Indian Classical Music

The tradition of classical Indian music is one of the oldest unbroken musical traditions in the world. Though there is evidence of the tradition in the Indust Valley Civilization of 5000 B.C., the written origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of scriptures, the Vedas, written more than three thousand years ago. Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, which continues to be sung in India today, describes a very strict scale of svaras (notes), and rhythm for the chanting of the vedas. Gradually, as Vedic chants gave way to more leisurely notes, svaras as we know them today were developed. These are Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni or rather, "Shadj, Rishabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Pancham, Dhwavait, and Nishad".

Since the Vedic times, indigenous musical styles and schools evolved and developed in different regions of the country by blending purely ritualistic music and folk music. Today the term "Indian Classical Music" refers to two related, but distinct, traditions rooted in antiquity, both very much alive in India today. The North Indian style is called the "Hindustani" tradition, while the South Indian tradition is called the "Carnatic" tradition. The fundamentals of the two
traditions are similar. They differ in nomenclature and styles of performance. The semantic divide between the two styles began around 1200 AD. Upon the arrival of the Muslims in Northern India, the differences between these two traditions became more pronounced.

Both Hindustani classical music and Carnatic music are organized into Ragas (also called raag). A raag is both a description and a prescription. It describes a set of rules for how to build a
melody from the notes Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni. It prescribes the set of notes that are to be used for ascending the scale (aahroh) and descending (aavroh) the scale, and notes should be emphasized and deemphasized. The result is a framework that can be used to compose or improvise melodies. Tradition ascribes certain rags to particular times of the day or even seasons. It is said that appropriate performance may bring harmony, while playing at different times may bring disharmony. The power of a raag is so tremendous that it can alter moods and even alter states of nature. Legend has it that Tansen--one of the greatest musicians to have ever lived in India--was able to create rain by singing a monsoon raag!

There are no orchestras in Indian Classical music. Concerts usually consist of small ensembles of musicians; a principle singer or instrumentalist accompanied by Tabla (drums) and Tanpura (drone instrument) players. The artist improvises within the structure of the raag, starting with a slow introduction and progressing to dynamic and energetic improvisation that develops the mood of the raag.

An interesting issue that people often ask me about is why Indian classical music is not ``taught'' at more Western universities. I am no expert in Indian classical music, but I can think of a few answers to this question.

(1) First, between the time of the Vedas and say 1940 AD, Indian classical music was never written down. Over three thousand years, an orally communicated tradition that has embibed the moods of many eras. It has in it the ``spirit'' of cultural, political, social and natural events that even history may not have recorded. It is difficult to teach this type of music in a university. It is difficult to write down so much, and many believe that the process of writing it down may strip it of the religious, cultural and spiritual dimensions that are so central to this tradition. Even at Indian universities, the system of instruction is largely oral. The written component is deemphasized, and simply used to integrate this system of music into a system of modern/western learning. It is hard to bring the oral tradition to an American or British university.

(2) Indian music is essentially ``solo'' music. In a country where conformity was a celebrated concept for much of society, I find it interesting that music was all about improvisation! If you attend a music concert today, you will find that most of the performance is improvised on the spot, making each performance melodically unique. The musicians will almost certainly never have practiced together, and it is unusual for any musician other than the soloist to plan the performance. The importance of individuality and improvisation make it difficult to
teach this kind of music in a university where learning takes place in a classroom with desks and chairs and blackboards.

(3) Indian classical music is ultimately not about music at all. Understanding a raag has always been perceived as ultimately a spiritual pursuit. It was always intended to allow a student to
trascend the world and enter a spiritual realm from which there was no return. To any Indian Classical Musician, this dimension of the music is essential to its pursuit. To create a curriculum, a standardized system of grading, and to formalize this music is to take away from this ultimate goal.

Despite these problems, it seems that it is possible to teach Classical Indian music at a school or a university. We were taught music in school when I was growing up in India and it became an important part of my life. Most major universities in India have music programs and there are more students of Indian music today than perhaps ever before. To be a singer in India today, even a singer of ''pop" music, an individual generally needs to have solid classical music training.

I would hope that in the future, Universities around the world can embrace the study of Indian music. I also hope that unlike in the past three thousand years---where the study of music has been the privilege of the scholars and the elite of Indian society---more Indian people from many different segments of society will learn this music. It would not only bring people closer to Indian history, culture, and identity, but provide them with an opportunity to learn how to use the power of a raag to balance one's mind and spirit. There are very few fields of study that can lead us towards that goal.