Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Music
Indian classical music traces its roots back to Vedic times, when religious poems chanted
by priests were first collated in an anthology called the Rig-Veda. Over the millennia clas-
sical music has been shaped by many influences, and the legacy today is Carnatic (charac-
teristic of South India) and Hindustani (the classical style of North India) music. With com-
mon origins, they share a number of features. Both use the raga (the melodic shape of the
music) and
tala
(the rhythmic meter characterised by the number of beats);
tintal,
for ex-
ample, has a
tala
of 16 beats. The audience follows the
tala
by clapping at the appropriate
beat, which in
tintal
is at beats one, five and 13. There's no clap at the beat of nine; that's
the
khali
(empty section), which is indicated by a wave of the hand. Both the raga and the
tala
are used as a basis for composition and improvisation.
Both Carnatic and Hindustani music are performed by small ensembles, generally com-
prising three to six musicians, and both have many instruments in common. There's no
fixed pitch, but there are differences between the two styles. Hindustani has been more
heavily influenced by Persian musical conventions (a result of Mughal rule); Carnatic mu-
sic, as it developed in South India, cleaves more closely to theory. The most striking differ-
ence, at least for those unfamiliar with India's classical forms, is Carnatic's greater use of
voice.
One of the best-known Indian instruments is the sitar (large stringed instrument), with
which the soloist plays the raga. Other stringed instruments include the sarod (which is
plucked) and the sarangi (which is played with a bow). Also popular is the tabla (twin
drums), which provides the
tala
. The drone, which runs on two basic notes, is provided by
the oboelike
shehnai
or the stringed
tampura
(also spelt tamboura). The hand-pumped key-
board harmonium is used as a secondary melody instrument for vocal music.
Indian regional folk music is widespread and varied. Wandering musicians, magicians,
snake charmers and storytellers often use song to entertain their audiences; the storyteller
usually sings the tales from the great epics.
You may possibly come across
qawwali
(Sufi devotional singing), performed in mosques
or at musical concerts.
A completely different genre altogether, filmi (music from films) includes modern,
slower-paced love serenades along with hyperactive dance songs.
