns, and the Kushans followed them. The Arabs, the Turks, the Mongols and the Mughals came to India during the medieval times. These people belonged to many races. The Europeans, such as the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English, came in the modern period. Excepting the Europeans, all others have been absorbed into the stream of Indian life. It is due to this fact that many consider India as an ethnological museum of many races. Indian society is a multi-racial nation.

India's fundamental unity rests upon her peculiar type of culture. There is no single character or aspect that can be defined as culture. Culture is a product of a corporate civil society. It is expressed through language, literature, religion, philosophy, customs, traditions, beliefs, art and architecture. Thus culture is a complex of many strands of varying importance and vitality. India has achieved cultural unity by fusion of many cultures. She has assimilated the good qualities from all cultures. She has arrived at a synthesis. Her adjustability, accommodation and spirit of tolerance enable Indian culture survive several vicissitudes. Various cultural groups live side by side in India. This has made Indian society a multicultural society.    

As I have maintained throughout this discourse, Indian Subcontinent is a single entity as far as the culture and arts are concerned. If we could free our minds from the narrow political segmentations for a while, we all are able to feel this fact that the whole South Asian region bears the same traditions, adores the same culture, expresses the same emotions and feels the same sentiment of brotherhood and affection. In fact, before these political divisions, (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, Bhutan), there was only one entity – the India, which has been referred to as 'Saptsindhu', 'Aaryavrata', 'Panchnad' etc. All other political entities of the Indian Subcontinent have originated from the one great territory. In the books of the ancient history, these smaller political entities have no references. What I mean to say that the entities other than India have come into existence a very long time after India had been culturally evolved. Therefore, whatsoever may be the political considerations, whatsoever may be the modern segments of nationality, religion, and all other dividing factors, the fact is that all the region of south Asia as well as the South-East Asia, had been the part of India, one or the other time. When I say this, I do not wish to hurt anybody. I just wish to establish that in the whole of the Indian Subcontinent, more or less the same culture and civilization prevail.

Culture and arts May help in the reunion of the Subcontinent:

In a statement, in 2002, India's then Home Minister, L. K. Advani spoke of the possibility of the reunification of India and Pakistan. Far-fetched as that might appear at the present time, many Indian netizens reacted with gushing enthusiasm and dreamy excitement. The possibilities of greater sports contacts, cultural and scientific exchanges, expanded trade, reduced expenditures on the military, greater focus and attention on socio-economic development, optimal use of common resources, the possibilities of poverty elimination and more human equity, and above all a united front against the former colonial and imperial exploiters of the subcontinent - these seemed to be just some of the many tangible benefits that would accrue from a political unity of the partitioned nations of the Indian subcontinent.

For most Indians who have learned to sacrifice an element of their regional or sub-regional identities for the greater good, the benefits of unity are too obvious and too compelling to ignore. Today, an expanding network of transportation and communication links have brought Indian's many nationalities closer than ever before and the most enchanting display of this multi-cultural pluralistic unity is to be seen in the folk dance festivals that take place throughout the country on Republic Day. Colorful and varied costumes, folk songs in different languages and dialects, joyously mesmerizing dance sequences, faces tanned or lighter-skinned - all light up in a wonderful pageant of grace and exuberance. For a few blissful hours - all of the nation's tensions and divisions are forgotten - it is a day for the human spirit to be one - but without pressures towards an artificial sameness or needless conformity. Millions are thus brought together in solidarity and unity with the land of their birth, but it is in their very diversity that makes these occasions so memorable - because it reminds every Indian of how our real unity does not derive from dictatorial force, military edict, or cultural coercion. Our real unity comes from a respect of individual and group differences and an intuitive understanding of the practical benefits of political unity.

Republic Day is one of the occasions where we also remember the horror and torment that the colonial policy of 'Divide and Conquer' brought to us. And this consciousness, when present, obliterates all that could divide us or break us apart.

Yet, for some of it's neighbours, India presents itself as a "threatening monster" - as a grand "bully", as an "imperial superpower" and worse. But India is not a unitary nation - relatively speaking, it's press is one of the freest, it's political democracy is amongst the liveliest, and it's democratic institutions offer checks and balances that few nations in the world are able to exceed. This is not to say there aren't hierarchical divisions in Indian society (that ought to be fought and eliminated) - but objectively speaking - these are no worse than those that exist amongst India's neighbors. Poverty exacerbates social divisions in the subcontinent, but inequities are to be seen almost throughout the world. Even if on the surface, life in the former colonial powers seems more equal - it should not be forgotten that the wealth of these now rich nations came about through the loot of the wealth of the Indian subcontinent and other conquered nations.

Yet, anti-Indian propagandists are often very effective in demonizing India. For many well-meaning Indians, it is very puzzling to be confronted with the kind of hate and animosity that India-baiters bring their way, and are rarely able to come back with any suitable rejoinders. India's weakness in confronting it's attackers is thus often taken for being "guilty as charged". Clearly, part of this stems from colonial acculturation, and the propaganda of religious separatists, and ultra-nationalist forces who exaggerate India's flaws, but fail to acknowledge any of the tangible and concrete benefits that flow from greater political unity. But perhaps, a more significant aspect of this India-bashing is the desire on the part of certain vested interests to keep the people of the subcontinent querulous, and forever divided.

While the situation is clearly premature for India and it's neighbors to unite politically, there are many more possibilities for mutually beneficial social, economic and political coordination and integration than has occurred so far. Of course, the greatest hindrance to greater cooperation is the role of the clerical and military elite in Pakistan, that continues to harp on what pulls people apart, rather than what might bring them together. When it comes to India and Pakistan (or Bangladesh, for that matter) no barrier seems more intractable - or as insurmountable as the obstacle posed by an allegiance to a strongly sectarian religious identity.

This is particularly ironic when one considers that when India was first conquered by it's Islamic invaders, there was a deep distrust of religious orthodoxy of any kind. It is important to recall what Al-Beruni had written of the Hindus of pre-Islamic Punjab: "At the utmost they fight with words, but they will never stake their soul or body or their property on religious controversy."

Later, when Punjab came to be ruled by Islamic sovereigns, conversions to Islam did not take place all at once. But even when they did, it was Sufi-style Islam that enjoyed popular following - not Quranic orthodoxy. Any objective appraisal of India's Islamic cultural legacy will illustrate how much India's Islamic art and architecture borrowed and built upon earlier Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions. The decorative motifs in the Sufi shrines of Punjab - in Ucch, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismael Khan and many other towns draw from traditions that hark back to Taxila. Ahmedabad and Champaner's tombs and mosques use motifs indistinguishable from those seen in Hindu or Jain temples. Similiarly, monuments commissioned during the rule of the Bengal Sultanate either recycled (or imitated) elements from older Buddhist or Hindu Bhakti shrines. Throughout the later medieval period, Hindu and Muslim artisans borrowed and adapted from each other, producing artifacts of incredible finesse and beauty.

The best Sufi scholars did not hide the fact that they borrowed profusely from what they found attractive about older Indian traditions, and in the fields of art, poetry and music, contacts between Muslims and Hindus (or Jains, or Sikhs) could not have been more extensive, and in many instances, were mutually enriching.

Were the people of Pakistan and Bangladesh to be liberated from viewing the world through the prism of religious particularism, they might see there is much that bonds all of the people of the subcontinent. Our geographical closeness, our related cuisines, our similar dress codes, our historic connections, our syncretic culture, our common languages - all of this ought to bring us together - not tear us apart. After all, religion can only promise it's adherents liberation (or paradise) after death - the problems of this life - of our daily existence requires secular solutions. And from a secular perspective, nothing could be more beneficial than the greater unity of the people of the Indian subcontinent - on the basis of respect for pluralism, commitment to democracy, and above all, a deep concern for social fairness, justice and equity.

During the freedom struggle, one could find exemplary and inspiring examples of Hindu-Muslim-Sikh unity. India's greatest freedom fighters were all deeply secular, and were sharply critical of all that ailed our colonized societies. The need for such unity is no less urgent today. But in political terms, there are few who can adequately articulate or champion the need for a broad federation of all the people of the subcontinent. Yet, there are some arenas where outstanding examples of secular collaboration can still be found. The people of Pakistan and India are both children of a very rich and illustrious cultural heritage - and in the field of Classical Music, the close cooperation amongst Hindus and Muslims stands out.

Consider how Sulochana Brahaspati of Allahabad, an eminent exponent of the Rampur Gharana got her initial training in classical singing from Pandit Bholanath Bhatta, and later became a pupil of Ustad Mushtaq Hussein Khan. Considered a leading light of the Sahaswan/Rampur gharana. In recordings, she has been accompanied by Ustad Sabri Khan (of Moradabad) on sarangi, and the late Ustad Dayam Ali Qadri (of the Farrukhabad/Moradabad gharana) on tabla. Sarod virtuoso of the Maihar Gharana, Partho Sarathy of Kolkata comes from a family of khayal musicians, and first learnt Sarod from his father, and then continued his musical education (in the guru-shishya parampara) with Ustad Dhyanesh Khan, the late son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Noted singer, Padmavati Shaligram studied classic singing with her father and her uncle, an old student of Ustad Alladiya Khan, the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Ustad Shujaat Khan, son of the illustrious Ustad Vilayat Khan,(and a very fine sitarist in his own right), has recorded with Sandeep Das on tabla. Sitarists and music professors, the eloquent Ustad Hameed Khan and Ustad Chhote Rahimat Khan have been accompanied by Pandit Ragunath Nakod (considered one of the greatest tabla players of the Lucknow gharana). Amongst the Dhrupad Gharanas, there has been particularly close and intimate contact amongst musicians of Hindu and Muslim backgrounds. Uday Bhawalkar who started his musical education at Ujjain, received the Allauddin Khan Sangeet Academi grant and became a student of Fariduddin Dagar in Bhopal. Dr Ritwik Sanyal of Katihar (Bihar), began his music lessons with his mother, a student of Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Ustad Fariduddin Dagar, who in turn were often accompanied by Pandit Shrikant Mishra of Benares.

What is most notable is how the tradition of Dhrupad - an especially evocative and expressive genre of Indian Classical Music (whose lineage is traced back to the era of the Sam Veda by some scholars) has been preserved by Hindu and Muslim Maestros alike. This is just one exquisite example of the continuity of tradition, and the unity of India's composite culture that transcends all barriers. But there is no reason why such cooperation - why the love for a great heritage and tradition must remain confined to any particular field, or only to some Hindus and Muslims in India. The possibilities of greater collaboration amongst Indians and Pakistanis, (or Indians and Bangladeshis, or Nepalese, or South Asians in general) are many.

Yet, there are also serious obstacles. Wishful thinking, or idealistic propaganda about such a future will not take us closer to that goal. People will not only have to articulate the possibilities, but also actively struggle to realize them. The myriad difficulties and hurdles in the path of greater closeness will have to be dealt with frankly and honestly. In India, that will require educating those who are naively romantic about friendship with Pakistan (or Bangladesh), as well as those who have written off all Pakistanis, and see no distinctions between the rulers of Pakistan, and those who must suffer their writ. Hindutvadis who fail to distinguish between the vast majority of peace-loving Muslim Indians and a small group of fundamentalist terrorists, and constantly engage in unnecessary Muslim-baiting must also be isolated so that secular Pakistanis are assured that unity with India will not lead to any repression of Muslims by Hindus.

In Pakistan, moves towards peace and reconciliation with India may involve very difficult emotional and ideological choices. It will require tremendous courage, grit and foresight. And above all, it will require patience and perseverance in combating those who have so far been very successful in instigating divisions on the basis of religion. There will always be vested interests in society (and manipulative super-powers) whose wealth and influence derives from ensuring that the working masses of Pakistan remain prisoners of sectarian prejudice. To counter them will not be easy, but neither will there be much progress if such dangerous and divisive forces are not challenged.

It is up to the wise and enlightened in Pakistani (or Bangladeshi) society to ensure that the common people are able to let into their hearts, the tender murmurings of inspired melody-makers. And remake their nations in a brand new mould - where the dominant theme can be social progress and social equity instead of unquestioning (or chauvinist) adherence to any religion based on revealed truth.

Relatively speaking, prior to colonization, the Indian subcontinent was neither poor nor backward. It was a land where people had made numerous scientific and philosophical discoveries. It's arts and crafts had an élan and spirit that was hard to match, it's music - a lyric beauty, it's pluralistic traditions had color and spice. Pre-colonial India attracted respect, even reverence abroad. But today, the subcontinent is all-too-frequently dismissed with ill-concealed contempt or indifference.

Were the people of the subcontinent to break off their mental shackles - to liberate themselves from the psychological scars of colonization and conquest, they would find much that is inspiring and enlightening in the subcontinent's heritage. They would realize that rather than be exploited and used as pawns by others, they could make something of their own future. And amongst India's neighbors, there might come the realization that cooperation, rather than hostility towards India made more sense.

That could lead to a new dawn in the Indian subcontinent.

Alternatively, we may all have to put up with more strife and conflict. And many may needlessly suffer the unwanted consequences. Can the past be transcended? Can the people of the subcontinent reshape their destiny? Only time will tell. But the collective will led by wise counsel can surely influence the outcome.

However, in this thesis, it would be off-topic, if we discuss the political unity of the subcontinent. Our main purpose is to highlight the fact that the common people of the Indian Subcontinent are peace-loving. They respect the individual sentiments of all human beings. They love arts and the culture. They can be brought closer through more art and cultural exchange programmes. These programmes are organised by different national as well as the international bodies. Some of them can be mentioned for example, as under: 'South Asian Association for the regional cooperation, (SAARC)','Indian Council for cultural relations, (ICCR)', 'United Nations educational scientific cultural Organization, (UNESCO)' etc. Through these organizations and through the cooperation of many more associations as well as the individuals, we see many musicians come to perform here in India from the other parts of the Subcontinent and performing artists from India go to participate in various music concerts in the different parts of the Subcontinent.

During my deliberations over the 'music therapy', it has been established that music has a great impact over our brains. It cools down the chemical processes which keep on occurring in the human brain. It releases the tension and makes us feel relaxed and comfortable. Many artists have a feeling that music can inculcate the moral values upon the listeners as well as the performers alike. Music gives pleasure i.e. 'Paramananda' which is said to be the closest to the God. It makes our hearts free of anger and ill will. It liberates us from the narrow segmentations of our surroundings as well as our minds. It can be used as a tool to impart the moral values on the adolescents and the youth of the world. Our educationists have recognized this potential of music. That is why; they have included it in the school as well as the college/university curriculum.

This property of music can be of great use in our endeavour to evolving the world brotherhood and international unity. In the recent years, our educationists have understood and emphasized upon the imparting of 'the life-skills' on the students along with the following of normal format of curriculum. For this, the Ministry of Education, Government of Delhi has held several seminars and symposia in order to involve the teachers employed by the Delhi Government in this programme of educating the life-skills. The teachers have also been given access to Yoga-therapy, music therapy and they have been asked to visit 'Bramhakumari Ashram and get some ethical counselling there.However, in my opinion, if music is used as a tool to develop the moral values, it can easily and successfully do the job. Music is a kind of softener of negative feelings. It is used as a relaxant when we are under the stress. All those, who are involve the teaching and learning of music, would have experienced this. When we are under the stress and there is no available alternative, if we forget everything and listen to our favourite Album of music, and/or we play on our musical instruments or sing the composition that we like most, our stress is gone. Thus, we can recognize the potentials of music and use it as a developer of the human values.

5.4.4 National unity as well as international brotherhood through music:

We have seen that music can be used as a tool to develop the moral values. If we succeed in transforming all the human beings into the ethically sound persons, most of the problems in the society, which hinder the unity of people [at the national as well as the international level] will diminish. Music works as a relaxant and also as an antidepressant on our minds. It brings together the men and woman, without respects of caste or worth, without the respect of the strong and the weak, without respect of the rich and the poor, without respect of the religion and the nationality. In a music concert, the artists of different religions, faiths, nationalities, social strata etc can be seen together working in unison for the success of the concert. Music has no boundaries. Neither does have any specific language. That is why; we say that music has a universal language. It has a universal appeal. In our classical music, words of a musical composition have very little significance or rather no significance. In the instrumental music, there are no words at all. Thus, the instrumental music has no language barrier at all. This feature of music has been recognized by the United Nations' Organization too. Many musical bands have been continuously working for the cause of the international brotherhood. Some of them are referred to in this chapter for example:

The Austrian band 'World Beat Experience'

Whoever said that music transcends boundaries was definitely on the right track. The Austrian band 'World Beat Experience' has been uniting people through its music for the last ten years. This Austrian band plays a mix of Eastern and Western music to underline its credo of uniting the world through music. Taalis, Wolfgang Sambs and Helmut Schoenleitner have been performing in Europe, India and Thailand an assimilation of different genres of music. Calling it world music that will appeal to the people irrespective of their language or culture, the band presents a splendid blend of melodies. Elaborating on their music Schoenleitner says, "We want to arouse the universal conscience by music. Every time we perform we attempt to spread our knowledge and wisdom trying to bring people closer."

The band has been visiting India since the last six years. Having performed in various places across Maharashtra including Nagpur and Nasik the members are quite familiar with both Marathi and Hindi. Talking about the audience Sambs says, "People here are very alert about the latest trends. They appreciate and sway to our music and it feels great. Also things are quite liberal here, unlike Europe where you aren't allowed to move or mingle until the concert is over."

Quite interestingly the band members have been learning Indian classical music from none other than Pundit Suresh Talwalkar for the last eight years. "We were in Pune for Guru Purnima this time and we celebrated it in the traditional way offering prayers to our guru, Pundit Talwalkar. He has been a great motivator. We have learnt laya and tala from him during his lessons in Austria," adds Taalis.

While Schoenleitner is the director of Jazz Institute in Austria, Sambs and Taalis have been his students before they became partners. Talking about their talent Schoenleitner says, "This is the new generation, full of creativity and passion for the art. They are the best Austria can offer at the moment."

The band performed at Shisha Cafe on Thursday and the audience swirled mesmerized to jazz beats. With Taalis on drums, Sambs on Guitar and Schoenleitner on Bass guitar, the evening saw an exchange of music and acclaim. "We come to India once in a year and most of the times to Pune. The city is nice and the response here is very exciting. We generally present a mix of Indian and African flavour of funk and jazz. It is this blend of eastern and western music through which we attempt to unite people from all over the world," sums up Taalis.

Unity of Light:

Come February 1 and Kolkata will get to witness a musical experience like never before. The king of modern Indian music - Allah Rakha Rahman - is all set to present his first ever live concert in India. And no prizes for guessing where the maestro wants to flag off the concert - it's our very own city of joy. "It's very exciting for me to start the concert here as this city has a lot of associations with music. Also, this city is very new to me. This is my first trip here," said Rahman, while announcing the concert at the ITC Sonar Bangla on Thursday. The concert, titled the Unity of Light, will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium. After Kolkata, it will tour various Indian cities and will also travel to the US, Canada, the Gulf countries and the Far East. Speaking about the theme of the concert, Rahman said, "A lot of things have happened in the last couple of years which have changed the world in many ways. I want to express the sublime knowledge through my music." Most of the music will be based on his film soundtracks right from 1992. "I will present the tracks with alternate arrangements for the music. So they will sound totally different. There will also be tracks from Bombay Dreams, my other albums and some Bengali songs." The concert will feature other bigwigs like S.P. Balasubramanium, Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhwinder Singh, Sadhna Sargam, Vasundhara Das and Mahalaxmi Iyer. But one man who will be conspicuously absent from the Kolkata show is Rahman's preferred percussionist, Shivamani. "He will accompany me for the rest of the tour.

 

The music gallery in the premises of the Punjab Kala Bhavan

 

The online Edition of The times of India

CHANDIGARH: (March 14, 2003)

Punjab has a cultural history of instruments and rhythms so rare and dynamic that their sounds stir the soul. The State's musical tradition that may have slipped into obscurity over the centuries has been revived at a special museum in Chandigarh housing rare folk instruments of Punjab and momentos of some legendary stalwarts in the field. It's a coming together of the finest that the Punjabi folk music tradition has boasted of over the centuries. The legends and the instruments that made them so unforgettable for generations. Sardar Amar Singh Shaunki, master of the Dhadd instrument which dates back to the Sikh gurus, becoming an intricate part of Punjab's folk fabric. The Nightingale of Punjab, Surinder Kaur, for most of the 20th century enthralled audiences - army jawans, civilians and connoisseurs alike. And the gaiety of the tumbi of Yamala Jat is another of the rich memories. Rajinder Singh, one of the curators of this museum and an expert of Punjab's folk tradition, says, "Punjab has for centuries been a cultural gateway to India. Hundreds of cultures have visited this region. And because many of the invaders came only this far, Punjab became a melting pot of many cultures, customs and arts. That's why one can find here touches of the traditions of all parts of India and the world. Many features which were lost have also been preserved here."

The music gallery in the premises of the Punjab Kala Bhavan in Chandigarh is an ambitious project of the Punjab Sangeet Natak Academy begun last month. The idea is to re-acquaint with some rare, partly forgotten folk artifacts - the sarangi, algoza, bagtu, dauroo, and a favourite - the snake charmer's flute.

MUMBAI: (March 10, 2003)

If music be the food of love play on, said Shakespeare, and it was a colourful evening at the magnificent Gateway of India where music was the staple diet. It was a night to remember, as the mighty monument stood brightly lit in the tri-colour and some of the best musicians performed for a great cause. Darkness set the scene when suddenly a burst of light and sound emerged at the centre of a stage 120 feet long, 65 feet high. Cameras panned, dollied and trollied as singer Mrigya presented fusion music with qawwali and sufiana kalam.

"Sounds of the sea" concert was in aid of "Save the Children" and "Action Aid India Society". The concert was a collage of music styles from different parts of India and the world. The occasion was special for the performers. It marked the launch of Mumbai for a change with Save the Children India and a coalition of other NGOs, for creating shelters for homeless people and night schools and education opportunities for street children in Mumbai. Talking about the initiative, Jerry who is the event organiser said, "We looked at groups which have some kind of social responsibility, groups which do performance on human rights and things like that - that's how we got a way out and Gautam Ghosh, Mrigya who won the tap water award for peace and communal harmony, so we have taken the groups which have social responsibility".

The artistes were all well-known that included Sivamani, Niladari (percussionist-sitar), Bobby Cash (Country Music Solo Act), Mrigya (Fusion with Qawwali and Sufi), Indian Iranzit with Gautam Ghosh (World Music and African Tribal Music) and Silk Route (India's favourite Pop Rock Band). The lights captured the mood of the moment, and the sound was the envoy of them. Drummer Shivamani produced just the right rhythm with every instrument which came to hand.

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Classical music and musical instruments

[Enter Post Title Here]

 

 

In this concluding chapter of my thesis, the essence of my research is presented in a logical and scientific manner. The title of my research-work "Musical instruments of the Indian subcontinent: An illustrative documentation and future prospects (An analytical study) ", is clear in meaning and hence outlines the hypothesis of the research. It also summarizes the topic. The title of the thesis may be divided in three broad segments: [a] the historical study of the musical instruments with special reference to the Indian Subcontinent, [b] a study of all known classifications with regard to musical instruments and [c] on the basis of the first two studies, analysing the future prospects of: one, the musical instruments, two, the instrumentalists and three, the widening horizon of job opportunities in this field. Thus, the objective of the research gets very clear in the minds of the reader as he/she goes through the title itself.

 

1 The objective of the thesis:

 

In the preface, I have made it clear as to why I chose the aforesaid topic for my research. Now, I will have a general comment upon the objectives of the thesis. It is necessary as one has to fix the targets before taking up an assignment. If the target of the mission is not clear, more often than not, the researcher will lose the momentum. The target should be clear and specific so that no confusing situations may hinder the accomplishment of the mission. Therefore let me put forth the objectives of the research:

 

1.1The classical/nonclassical music:

 

The first and foremost objective of this thesis has been to ascertain the meaning, definition and the scope of music. Although the topic is not new and has been discussed by numerous scholars in many books, magazines and seminars/symposiums, yet it seems that the definition and scope of music needs more analysis. For instance, the concept of classical/nonclassical music is still in a state of evolution. This concept was not traditionally taken from the South Asian region. In the ancient history of the Indian music, no concept like the classical/nonclassical music was present. Neither was it seen in the medieval period. Of course, there were divisions like the Desi and Margi Sangeet but the classical music or Shastriya Sangeet, [as we call it now] was not there in our music in the ancient as well as the medieval times of the history of music of the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, it is very important that we should decide the status of the classical/nonclassical music.

Secondly, as I have attracted the attention of the reader to the fact that this concept of classical/nonclassical music is connected somewhere with the advent of new technologies in the field of music and arts. Nationalist movements have also contributed to the term. There has been an identity crisis for the music and the musicians after the Sultanat patronage of the artists was over due to the collapse of Nawabs and kingdoms. The traditional musicians had no or very little options. This insecurity of the career led them to develop a formula like that of the Ragdari Sangeet which was later called as the classical music. But the question still remains unanswered that before the advent of ragas what was the status of classical music. We all are aware about the status of Prabandha. It was considered as Desi Sangeet and hence could not be called as the classical music. There is another opinion that the Dhruvapada, which is said to be most classical, has been evolved out of some kinds of Prabandhas. If Prabandhas were considered as Desi music, how is it possible that the Dhruvapada, which was originated from Prabandha, {Desi Sangeet} is called the classical music? This is one question. Many such problems have been addressed to in the very first chapter while desiding the status of classical music. This discourse about the classical/nonclassical music is more prominent in the Southern region of India than in the Hindustani music system. It is because most of the traditional musicians had very little or virtually no knowledge about anything but the practical aspect of Hindustani music. They did not bother about the status of the theoretical concepts. They kept on their Saadhana in order to put in marvellous performances. In their pursuit, they were very successful but academically speaking, they lost the theoretical value of the art and music. Thus, the grammar of music was de-shaped. As an objective of my thesis, I have tried my level best to re-establish the theoretical values of our music. I have gone through some of the basic concepts which were directly or indirectly related to my topic. I have analysed and compared the various views in the field and tried to reach the conclusion after a careful study of the same.

 

1.2 A brief historical outlook of the musical instruments:

 

I have studied the history of musical instruments very carefully. This includes, different opinions about the origin of musical instruments. Scientific and analytical approach has been used to create a converging viewpoint. The history of musical instruments of the subcontinent shows that many musical instruments which were very popular at some point of time, have been eliminated or on the verge of collapse due to the neglect by the instrumentalists. My endeavour has been to look in to the reasons behind the extinction of such musical instruments. The theoretical question as to why some musical instruments survive in the race of civilisations and some cannot encounter the unfavourable circumstances. The factors which lead to the invention of new musical instruments have been taken into account and on the basis of these factors, I have tried to investigate as to why we shun away with the present and roam about in search of the new ones. It is not in the field of musical instruments only. In the every sphere of life, this is the psychology of the human beings. We are not bothered about what we have. We are always disappointed and dejected about the things we do not have with us. This is the reason, that we have always been in search of new things and in this race the old ones have suffered a lot. The story of musical instruments is no different. Many marvellous musical instruments have lost their magic and in the present era, nobody knows where they have disappeared.

All such points about the history of musical instruments of the Indian Subcontinent have been covered. The changing trends and the emerging traditions have also been analysed in the second chapter. I have been keen to find the solutions as to how we can save the tradition of musical instruments of the Indian Subcontinent from the verge of collapse.

 

1.3 A logical classification of musical instruments:

 

Under this objective, I have elaborated upon musical instruments in general and some important facts about them in specific. I have gone into the meaning and definition, scope, utility etc of musical instruments. I have also analysed the various methods of classifying musical instruments. "organology" includes all aspects of musical instruments. It has been my endeavour in this thysis and elsewhere too, that the new terms with regard to music should be incorporated in the text while furnishing practical as well as theoretical details. Through the use of a proper technical or musical term, we can transmit the ideas in a better way. Keeping all this in mind, the chapter two of this thesis has been given a technical name. eventually, we should use correct terminology.

The classification of musical instruments has been discussed and debated by many musicians/musicologists. In the western world, many efforts have been made in this direction. However, in the Indian Subcontinent, most of the scholars of music/musicology, just quote the reference from Sangeet Ratnakar about the classification of musical instruments. The same tradition of classifying musical instruments is stil being followed by our musicians. Very few scholars like Pt. Lalmani Misra and Indirani Chakraburty etc have rqaised the issue of the instrument classification and tried to find solutions to the new developments in the field of the instrumental music. My objective had been to find a new classification of musical instruments, in which all the elements of the Sangeet Ratnakar –based elements of instrument-classifications could be preserved and new demands and needs could be incorporated. In this objective, the works of Pt. Lalmani Misra were very helpful.

 

1.4 Future of musical instruments:

 

This was also an objective to look into the future of the musical instruments. In this fast changing world, nothing is sure and certain. The history of musical instruments shows that many instruments which had been very popular once, have lost their glitter in this era. There is no guarantee that the musical instruments, which are popular in the present era, would survive in the changing scenario. However, from the present trends, it is very certain that the instrumental music will grow manifolds. The musical instruments may change in their shapes and looks, one or the other musical instrument may get extinguished from the world, but in general the future of the musical instruments looks to be very good and full of new dimensions.

 

1.5 The Job prospects in the field of the instrumental music:

 

In my observations, I have found that the instrumental music is providing jobs to numerous instrumentalists. Traditionally, there were three categories of jobs. Namely, one, the performing artists, two, the accompanying artists and three, the teachers or the Gurus who taught music. However, in the present era, new categories of employment opportunities have opened up. The horizon of the employment opportunities has been widening day by day. More and more people are being accommodated in the field of the instrumental music. There are many jobs which may be performed equally by the vocalists as well as the instrumentalists. The globalisation has increased the prospect of jobs in the field. New areas are opening for the instrumentalists. For example, fusion music, jazz music, music-therapy etc. therefore, it can be stated beyond any doubts that the future of the musicians, who opt for the instrumental music, is full of hope.

 

2 The limitations of the musical instruments:

 

In this segment, I have attracted the attention of the reader towards the problems of the instrumentalists. These problems need concrete solutions. Here I would not go in detail of all that is already said. My request is to all those who go through this thesis, that they should look into the aspect and try their level best in order to encounter the challenges which are before us.

For more on this topic, Contact me

        

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Coaching is available for Vocal, Instrumental, and Classical/Non-Classical Music. Specially for College and University Students

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Redefining Indian classical music: Indian Cultural Tradition and the World

Redefining Indian classical music: Indian Cultural Tradition and the World

Indian Cultural Tradition and the World

Indian Cultural Tradition and the World
With special reference to the interrelation
Between our music and the Sufism
Vedprakash Sharma
Research Scholar
Deptt. Of Music,
M. D. University,
Rohtak – 124001.

History of Indian culture and civilization begins from the Indus valley civilization. Although the period of it has been debated by the historians, yet most scholars agree that it surely was a pre-Vedic civilization.

Anyhow, we do not know much about the musical traditions of the time; therefore let us not go deep into it.

Our cultural heritage took shape during the Vedic period. Many parallel musical traditions flourished simultaneously. Our music had become one of the most developed ones during the era of Sangeet Ratnakar.

But not much cultural give and take occurred unless the spread of Islam in India. Many reasons can be given for this: lack of the transport and communication facilities, very little people to people contact and many more.

But Sufi tradition, one of the moderate Islamic philosophies, did the miracle. The Sufis successfully mingled with orthodox Indian masses. There was some thing common between the Sufi tradition and our cultural ethos which bound together. Sufi saints like Sheik Nizamuddin Chishti and the great Amir Khusro very well Indianized themselves. They were so liberal in their approach that most of the North Indians felt as Sufism was their own tradition. Thus two great traditions came together. This was not imposed or forced upon us. It was very natural and thus it led to many great achievements which we will discuss in the paper to be presented.

Origin of new musical instruments, devising of new musical forms like Qawwali, Khayaal etc, new dance forms, are some of them. The impact is so great that in the present era also, musicians are trying different ways and means to give a “Sufi” twist to their musical compositions. Be it the classical music or the popular one, traditional or non-traditional, all forms of music is somehow inspired with the common heritage of the Indian and the Sufi music intermingling. That is why, it is very important to go deep into it.

Sonu Nigam

I just downloaded AaiDilMutRoClassicallyMild.mp3 from “cooltoad”. After listening it, I can say that it is a pleasant effort on part of Sonu Nigam and his team. In the era of mind-blasting/ear-bursting stream of popular music, it gives a bit of relief as well as some hope for the future. The lyrics are too, different from that of the present line.
But when it comes to the classical music, it cannot be included in the category. Although the composition is excellent, but it is not based upon any of the given Ragas. Neither is it composed in one particular scale. The rhythm is also somewhat jazz-oriented. It is not based upon any Talas although we can call it “Kaharwa”. Classical music on western drums comes in the purview of Indian fusion or Jazz. Many musical bands are performing upon such kind of music. In fact, the discourse about the classical/nonclassical music is not very old. It gained momentum during the reformist’s movements in the world of music in the nineteenth and twentieth century as our musicians came out of the patronage of Durbars. Many westerners also wrote extensively on the topic and thus came the idea of classical/nonclassical music. Before that, we did not have such terms.
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