Music and Arts of India

Music of India• Includes multiple varieties of folk,

popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as sources of spiritual inspiration, cultural expression and pure entertainment.

Classical Music

• Hindustani Music > an Indian classical music tradition that goes back to Vedic times around 1000 BC. It further developed circa the 13th and 14th centuries AD with Persian influences and from existing religious and folk music.

• Hindustani music was not only influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions, historical Vedic philosophy and native Indian sounds but also enriched by the Persian performance practices of the Mughals. During the Medivel age especially in Mughals era various Gharana became famous due to excellence and class in type of musics like raga. Tansen is one of the navratna of Mughals Admiral Akbar. Classical genres are dhrupad, dhamar, khyal, tarana y sadra.

Carnatic music

• The present form of Carnatic music is based on historical developments that can be traced to the 15th - 16th centuries AD and thereafter. However, the form itself is reputed to have been one of the gifts bestowed on man by the gods of Hindu mythology. It is one of the oldest musical forms that continue to survive today.

• Carnatic music is melodic, with improvised variations. It consists of a composition with improvised embellishments added to the piece in the forms of Raga Alapana, Kalpanaswaram, Neraval, and, in the case of more advanced students, Ragam Tanam Pallavi. The main emphasis is on the vocals as most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing style (known as gāyaki). There are about 7.2 million ragas (or scales) in Carnatic Music, with only 300 or so still in common use today.

• Purandara Dasa is considered the father of carnatic music. Sri Tyagaraja, Sri Shyama Shastry and Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar are considered the trinity of carnatic music and with them came the golden age in carnatic music in the 18th-19th century

Folk Music• Bihu of Assam• Bihu is the festival of New Year of

Assam falling on mid April. This is a festival of nature and mother earth where the first day is for the cows and buffalos. Second day is for the man. Bihu dancesand songs accompanied by traditional drums and wind instruments are essential part of this festival.

Bhangra• [Bhangra] are a lively form of music and dance that

originated in the Punjab region to celebrate Vaisakhi, the festival of the Sikhs.Knowledge of Punjabi history offers important insights into the meaning of the music. While Bhangra began as a part of harvest festival celebrations, it eventually became a part of such diverse occasions as weddings and New Year celebrations. Moreover, during the last thirty years, Bhangra has enjoyed a surge in popularity worldwide, both in traditional form and as a fusion with genres such as hip-hop, house, and reggae, and in such forms it has become a pop sensation in the United Kingdom and North America.

• Ganasangeet is have been written in India. Examples: Apni Azadi Ko Hum Hargis Mita Sakte Nahin, ajadee hoyni tor, Kadam kadam badhaye jaa, Vande Mataram, etc.generally sung in chorus carrying some social message. The songs are usually about Freedom, community strength, patriotism. Due to the British occupation in India, a lot of protest songs about anti-imperialism/pro-socialism

Uttarakhandi Music

• Uttarakhandi folk music had its root in the lap of nature. The pure and blessed music have the feel and the touch of nature and subjects related to nature. The folk music primarily is related to the various festivals, religious traditions, folk stories and simple life of the people of Uttarakhand. Thus the songs of Uttarakhand are a true reflection of the Cultural Heritage and the way people live their lives in the Himalayas. Musical instruments used in Uttarakhand music include the dhol, damoun, turri, ransingha, dholki, daur, thali, bhankora and masakbhaja. Tabla and harmonium are also used, but to a lesser extent. The main languages are Kumaoni and Garhwali

• Thus the songs of Uttarakhand are a true reflection of the Cultural Heritage and the way people live their lives in the Himalayas. Musical instruments used in Uttarakhand music include the dhol, damoun, turri, ransingha, dholki, daur, thali, bhankora and masakbhaja. Tabla and harmonium are also used, but to a lesser extent. The main languages are Kumaoni and Garhwali

Lavani

• Lavani comes from the word Lavanya which means beauty. This is one of the most popular forms of dance and music that is practiced all over Maharashtra. It has in fact become a necessary part of the Maharashtrian folk dance performances. Traditionally, the songs are sung by female artistes, but male artistes may occasionally sing Lavanis. The dance format associated with Lavani is known as Tamasha. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the enchanting beats of 'Dholak', a drum-like instrument.

• Dance performed by attractive women wearing nine-yard saris. They are sung in a quick tempo. The verve, the enthusiasm, the rhythm and above all the very beat of India finds an expressive declaration amidst the folk music of India, which has somewhat, redefined the term "bliss". Lavani originated in the arid region of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Rajasthan• Rajasthan has a very diverse cultural

collection of musician castes, including Langas, Sapera, Bhopa, Jogi and Manganiyar (lit. the ones who ask/beg). Rajasthan Diary quotes it as a soulful, full-throated music with Harmonious diversity. The haunting melody of Rajasthan evokes from a variety of delightfully primitive looking instruments.

• The stringed variety include the Sarangi, Rawanhattha, Kamayacha, Morsing and Ektara. Percussion instruments come in all shapes and sizes from the huge Nagaras and Dhols to the tiny Damrus. The Daf and Chang are a big favourite of Holi (the festival of colours) revellers. Flutes and bagpipers come in local flavours such as Shehnai, Poongi, Algoza, Tarpi, Been and Bankia.

• The essence of Rajasthani music is derived from the creative symphony of string instruments, percussion instruments and wind instruments accompanied by melodious renditions of folk singers. It enjoys a respectable presence in Bollywood music as well.

• The vast scope of the art of India intertwines with the cultural history, religions and philosophies which place art production and patronage in social and cultural contexts.

• Indian art can be classified into specific periods each reflecting particular religious, political and cultural developments.

• Ancient period (3500 BCE-1200 CE)• Islamic ascendancy (1192-1757)• Colonial period (1757–1947)• Independence and the postcolonial

period (Post-1947)

• One of the first to start jewellery-making were the peoples of the Indus Valley Civilization. Early jewellery making in China started around the same period, but it became widespread with the spread of Buddhism around 2,000 years ago.

Temple and Sculpture-art

• the period between the decline of the Harappans and the definite historic period starting with the Mauryas. Soon after the Buddhists initiated the rock-cut caves, Hindus and Jains started to imitate them at Badami, Aihole, Ellora, Salsette, Elephanta, Aurangabad and Mamallapuram. The earliest Indian religion to inspire major artistic monuments was Buddhism. Though there may have been earlier structures in wood that have been transformed into stone structures, there are no physical evidences for these except textual references.

•The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes. Among the existing specimens in the various museums of the world and in the temples of South India may be seen many fine figures of Siva in various forms, Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi, Siva saints and many more.

Indian fresco• The tradition and methods of Indian cliff painting gradually evolved throughout many thousands of years - there are multiple locations found with prehistoric art. The oldest frescoes of historical period have been preserved in Ajanta Caves from 2nd century BC.

• Despite climatic conditions that tend to work against the survival of older paintings, in total there are known more than 20 locations in India with paintings and traces of former paintings of ancient and early medieval times (up to 8th - 10th century AD). The most significant frescoes of the ancient and early medieval period are Buddhist works in the Ajanta Caves, Bagh Caves, Ellora Caves, Sittanavasal.

Miniature painting• Mughal painting in miniatures on

paper developed very quickly in the late 16th century from the combined influence of the existing miniature tradition and artists trained in the Persian miniature tradition imported by the Mughal Emperor's court.

• New ingredients in the style were much greater realism, especially in portraits, and an interest in animals, plants and other aspects of the physical world. Miniatures either illustrated books or were single works for muraqqas or albums of painting and Islamic calligraphy

• . The style gradually spread in the next two centuries to influence painting on paper in both Muslim and Hindu princely courts, developing into a number of regional styles often called "sub-Mughal", including Kangra painting and Rajput painting, and finally Company painting, a hybrid watercolour style influenced by European art and largely patronized by the people of the British raj.

Folk and tribal art• Folk art in India takes on different manifestations through varied medium such as pottery, painting, metalwork,dhokra art, paper-art, weaving and designing of objects such as jewelry and and tribal toys.

• Often puranic gods and legends are transformed into contemporary forms and familiar images. Fairs, festivals, and local deities play a vital role in these arts.

• It is in art where life and creativity are inseparable. The tribal arts have a unique sensitivity, as the tribal people possess an intense awareness very different from the settled and urbanized people. Their minds are supple and intense with myth, legends, snippets from epic, multitudinous gods born out of dream and fantasy. Their art is an expression of their life and holds their passion and mystery.

• Folk art also includes the visual expressions of the wandering nomads. This is the art of people who are exposed to changing landscapes as they travel over the valleys and highlands of India. They carry with them the experiences and memories of different spaces and their art consists of the transient and dynamic pattern of life. The rural, tribal and arts of the nomads constitute the matrix of folk expression.

Indian Art• Indian Art is the visual art

produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule.

• Voluptuous feeling is given unusually free expression in Indian culture. A strong sense of design is also characteristic of Indian art and can be observed in its modern as well as in its traditional forms.