Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

encyclopedia

MUSIC

HINDUSTANI AND KARNATAK MUSIC

There is much in common between Hin-

dustani music and Karnatak music. There are

also points of difference. The singing and

playing in Indian music can be slow, medium

or fast and this determines the tempo. North

Indian music has explored the possibilities of

the slow tempo and it accelerates in minimal

gradations. In South Indian music the medium

tempo is precisely the double of the slow and

the fast precisely the double of the medium.

North Indian music has fewer Talas and

they are not organised in any systematic man-

ner. Another distinguishing feature is the em-

phasis placed on the characteristic drum pat-

tern of each Tala in North Indian music. Two

Talas might have the same duration and sub-

divisions but have different drum patterns.

Unlike South Indian music, a gradual accel-

eration of tempo leading to a final climax is a

characteristic feature of North Indian music.

“The basic scale of modem North Indian

music is heptatonic and its seven notes called

nadja, mabha, gandhara, madhyama, pan-

chama, dhaivata and nisada, abbreviated to

Sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni correspond

approximately to those of the European major

scale. They may be elaborated with half-tones

of varying intervals classified according to the

number of srutis they contain. The shruti is a

theoretical interval of which the scale contains

. •

“There is no developed harmony in Indian

music and the melody which usually proceeds

by conjunct intervals (i.e adjacent notes on the

keyboard), never suggests a harmonic basis,

as do many European melodies. The tune is

sustained by one or more drone notes and by

drumming. The melodic line and the subtle

and complex cross rhythms of Indian music

take the place of harmony and counterpoint in

the ear of the trained listener.”

— A. L. Basham

Coming to the musical forms, the Dhru-

pad of Hindustani music was first shaped by

Raja Mansingh Tomar of Gwalior and devel-

oped by Swami Haridas and his disciple,

Tansen, who was a luminary of Akbar's court.

It preserves the antique liturgical stateliness in

its style. It begins with a free melodic elabo-

ration or Alap and goes on to a rhythm-bound

lyric whose first two sections traverse pro-

gressively the lower, middle and upper oc-

taves while the last two sections can be re-'

garded as the complex development of the

same material. There are only a very few

practitioners of this style today.

The Khayal (a word of Persian origin

meaning "imagination") probably originated

with Amir Khusrau, the Persian aristocrat and

humanist of the 13th century. It was devel-

oped by Sultan Sharqui of the 15th century

and established as a classical style by Sada-

rang Nyamat Khan of the 18th century. The

structure of the Khayal is considerably re-

laxed. It is rarely that singing begins with the

Alap or free melodic elaboration. More often

the Alap is done in the melodic elaboration of

the phrases of the composition itself. There is

an extensive exploration of all possible re-

sources of the Gamak, the type of movement

from one note to another which includes

shakes, trills, glides, swings, spiralling accents

and numerous other graces.

The Khayal later proliferated into many

gharanas or schools. The oldest, the Gwalior

Gharana, is distinguished by open-throated

singing, formal simplicity and straight, linear

transitions from note to note. The Agra Ghar-

ana is close to the Dhrupad in its disciplined

execution but loves dramatic contrasts and

rhythmic syncopations. The Rangeela Ghar-

ana evolved as a modulation of this style

towards greater lyrical warmth and colour.

The Kirana Gharana has a slow tempo, avoids

dramatic contrasts and tensions and is sweet,

serene and soothing. The Patalia Gharana spe-

cialises in spectacular rhythm play.

In South Indian music the main group is

composed of 35 Talas. Each Tala is composed

of one, two or three different units: short, me-

dium and long. The medium unit is twice the

duration of the short. The long unit, however,

may be three, four, five, seven or nine times

the duration of the short. There are seven basic

Tala patterns - Dhruva, Mathya, Rupaka,

Jhampa, Triputa, Ata and Eka Tala. Each Tala

may be performed in either slow, medium or

quick tempo. There is no gradual acceleration

of tempo as in North Indian music.

"A study of the two styles indicates that

the basic difference is in the articulation of the

gamakas (graces). In Carnatic music the oscil-

lation of notes is much faster than in Hindus-

tani music. The bane of Carnatic music is the

excessive undulation of almost every note

with the result that it becomes difficult to

identify the note which is actually being sung.

"Carnatic music in the last 20 years has be-

come hyper-intellectual, teeming with intri-

cate combinations both in swara and tala con-

struction. This doubtless is an indication of the

intellectual brilliance of South India but art

basically is and must be emotion-oriented.

Otherwise it is merely craft. (M.R. Gautam,

"The Musical Heritage of India.'')

LIGHT CLASSICAL FORMS

In addition to the major form of the

Khayal,

the northern Hindustani system has produced

a rich variety' of light classical forms. In

Tarana,

the tempo is generally fast, the syllables which

have no articulate meaning are used for tonal

values. The Tappa, which is derived by tradi-

tion from the songs of camel drivers is distin-

guished by quick turns of phrase with no

slower elaboration. The Thumri is a very light

form which was inspired by the Radha Krishna

theme. It was patronised by Wajid Ali Shah,

the last Nawab of Oudh before it was annexed

by the British. The Ghazal, a Persian lyrical

form, has been completely naturalised in In-

dia. It is perhaps the most popular Hindustani

style today.

In North Indian music there are some

purely instrumental compositions,

gat

and

dhun,

which are usually played on plucked

string instruments. The emphasis is on the im-

provisation with the instrumentalist and the

drummer alternating till the climax is reached.

The composed piece is generally short. All the

technical resources of the instruments are used

to build up the fabric of the

gat

which is first

played in a slow tempo and then builds up to

a climax in the fast tempo. Other instrumental

forms are the

thumri,

which is basically an in-

strumental rendering for a vocal

thumri

and

dhun

which is based on a folk tune and does

not follow a conventional Raga.

Muslim and Hindu devotional group sing-

ing has resulted in the evolution of the Abhang

(in Maharashtra), the Kirtan (in Bengal and

Orissa) and the Bhajan which has a greater

regional spread and is sung in both northern

and southern India. Saintly people of all

classes,

from Meera who was a princess of Rajasthan,

to Kabir who was a weaver of Banaras' have

enriched the legacy of this form.

The Mughal emperors were, with the ex-

ception of Aurangzeb, patrons of music. Babar,

Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan

had an ear for music and patronised musi-

cians. The legendary Tansen was a member of

Akbar's court. His original name was Ramtanu

Pande and he was born in 1506 in Gwalior.

His natural talent for singing was developed

by Swami Haridas of Brindavan who gave

him a sound training in the finer points of

music. He was a close friend of Sur Das and,

like many of his contemporaries, received

much of his musical education at Gwalior,