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UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
PROJECT REPORT ON

EVOLUTION OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

A Project Report for Partial Fulfillment of Bachelor of management

studies (BMS)

2012-2013

SUBMITTED BY

TANMAY SHRIRAM BHAVE

SUBMITTED TO

University of Mumbai
P.L.SHROFF COLLEGE ARTS & COMMERCE

CHINCHANI
GUIDE

Prof. GAURI K. DATIR (BMS CORDINATOR)

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UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
PROJECT REPORT ON

EVOLUTION OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

A Project Report for Partial Fulfillment of Bachelor of Management

studies (BMS)

2012-2013

SUBMITTED BY SUBMITTED TO

TANMAY S. BHAVE PROF. GAURI K. DATIR

P.L.SHROFF COLLEGE ARTS & COMMERCE CHINCHANI

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DECLARATION

I TANMAY S. BHAVE OF P.L.SHROFF COLLEGE OF ARTS &

COMMERCE T.Y.BMS.HEREBY DECLARE THAT HAVE
COMPLETED PROJECT ON EVOLUTION OF INDIAN
CLASSICAL MUSIC
In the academic year 2012-13.The information Submitted is
Original and authentic to the best of my knowledge as lot of
dedication and hard work been put in by me for the same.

Student Signature
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TO WHOME SO EVER IT MAY CONCERN

THIS IS CERTIFICATE THAT MR TANMAY S. BHAVE COMPLETED HIS PROJECT

UNDER THE TITLE OF EVOLUTION OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC UNDER MY
GUIDANCE AS PER CURRICULUM OF UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI. TO THE BEST OF MY
KNOWLEDGE WORK IS ORIGINAL & HE HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT WORK I WISHALL
THE BEST IN FUTURE

Signature of Project Guidence. Signature of Principal.

Signature of External Guide

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I, Mr.Tanmay Shriram Bhave of T.Y.BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies) want

thank many people who helped me in my project.

My special thanks to our Principal & vice Principal for administering such a great
institution and providing many facilities. My deepest thanks to my course
coordinator and guide Prof.Gauri Datir Mam for guiding and correcting with
attention and care, and I am also thankful to teaching and non-teaching staff of.

My Deep Sense of gratitude to Mumbai University for giving me such a

challenging project, due to which I had got an opportunity to learn de about my
topic Evolution of Indian classical Music.I even want to give a great thanks to
library staff for helping me in finding From Internet.
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INDEX
Sr.no Content Page no

1. Introduction of Indian 7
Classical Music
2. Types of Compositions 10
3. History of Indian classical 13
Music
4. Instrumentalists and Vocalists 17
5. Introduction of Ragas and 29
Indian Instruments
6. Various Types of Music in 48
India
7. Indian Music Industry 54
8. Leading Music Companies in 76
India
9. Case Study- A.R.Rahman 82
10. Conclusion 87

11. Biblography 88
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INTRODUCTION AND CHARACTARISTICS OF INDIAN

CLASSICAL MUSIC
Hindustani classical music (Hindi: ) is
the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the
northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian classical
music or Shstriya Sangt. It is a tradition that originated in Vedic ritual chants and has been
evolving since the 12th century CE, primarily in what is now North
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and to some extent in Nepal and Afghanistan. Today, it is one of
the two subgenres of Indian classical music, the other being Carnatic music, the classical
tradition of South India.

CHARACTERISTICS
The tradition was born out of a cultural synthesis of several musical traditions: the Vedic chant
tradition, dating back to approximately one thousand BCE,[1] the equally ancient Persiantradition
of Musiqi-e assil, and various folk traditions prevalent in the region.
It is traditional for performers who have reached a distinguished level of achievement to be
awarded titles of respect; Hindus are usually referred to as pandit and Muslims as ustad. An
aspect of Hindustani music going back to Sufi times is the tradition of religious neutrality:
Muslim ustads may sing compositions in praise of Hindu deities, and vice versa.
Around the 12th century, Hindustani classical music diverged from what eventually came to be
identified as Carnatic classical music. The central notion in both these systems is that of a
melodic mode or raga, sung to a rhythmic cycle or tala. The tradition dates back to the
ancient Samaveda, (sma meaning "ritual chant"), which deals with the norms for chanting
of srutis or hymns such as the Rig Veda. These principles were refined in the musical
treatises Natya Shastra, by Bharata (2nd3rd century CE), and Dattilam (probably 3rd4th
century CE).[2]
In medieval times, the melodic systems were fused with ideas from Persian music, particularly
through the influence of Sufi composers like Amir Khusro, and later in the Moghul courts. Noted
composers such as Tansen flourished, along with religious groups like the Vaishnavites. After
the 16th century, the singing styles diversified into different gharanas patronized in different
princely courts. Around 1900, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande consolidated the musical structures
of Hindustani classical music, called ragas, into a number of thaats. Indian classical music has
seven basic notes with five interspersed half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-
note scale in Western music, the base frequency of the scale is not fixed, and intertonal gaps
(temperament) may also vary; however, with the gradual replacement of the sarangi by
the harmonium, an equal tempered scale is increasingly used. The performance is set to a
melodic pattern called a raga characterized in part by specific ascent (aroha) and descent
(avaroha) sequences, which may not be identical. Other characteristics include "king" (vadi) and
"queen" (samavadi) notes and characteristic phrases (pakad). In addition each raga has its natural
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register (ambit) and portamento (meend) rules. Performances are usually marked by considerable
improvisation within these norms.

PRINCIPLES OF HINDUSTANI MUSIC

The rhythmic organization is based on rhythmic patterns called tala. The melodic foundations are
called ragas. One possible classification of ragas is into "melodic modes" or "parent scales",
known as thaats, under which most ragascan be classified based on the notes they use.
Thaats may consist of up to seven scale degrees, or swara. Hindustani musicians name these
pitches using a system called Sargam, the equivalent of the Western movable do solfege:

Sa (Shadaj) = Do
Re (Rishab) = Re
Ga (Gandhar) = Mi
Ma (Madhyam) = Fa
Pa (Pancham) = So
Dha (Dhaivat) = La
Ni (Nishad) = Ti
Sa (Shadaj) = Do
Both systems repeat at the octave. The difference between sargam and solfege is that re, ga, ma,
dha, and ni can refer to either "Natural" (shuddha) or altered "Flat" (komal) or "Sharp" (tivra)
versions of their respective scale degrees. As with movable do solfege, the notes are heard
relative to an arbitrary tonic that varies from performance to performance, rather than to fixed
frequencies, as on a xylophone. The fine intonational differences between different instances of
the same swara are called srutis. The three primary registers of Indian classical music are mandra
(lower), madhya (middle) and taar (upper). Since the octave location is not fixed, it is also
possible to use provenances in mid-register (such as mandra-madhya or madhya-taar) for certain
ragas. A typical rendition of Hindustani raga involves two stages:

Alap: a rhythmically free improvisation on the rules for the raga in order to give life to the
raga and flesh out its characteristics. The alap is followed by a long slow-tempo
improvisation in vocal music, or by the jod and jhala in instrumental music.

Bandish or Gat: a fixed, melodic composition set in a specific raga, performed with
rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhavaj. There are different ways of systematizing
the parts of a composition. For example:
Sthaayi: The initial, rondo phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition.
Antara: The first body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition.
Sanchaari: The third body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition, seen more
typically in dhrupad bandishes
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Aabhog: The fourth and concluding body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition,
seen more typically in Dhrupad bandishes.

There are three variations of bandish, regarding tempo:

Vilambit bandish: A slow and steady melodic composition, usually in largo to adagio
speeds.
Madhyalaya bandish: A medium tempo melodic competition, usually set in andante to
allegretto speeds.
Drut bandish: A fast tempo melodic composition, usually set to allegretto speed or
faster.
Hindustani classical music is primarily vocal-centric, insofar as the musical forms
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TYPES OF COMPOSITIONS
The major vocal forms or styles associated with Hindustani classical music are dhrupad, khyal,
and tarana. Other forms include dhamar, trivat, chaiti, kajari, tappa, tap-
khyal, ashtapadis, thumri, dadra, ghazal and bhajan; these are folk or semi-classical or light
classical styles, as they often do not adhere to the rigorous rules of classical music.
[EDIT]DHRUPAD
Main article: Dhrupad
Dhrupad is an old style of singing, traditionally performed by male singers. It is performed with
a tambura and a pakhawaj as instrumental accompaniments. The lyrics, some of which were
written in Sanskrit centuries ago, are presently often sung in brajbhasha, a medieval form of
North and East Indian languages that was spoken in Eastern India. The rudra veena, an ancient
string instrument, is used in instrumental music in dhrupad.
Dhrupad music is primarily devotional in theme and content. It contains recitals in praise of
particular deities. Dhrupad compositions begin with a relatively long and acyclic alap, where the
syllables of the following mantra is recited:

"Om Anant tam Taran Tarini Twam Hari Om Narayan, Anant Hari Om Narayan".
The alap gradually unfolds into more rhythmic jod and jhala sections. These sections are
followed by a rendition of bandish, with the pakhawaj as an accompaniment. The great Indian
musician Tansen sang in the dhrupad style. A lighter form of dhrupad, called dhamar, is sung
primarily during the festival of Holi.
Dhrupad was the main form of northern Indian classical music until two centuries ago, when it
gave way to the somewhat less austere khyal, a more free-form style of singing. Since losing its
main patrons among the royalty in Indian princely states, dhrupad risked becoming extinct in the
first half of the twentieth century. However, the efforts by a few proponents from
the Dagar family have led to its revival and eventual popularization in India and in the West.
Some of the best known vocalists who sing in the Dhrupad style are the members of the Dagar
lineage, including the senior Dagar brothers, Nasir Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar; the
junior Dagar brothers, Nasir Zahiruddin andNasir Faiyazuddin Dagar;
and Wasifuddin, Fariduddin, and Sayeeduddin Dagar. Other leading exponents include
the Gundecha Brothers, who have received training from some of the Dagars. Leading vocalists
outside the Dagar lineage include the Mallik family of Darbhanga tradition of musicians; some
of the leading exponents of this tradition were Ram Chatur Mallick, Siyaram Tiwari, and Vidur
Mallick.
A section of dhrupad singers of Delhi Gharana from Mughal emperor Shah Jahans court
migrated to Bettiah under the patronage of the Bettiah Raj, giving rise to the Bettiah
Gharana.[8] Bishnupur Gharana, based in West Bengal, is a key school that has been propagating
this style of singing since Mughal times.
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KHYAL

Khyal is a Hindustani form of vocal music, adopted from medieval Persian music and based
on Dhrupad. Khyal, literally meaning "thought" or "imagination" in Hindi-Urdu, is unusual as it
is based on improvising and expressing emotion. A Khyal is a two- to eight-line lyric set to a
melody. The lyric is of an emotional account possibly from poetic observation.[clarification
needed]
Khyals are also popular for depicting the emotions between two lovers, situations of
ethological significance in Hinduism and Islam, or other situations evoking intense feelings.
Th importance of the Khyal's content is for the singer to depict, through music in the set raga, the
emotional significance of the Khyal. The singer improvises and finds inspiration within
the raga to depict the Khyal.
The origination of Khyal is controversial, although it is accepted that this style was based on
Dhrupad and influenced by Persian music. Many argue that Amir Khusrau created the style in
the late 16th century. This form was popularized by Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah, through
his court musicians.[9] Some well-known composers of this period were Sadarang, Adarang,
and Manrang.
TARANA
Another vocal form, taranas are medium- to fast-paced songs that are used to convey a mood of
elation and are usually performed towards the end of a concert. They consist of a few lines of
poetry with soft syllables or bols set to a tune. The singer uses these few lines as a basis for fast
improvisation. The tillana of Carnatic music is based on the tarana, although the former is
primarily associated with dance.
TAPPA
Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music whose specialty is its rolling pace based on
fast, subtle, knotty construction. It originated from the folk songs of the camel riders of Punjab
and was developed as a form of classical music by Mian Ghulam Nabi Shori or Shori Mian, a
court singer for Asaf-Ud-Dowlah, the Nawab of Awadh. "Nidhubabur Tappa", or tappas sung
by Nidhu Babu were very popular in 18th and 19th-century Bengal. Among the living
performers of this style are Laxmanrao Pandit, Shamma Khurana, Manvalkar, Girija Devi,
Ishwarchandra Karkare, and Jayant Khot.
THUMRI

Thumri is a semi-classical vocal form said to have begun in Uttar Pradesh with the court
of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, (r. 18471856). There are three types of thumri: poorab ang,
Lucknavi and Punjabi thumri. The lyrics are typically in a proto-Hindi language called Brij
Bhasha and are usually romantic.
Some recent performers of this genre are Abdul Karim Khan, the brothers Barkat Ali
Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar, Girija Devi, Beauty Sharma Barua, Nazakat-
Salamat Ali Khan, Prabha Atre, Siddheshwari Devi, andShobha Gurtu.
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GHAZAL

Ghazal is an originally Persian form of poetry. In the Indian sub-continent, Ghazal became the
most common form of poetry in the Urdu language and was popularized by classical poets
like Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib, Daagh, Zauq and Saudaamongst the North Indian literary elite. Vocal
music set to this mode of poetry is popular with multiple variations
across Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Turkey, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ghazal exists in
multiple variations, including semi-classical, folk and pop forms.
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History of Indian Music

One cannot say exactly when and how music came into existence. However, history of Indian
music can be broadly divided into three periods: Ancient , Medieval and Modern .
Ancient Period means the Vedic Age which covered upto around 2000 B.C. Vedic literature
says that during those times the sages used to sing and their wives used to play instruments
like Veena. Amongst the four Vedic scriptures, Samved was primarily music based. The
matras in Samved were recited in vocal form and were known as Samgan. In Samgan three
types of swar i.e tone used were, Anudatta(low pitch), Udatya (high pitch) and Swarit ( between
low and high pitches).
The age of Ramayana and Mahabharata is considered to be the golden age of Gandarbha music.
Possibly during this era, the seven swars known as Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni came into being.
The seven swars, their root words and scriptural dieties are given below:
Swar Root Deity
Word
SA Swaraj God
Agni
RE Rishav God
Brahma
GA Gandhar Goddess
Saraswati
MA Madhyam God
Shiva
PA Panchama God
Vishnu
DHA Dhaibat God
Ganesha
NI Nishad God
Surya
In the post Vedic era, music was practiced during the Buddhist period. Even during the Maurya
period, music was popular as evident from references in Mautilyas famous treatise
,Arthashastra.
Vatsayan during 200 B.C asserted Indian music to be a total and unique assimilation of three
aspects:
Geetam : vocal music i.e an expression of emotions through tune(vocal)
Vadyam : Percussion instrument music for the rythmic values of music
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Nrityam : Dance- visualization with different physical or organic movements

Medieval period
From 7th to the 13th century AD, Indian music played a key role in India and outside. In 7th
century AD, Indian music was used to popularize the Hindu philosophy and religious ideas.
Many scholarly books on music were written; mention should be made of Jaidevs
Gitogobindo and sarangdevs Sangeet Ratnakar.
Between the 9th and 12th centuries, Indian classical music saw marked qualitative improvement.
From the 11th century onwards when India saw many advances by the Muslims from middle-
east, it influenced Indian music greatly. Gradually North Indian Music evolved as a separate
stream under their influence.
During Alauddin Khiljees time (1296-1316) the famed Amir Khusro reigned supreme as a
musical genius. It is said that he was the first to use Tabla and Sitar as percussion instruments
and created new Ragas and introduced vocal music like Kawali and Tarana. Raja Man
Singh(1486-1518) reigned the kingdom of Gwalior and his patronage gave birth to Gwalior
Gharana as a distinct style of Indian music. With the help of the then musicologists, he is said
to have penned Mankuthul. During that era, devotional songs in India music reached its peak
with the marvelous songs of Kabir(1405AD), Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu(1486 AD) and
Mirabai(1500 AD).
King Akbar(15556-1605AD) was a keen lover of music and patronized maestros like Nayak
Bakru, Tansen, Tantarang Gopal etc in his court. Tansen before conversion to Islamic religion
was known as Tanna Mishra. His siblings and pupils were clubbed under a gharana ( a seperate
style of Indian music) known as Saini gaharana, synonymous with their legendary guru
Tansen. He is claimed to have created Ragas in Indian Music like Tansen darbari Kanar,
Miakisarang, Miamalhar etc.
During Akbars time, Tulsidas(1584 AD) penned the famous Ramcharit Manas. Musical genius
like Bilash Khan, Chattar Khan, Makku Khan delighted the court of Jahangir(1605-1627 AD).
King Shahjahan(1627-1658 AD) patronized musicians like Dirang Khan, Tal Khan, Bilas
Khan(son of Tansen) etc.
One cannot deny that the Mughal rulers contributed substantially to the development of Indian
Classical music in their own way. In fact, Kheyal and also Toppa originated during their regime.
Modern period started from the end of the eighteenth century. This period saw the gradual
overthrowing of the Muslim rulers by the British who were indifferent to Indian culture and
particularly classical music. This led to the decline of the court sponsored Musicians.
Consequently, the musicians kept their knowledge and practice to themselves confining it within
their own family members.Music became a vehicle of entertainment and was looked down upon
in society. This trend continued till the middle of the 19th century. During this period, the most
notable music lover amongst the weakened Muslim stat rulers was Wajid Ali Shah, Nawab of
Ayodhya. He was dethroned by the British and sent to jail in Calcutta(Metiaburz). Wajid brought
along with him a large number of poets and musicians. He penned many kheyal and thumri
songs.
The beginning of 20th century saw the revival of Indian classical music. Amongst those who
contributed to this revival, the names of Pt. Bishnu Digambar paluskar, Pt. Vishnu Narayan
Bhatkhananda need special mention. The process of notation in music invented by Bhatkhanadaji
is now followed by Hindustani classical musicians.
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The 20th century witnessed a galaxy of brilliant Indian Classical musicians like Ustad Faiz
Khan, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Pandit
Onkarnath Tahkur, Biswadeb Chottopadhyaha, Tarapada Chakravarty, Ustad Alauddin Khan,
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, UStad Enayat Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit V.G Jyog etc.
The legacy left behind by these legendary figures is still nourished carefully by many ardent
students of music in the country.
About the Author:
Dalia Rahut was initially trained in Hindustani classical music by Pandit A. Kanan. She was one
of the first scholars of ITC Sangeet Research Academy(SRA), joining in 1978. Training under
Vidushi Girija Devi from 1978 to 1992, she is a true representative of the Banaras Gharana,
excelling in thumri, dadra, tappa, kajri, holi, chaiti, jhula, bhajan and other semi-classical forms.
Dalia has also completed her Masters Degree in Bengali literature.
Post SRA, she has devoted her life to the promotion of light classical music through teaching,
workshops and vocal recitals in India and abroad. She has conducted workshops on light
classical music under the aegis of Paschim Banga Rajya Sangeet Academy, Kolkata and is an
empanelled judge of the Academy. She is an artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan, with
cassette and CD releases to her credit. Presently she heads the Indian Music Section of Calcutta
School of Music and is an empanelled teacher on Gyan Vani FM (under IGNOU).

Evolution
Indian classical music has one of the most complex and complete musical
systems ever developed. It has developed through various interactions between
different peoples of different races and cultures over several thousand years.
Like Western classical music, it divides the octave into 12 semitones of which
the 7 basic notes are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, in order, replacing Do Re Mi
Fa So La Ti Do. The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the
oldest of scriptures, part of the Hindu tradition known as the Vedas. The
Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music at length and was created out
of Rigveda so that its hymns could be sung as Samagana; this style eventually
evolved into Ragas, a very popularly known term. Indian classical music
evolved as traditionally practice oriented. The rules of Indian music and
compositions themselves are taught from a Guru to a Shishya, in person.
Players of the tabla usually keep the rhythm in Hindustani music. The prime
themes of Hindustani music are romantic love, nature and devotionals. Yet,
Indian classical music is independent of such themes. To sing a raga, any poetic
phrase appropriate for the raga may be chosen and the raga would not suffer.
Once the raga is established, the ornamentation begins to become rhythmical,
gradually speeding up.
Trends write-up
Originally, all Indian music was sung in Sanskrit. But after the two systems
divided, Hindustani music was centered around Hindi, whereas the Carnatic
system was mainly influenced by Telegu as well as by Kannadese and Tamil.
The trend was that tradition of music should be passed on in gharanas or
regional schools or styles of performance in the cities of Northern India,
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especially through family dynasties of famous teachers and musicians,

frequently named after the place where it originated. Today, teaching has often
transferred to colleges and conservatoires, but the traditional system through
guru-shishya instruction persists, and so do the dynasties. Pure tradition of
Classical Music was where improvisation predominates, and written notation,
when used, is skeletal. Such intrinsic music of past generations is irrevocably
lost today.
Major Artists
Indian classical music has given wonderful musicians to the world. Notable
vocalists include Tansen, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, D. V. Paluskar, Abdul
Karim Khan, Pt. Jasraj, Nazakat and Salamat Ali Khan, Mogubai Kurdikar and
Kishori Amonkar among others. Instrumentalists like Allaudin Khan, Ali Akbar
Khan, Bismillah Khan, Ustad Allah Rakha and the legendary Zakir Hussain
have been synonymous with the Indian Classical Music era and have achieved
tremendous fame and stature over the years.

Trivia/ Quotes
Trivia:

Bharats Natyashastra is the first treatise laying down the fundamental

principles of drama, dance and music in India.

In Hindustani music, the performance usually begins with a slow

elaboration of the raga, known as Alap.

There is a significant amount of Persian influence in Hindustani music,

in terms of both the instruments and the style of presentation.

Indian classical music can be divided into Hindustani Classical (North

India) and Carnatic (South India).

Popular terms of the Indian Classical Music era that are famous the
world over include- Sitar, sarod, tabla, sarangi, khayal, ghazal or raga,
tala and gharana.

The famous Classical Musician Ravi Shankar became George

Harrisons (of band The Beetles fame) guru in the 1960s.
 P a g e | 17

INSTRUMENTALISTS AND LEGENDS OF INDIAN

CLASSICAL MUSIC
Pandit Ravi Shankar

LT.SHRI SHRI Pandit Ravi Shankar, an instrumentalist who plays the sitar, was born on the 7th
of April 1920 in Benares. His original name was Robindra Shankar. Pandit Ravi Shankar is
largely responsible for taking Indian classical music to the West, giving it the global audience it
enjoys today. He spent the first ten years of his life in India living with his mother since his
father Shyam Shankar (a prominent scholar, statesmen and lawyer) was usually absent. His elder
brother, a legendary dancer called Uday Shankar, meanwhile was in Paris with a troupe. In 1930,
Pandit Ravi Shankar and his mother left India for Paris. For the next eight years he would travel
around with the troupe and gradually begin appearing in their performances both as a
accompanying musician as well as a dancer. In
1935 an important event took place in his life,
Ustad Allauddin Khan joined the troupe for a
year. Ustad Allauddin Khan was a renowned
musician and his presence in the troupe
naturally had a profound impact on Pandit Ravi
Shankar. When the troupe returned to India
three years later in 1938, Pandit Ravi Shankar
went to Ustad Allauddin Khan and became his
disciple. For the next seven years he learnt the
nuances of playing the sitar from Ustad
Allauddin Khan. He also went to marry Ustad
Allauddin Khan daughter, Anapurna in the year
1941. Pandit Ravi Shankar was able to establish
his name as a performer and did his first concert
in 1939. The following year he began appearing
on programs in All India Radio. The most
memorable of these were his jugalbandis with
another upcoming artist, Ali Akbar Khan, who is today a maestro of the sarod. Over the next
decade he would move across the country performing in a variety of programs and even working
in theatre and films. By the 1950's he was keen to take his music abroad, for during his years in
Paris he realized that the people there did not know much about Indian music. In 1952, he came
into contact with Yehudi Menuhin, a Russian musician who expressed a sincere interest in Indian
music. Encouraged by this, Pandit Jasraj toured the USSR in 1954 and two years later went on to
tour Europe and America. In 1958 he visited Japan and then played in Paris as part of a
UNESCO festival. During the fusion years of the 1960's he worked with several western
musicians, one of his most famous such collaborations was with George Harisson (an ex-Beatle)
in 1966. A collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin won them a grammy in 1967 and he followed
that up with another Grammy in 1972 when he and George Harisson won a Grammy for best
album. He also performed at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. Over the next few decades
he would compose and perform music at various locations around the world. He is a regular
 P a g e | 18

performer in India and abroad, and has performed in almost all parts of the world. His
performances not only made him a popular artist abroad, but also increased awareness of Indian
classical music abroad and paved the way for other Indian musicians to perform abroad. For
most of the 1970's he focused more on India, as he was worried that the tremendous international
exposure was harming Indian music. He however returned actively to international work from
the 1980's onwards. Pandit Ravi Shankar is a recipient of several awards like the Padma
Vibhushan (one of India's highest civilian awards), the Grand Prize at the Fukuoka Asian
Cultural Prizes, France's Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and eleven honorary
doctorates. In his 80's now, he still performs and is based in California, USA. He has a daughter
Anoushka (from his second wife Sukanya)and is busy training her in music. Although he is
based abroad, he still makes it a point to regularly visit India.

Ustad Allarakha Khan

The Late Ustad Allarakha Khan was one of the countries leading tabla maestros and was
instrumental in establishing the tabla as a solo instrument. Ustad Allarakha Khan was born on the
29th of April 1919 in the Ratangadh of the Punjab. By the age of twelve he was already
fascinated with the tabla. He ran away from home and became a disciple of Mian Quader Baksh
of the Punjab Gharana who introduced him to
the world of music. Ustad Allarakha Khan was
a dedicated student and was known to have
spent hours and hours perfecting his technique.
He began his career in 1940 as an accompanist
for All India Radio and later went on to
compose some film music for a few years.
Ustad Allarakha Khan became famous after
working as an accompanist with Pandit Ravi
Shankar during the 1960's. He enthralled
audiences across the world with his flawless
and superb technique. He was also known for
his fantastic ability to improvise, compose and
present music. His ability as showman spread
the popularity of the tabla to all parts of the
world and soon it was respected as a solo
instrument. Ustad Allarakha Khan also
performed with many Carnatic musicians, bridging the gap between Hindustani and Carnatic
music. His son and disciple Ustad Zakir Hussain is today an established tabla maestro. Ustad
Allarakha Khan died on the 3rd of February, 2000.
 P a g e | 19

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan

Ustad Amajad Ali Khan is a distinguished instrumental artist of the Sarod instrument. Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan was born on the 9th of October in 1945 to a family that had tremendous musical
tradition. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan made his stage debut when he was only twelve and after that
his career took off very rapidly. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan spent the initial years of his career
performing only within the country as he
wanted to establish himself in India
before playing for a world audience. Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan style of performing captivates
audiences for he is able to make the audience
feel a part of the performance. Ustad Amjad Ali
Khan is an extremely accomplished artist and
has won a number of awards which normally
would take a musician a lifetime to win. He is
the winner of the Unesco Award, Padma
Bhushan, Unicef's National Ambassadorship
and The Crystal Award by the World Economic
Forum. He has received an honorary Doctorate
from the University of York, England as well as
honorary Citizenship to the American states of
Texas, Massachusetts and Tennessee. His two
sons, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash are
accomplished sarod players.

Ustad Bismillah Khan

Ustad Bismillah Khan is a maestro of the wind instrument known as the shehnai A private man
who believes that musicians should be heard and not seen. Ustad Bismillah Khan was born on
the 21'st of March 1916. His family had been the court musicians of the princely state Dumraon.
Ustad Bismillah Khan trained under his uncle
Ali Bux `Vilayatu' who was also a shanai player
for Varanasi's Vishwanath Temple. Ustad
Bismillah Khan was given the honor of
performing during India's first Republic day in
1950, a performance which is still legendary. A
highly accompalished musician, he has received
many award like the Sangeet Natak Academi
Award, the Tansen Award and the highly
prestigious Padma Vibhushan. He has travelled
extensively and performed in almost every part
of the world. Ustad Bismillah Khan is today
over eighty years old but still gives
performances and believes that his work is far
from finished.
 P a g e | 20

Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia

Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia is a renowned player of the flute. His name means "Blessings of
the Lord", a fitting name for a gifted man. Born on the - to a family that had little to do with the
music (his father was a distinguished wrestler and had similar aspirations for his son!) Pandit
Hari Prasad Chaurasia was not keen on taking up the sport and instead began learning music at
the age of 15. He learn the techniques of Indian vocal classical music from Pandit Raja Ram. A
year later he attended a recital of the flute by Pandit Bholanath and was deeply moved by the
experience. He switched to instrumental music and began learning from Pandit Bholanath. Pandit
Hari Prasad Chaurasia had to struggle in the early years of his career, working as a performing
artist for All India Radio and by playing temples. After five years with All India Radio he was
assigned to their Bombay office. His move to Bombay marked a new phase in his career.
Shrimati Annapurna Devi who was an illustrious artist of the surdaban instrument (it is similar to
the sitar) began working with him. The arrangement was rather peculiar for the two instruments
were completely different, but Pandit Hari
Prasad Chaurasia was fascinated by her music
and requested her to help him recreate her
music on his instrument. Under her guidance,
Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia's music developed
new depth and perfection. She also encouraged
him to pursue a concert career. Pandit Hari
Prasad Chaurasia followed her advice and his
debut concert was a dazzling concert. Over the
next few years his fame would spread all over
India and the world with the numerous
international concerts that he performed at.
Besides many international awards he has also
won the Sangeet Natak Akademi (academy)
Award, Padmabhushan (one of India's highest
civilian awards) and the Maharashtra Gaurav
Puraskar amongst many others. Pandit Hari
Prasad Chaurasia has over the last few years been working on his pet project of reviving the
Gurukula tradtion. He has established an organization called Brindavan, that will select a certain
amount of students and train them in classical music.
 P a g e | 21

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma was born on the 13th of January 1938 in Jammu, in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma is a unique artist, for he has received training
in vocal, percussion and instrumental music. He has however specialized in playing the santoor
as his father Pandit Umadutt Sharma wanted him to promote the instrument, a task Pandit Shiv
Kumar Sharma has been extremely successful in doing. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma entered the
classical music scene very early, beginning with training as a vocalist at the age of five and going
to learn the Tabla, Sarod, Violin and Harmonium. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma began learning the
Santoor from his father whenhe was fourteen
years old. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma did some
considerable re- engineering of the santoor to
make it more suitable for classical Indian
music. People who doubted the santoor's
capabilities were soon amazed after they heard
the performances of Pandit Shiv Kumar
Sharma. His first performance took place in
Bombay in 1955 and since then has performed
all over the country and world. He has worked
with several other Indian classical musicians to
produce some exquisite compositions of music.
Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma music appeals to all
sections of people, even those who normally do
not appreciate classical music. His son, Rahul
been trained by his father and two often
perform together.

Ustad Zakir Hussain

Ustad Zakir Hussain is a distinguished tabla maestro. The son of the legendary Alla Rakha he
has continued the fine work started by his father
and has consolidated the position of the tabla as
a solo instrument. He was born on -. A child
prodigy he learnt how to play the instrument
very early in life and was already doing tours
when he was only twelve years old. He has
performed all over India and the world and has
also been involved in composing music,
especially fusion. His first solo release Making
Music (1987) was the result of his efforts to
fuse western and indian music. He has
 P a g e | 22

composed music for several films as well. A talented musician, he has received several awards at
a comparative young age, In 1988 he was awarded the Padmashri and is the youngest musician
ever to have won the prestigious award. He has also received the Indo-American Award (for his
contribution of spreading his music to the United States), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
amongst several others. A fusion album between Zakir Hussain and Mickey Hart called Planet
Drum won a Grammy award.

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt hails from Jaipur, in the province Rajasthan. His initial training in classical
music was from his brother, Shashi Mohan Bhatt. In 1983 he became a disciple of the great
Pandit Ravi Shankar. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt has made a unique contribution to Indian classical
music, by bringing a western instrument into it. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is an instrumentalist who
plays a modified version of the Western acoustic guitar. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt modified the
guitar to make it more suitable for Indian classical music. He calls his creation the Mohan Veena.
He has also developed a specific technique by which Indian classical music can be reproduced
on this instrument. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt has performed across India and the world and has also
participated in many fusion projects with several western musicians. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt has
been very successful both within the country as well as in other parts of the world. His
collaboration with American slide guitarist Ry Cooder won them a Grammy in 1994. Another
collaboration, this time with noted banjo player Bela Flek and Erhu Jei Bing resulted in a
Grammy nomination in 1997. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is also a recipient of the Sangeet
Natak Akademi (academy) Award.

VOCALISTS
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
The family of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was born in the year 1902 and belonged to a village
called Kasur, near Lahore (in present day Pakistan) . He came from an already renowned family
of musicians. His father Ustad Ali Baksh Khan and uncle Ustad Kale Khan were famous
vocalists of the time. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan had three brothers who also grew up to be
musicians in their own right . Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was trained in the Patiala Gharana
style.

In his childhood he started taking lessons in music from his uncle Ustad Kale Khan but due to
family circumstances he was made to learn an instrument called Sarangi. He continued to
practice vocal music as this remained his interest. Later he travelled to Bombay where he began
learning Hindustani classical music from Ustad Sindhi Khan. Soon he was performing at
concerts all across India. He has given enthralling performances in numerous music conferences.
His rendering of each musical note with finesse was the most appealing quality in his singing.

In 1961 he suffered a severe paralytic attack and on the 23rd of April, 1968 he passed away in
Hyderabad. In his lifetime he received several honors and awards, amongst which Sangeet Natak
Akademi (academy) and the Padmabhushan (one of India's highest civilian awards). A specialist
in Thumri and Khayal style of music, he has cut numerous albums which are popular even today.
 P a g e | 23

Pandit Jasraj
Pandit Jasraj is one of the most well known and popular Indian classical musician. A vocalist
from a family that has been connected with music for over four generations. Pandit Jasraj was
born in the year 1930. He first trained under his father the late Pandit Moti Ram who a pioneer of
the Mewati Gharana. Pandit Jasraj actually began as an instrumentalist playing the table, till the
age of twelve. He realized however that accompanying musicians were not accorded the same
respect as solo performers and hence switched over to learning vocal music in order to pursue his
career as a solo vocal artist. He trained under his elder brother the late Pandit Mani Ram.
Another teacher who had a profound impact on his music was the late Maharana Shri Jaywant
Singh, also of the Mewati gharana. Pandit Jasraj's voice has a sublime emotional quality about it,
one that touches the listeners soul. He is able to give each part of a raga a separate identity and is
able to convey the emotion to an audience
which may not necessarily understand
the meaning of the words being sung.
Audiences are mesmerized by his performance
as his control over his voice and levels he can
take it too are absolutely amazing. Pandit Jasraj
is one of the most renowned Indian muscians
both India and abroad. He has received many
prestigious awards like the Padma Bhusan (one
of India's highest civilian awards), Surer Guru,
Sangeet Martand, Sangeet Kala Ratna,
Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar and the Dinanath
Mangeshkar award. A scholarship in the
University of Toronto (Canada) has also been
named after him. He has also been involved in
efforts to continue the Indian classical music tradition, taking a lot of interest in teaching the next
generation of aspiring artists. Aptly described as one of the living legends of Indian classical
music.
 P a g e | 24

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was born on the 14th of February 1922 to conservative Brahmin family in
Gadang, Karnataka. Early in his life he developed an interest for classical music after listening to
a recording of noted classical musician, Abdul Karim Khan. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi father was the
village schoolmaster and wanted his son to pursue his education and become a doctor or
engineer. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi however keen on pursuing music and showed little interest in
academics. One day he ran away from home to be able to further pursue his interest. Pandit
Bhimsen Joshi went to the city of Gwalior which was one of the prominent centers of classical
music. He worked with several musicians in that area and learnt as much as he could from them.
His father learnt of this and abandoned his opposition. He brought Pandit Bhimsen Joshi back
home and arranged for him to learn music from Sawai Gandharva. Under this guru his technique
was perfected his voice reached dazzling levels
of brilliance. His ability to sing in all three
octaves effortlessly has been achieved through
rigorous practice. His music is an epic struggle
with Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in the center as a one
man chorus.

The sheer power of his voice is fantastic

engulfing a listener from all sides. His talent
was soon recognized and his fame spread to all
parts of India and the world. He performed at
one location after with the other with
remarkable rapidity, giving him the title of "The
flying musician of India"! A highly
distinguished and popular artist,he has won
numerous awards which include, the Padma
Shree, the Padma Bhusan (one of India's highest
civilian awards) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi (academy) Award.
 P a g e | 25

Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan was born on the 1'st of July 1966 in Budaon, Uttar Pradesh and is one of the
prominent young maestros of Indian classical music. He is part of a family of illustrious
musicians, like his grandfather, the legendary Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan Saheb. Rashid Khan
initially was not interested in music but under the guidance of his grand uncle, the late Ustad
Nissar Hussain Khan he soon developed an interest and entered the field. Ustad Nissar Hussain
realized the full potential of Rashid Khan and worked with him to perfect his technique. Ustad
Nissar Hussain was a strict teacher and Rashid Khan had to undergo intensive training with
hours of practice. Rashid Khan went on to give
his first public performance when he was only
eleven. That was in the year 1977, the following
year he performed in the ITC Sangeet
Shammelan held at New Delhi. His fame spread
rapidly after that and he was soon invited to
perform at concerts in India and across the
world. Rashid Khan's music is one of balance
between technical perfection on one side and
creativity on the other. Rashid Khan has been
widely appreciated not only in India, but all
over the India. Despite his fantastic success he
is an embodiment of humility and believes he
still has a lot more to learn.

Ustad Amir Khan Ustad Amir Khan was a

legendary artiste of the 20th Century and was
an important figure in Indian classical music. Born in the year 1912 in the city of Indore,
Madhya Pradesh. His father was involved in music and was a noted instrumentalist, playing the
sarangi. Ustad Amir Khan began to learn to play the sarangi from his father but later switched to
learning vocal music on the insistence of his father. His vocal music training was under Lala
Girdhari Lal. Ustad Amir Khan through years of practice was able to develop a very distinctive
style, artiste's of his stature are often known as gharanas themselves! He used the Kirana
Gharana concept of note elaboration and meticulously moving through the notes at a very slow
tempo, to bring out the purity of the notes. He also believed a raga was an interrelationship of
notes and these generated the feeling and emotion, without which the raga had no meaning.
Ustad Amir Khan died in the year 1974.

Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur

Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur was born in the year 1910 and displayed talent in music at a very
young age. When he was ten years old he ran away from home to join a touring music/theatre
company. His travels brought him into contact with Pandit Neelakantha Bua who trained Pandit
Mallikarjun Mansur for the next six years. By the age of twenty he had begun performing but his
desire to further his training was not yet over. He became the disciple Ustad Manjhi Khan and
then Ustad Bhurjhi Khan. His training under these different teachers brought an interesting blend
of different styles into his singing. His repotoire of ragas was extensive and he often sang some
 P a g e | 26

of the rarest of ragas. His singing style was also very exciting for he would often jump suddenly
from one segment to the other surprising his audience.

Ajay Chakrabarty
Ajay Chakrabarty was born in the year 1953. He first trained under his father, Ajit Chakrabarty
and then under Pannalal Samanta, Kanai Das Bairagi and Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghoghs. In 1969
he became a disciple of Ustad Munawar Ali Khan son of the legendary Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan whose style had a profound impact on Ajay Chakrabarty. Ustad Munawar Ali Khan made
some significant contributions in developing Ajay Chakrabarty's vocal style. Ajay Chakrabarty
also holds a M.A. (Masters) in Music from the Rabindra Bharati University. He has also been
associated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi (academy) since 1977 when he joined it as a scholar.
A very successful artiste who is popular both in India and abroad.

Gangubai Hangal
Gangubai Hangal was born in the year 1913 to a family with a musical background. She initially
trained under her mother, Ambabai and later on went to become a disciple of Rambabu
Kundgolkar. She is a gifted singer with a
resonant and flexible voice. Her repertoire is
also vast. She has received several awards like
the Mysore State Academy Award, Padma
Bhushan (one of India's highest civilian
awards), the Sangeet Natak Akademi (academy)
Award and an honorary doctorate from the
Karnataka University.

Giriji Devi

Giriji Devi was born in the year 1929 in the city

of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Her initial training
was under Sarju Prasad Misra and then later
with Shrichandra Mishra. She has won several
awards in her career like the Padma Bhushan
(one of India's highest civilian awards), Tansen
award of the government of Madhya Pradesh, the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award, the Sangeet
Natak Akademi (academy) award and a honorary doctorate from the Mahatama Gandhi Kashi
Vidyapeeth.
 P a g e | 27

Kishori Amonkar
Kishori Amonkar was born in the year 1931 in the city of Bombay, Maharashtra. She received
her training under her mother, Mogubai Kuridkar. Kishori Amonkar is a leading exponent of
Khayal and semi-classical aspects of Indian classical music. She also sings devotional songs. She
has done an in-depth research on Indian
classical music and has conducted seminars
across the world on the subject. She has also
performed at several locations across the world
as well as within the country. She has received
several awards like the Sangeet Natak Akademi
(academy) Award and the Padma Bhushan (one
of India's highest civilian awards).

nawar Ali Khan made some significant

contributions in developing Ajay Chakrabarty's
vocal style. Ajay Chakrabarty also holds a M.A.
(Masters) in Music from the Rabindra Bharati
University. He has also been associated with the
Sangeet Natak Akademi (academy) since 1977
when he joined it as a scholar. A very
successful artiste who is popular both in India
and abroad.

Giriji Devi

Giriji Devi was born in the year 1929 in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Her initial training
was under Sarju Prasad Misra and then later with Shrichandra Mishra. She has won several
awards in her career like the Padma Bhushan (one of India's highest civilian awards), Tansen
award of the government of Madhya Pradesh, the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award, the Sangeet
Natak Akademi (academy) award and a honorary doctorate from the Mahatama Gandhi Kashi
Vidyapeeth.
 P a g e | 28

RAGA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Ragga.

This article is about melodic modes used in Indian music. For other uses, see Raga
(disambiguation).

A raga (Sanskrit rga , Tamil irgam , Telugu Raagam , Kannada Raaga

, Malayalam rgam literally "colour, hue" but also "beauty, melody"; also
spelled raag,raaga, ragam)[1] is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.
A raga uses a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is constructed. However,
the way the notes are approached and rendered in musical phrases and the mood they convey are
more important in defining a raga than the notes themselves. In the Indian musical tradition,
rgas are associated with different times of the day, or with seasons. Indian classical music is
always set in a rga. Non-classical music such as popular Indian film
songs and ghazals sometimes use rgas in their compositions.

Joep Bor of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music defined Raga as "tonal framework for
composition and improvisation." Nazir Jairazbhoy, chairman of UCLA's department
ofethnomusicology, characterized ragas as separated by scale, line of ascent and
descent, transilience, emphasized notes and register, and intonation and ornaments.

TERMINOLOGY

The Sanskrit word rga is defined as 'the act of colouring or dyeing' (the mind and
mood/emotions in this context) and therefore metaphorically means 'any feeling or passion
especially love, affection, sympathy, desire, interest, motivation, joy, or delight.' Therefore, the
word is used in the literal sense of 'the act of dyeing,' and also 'color, hue, tint,' especially the
color red in theSanskrit epics, and in the figurative sense of 'something that colors one's
emotions.' A figurative sense of the word as 'passion, love, desire, delight' is also found in
the Mahabharata. The specialized sense of 'loveliness, beauty,' especially of voice or song,
emerges in Classical Sanskrit, used by Kalidasa and in the Panchatantra.[4]
 P a g e | 29

The term first occurs in a technical context in the Brihaddeshi (dated ca. 5th to 8th
century),[5] where it is described as "a combination of tones which, with beautiful illuminating
graces, pleases the people in general".

Rgin (Devanagari: ) is a term for the "feminine" counterpart or "wife" to a rga.

The rga-rgini scheme from about the 14th century aligned 6 "male" rgas with 6 "wives."

NATURE OF RGA

Raga Shree recital to Krishna and Radha,Ragamala paintings, 19th century

"That which is a special dhwani (tune), is bedecked with swara (notes) and varna and is
colorful or delightful to the minds of the people, is said to be rga" - Matanga in
theBrihaddeshi.
The basic mode of reference in modern Hindustani practice (known commonly as
the shuddha - basic - form) is a set which is equivalent to the Western Ionian
mode (the major scale) this is called Bilawal thaat in Hindustani music (the
Carnatic analogue would be Sankarabharanam). In both systems, the ground (or
tonic), Shadja, Sa, and a pure fifth above, Pancham, Pa, are fixed and essentially
sacrosanct tones. In the Hindustani system, in a given seven-tone mode, the second,
third, sixth, and seventh notes can be natural (shuddha, lit. 'pure') or flat(komal,
'soft') but never sharp, and the fourth note can be natural or sharp (tivra) but never
 P a g e | 30

flat, making up the twelve notes in the Western equal tempered chromatic
scale (Westernenharmonic pitch equivalences like, for example, A and B do not
apply; e.g. Re tivra may, to a Western musician appear enharmonic to Ga shuddha in
that system, but in practice is not.) A Western-style C chromatic scale could
therefore theoretically have the notes C, D , D, E , E, F, F, G, A , A, B , B.

The Carnatic system has three versions a lower, medium, and higher form of
all the notes except Sa, Ma and Pa. Ma has two versions (lower and higher), while Sa
and Pa are invariant. Rgas can also specify microtonal changes to this scale: a flatter
second, a sharper seventh, and so forth. Tradition has it that the octave consists of (a
division into) 22 microtones ("shrutis"). Furthermore, individual performers treat
pitches quite differently, and the precise intonation of a given note depends on
melodic context. There is no absolute pitch(such as the modern western standard A =
440 Hz); instead, each performance simply picks a ground note, which also serves as
the drone, and the other scale degrees follow relative to the ground note. The
Carnatic system embarks from a much different shuddha (fundamental) scalar
formation, that is, shuddha here is the lowest-pitched swara.

By comparison, using the common tonic "C" for a western musician:

Carnatic Carnatic Hindustani Hindustani Western

Swara Notation Swara Notation E.T.

Sa S Sa S C

Shuddha Ri R1 Komal Re r D

Chatusruti Ri R2 Shuddha Re R D

Shatsruti Ri R3 D

Shuddha Ga G1 E
 P a g e | 31

Sadharana Ga G2 Komal G g E

Antara Ga G3 Shuddha Ga G E

Shuddha Ma M1 Shuddha Ma M F

Prati Ma M2 Teevra Ma M+ F

Pa P Pa P G

Shuddha Dha D1 Komal Dha d A

Chatusruti
D2 Shuddha Dha D A
Dha

Shatsruti Dha D3 A

Shuddha Ni N1 B

Kaisika Ni N2 Komal Ni n B

Kakali Ni N3 Shuddha Ni N B

[EDIT]RGAS AND THEIR SEASONS

 P a g e | 32

Vasant Ragini, Ragamala, Rajput, Kota, Rajasthan. 1770. Vasant is the raga of
spring. The painting depicts Hindu godKrishna dancing with maidens.

Many Hindustani (North Indian) rgas are prescribed for the particular time of a day
or a season. When performed at the suggested time, the rga has its maximum effect.
For example, many of the Malhar group of rgas, which are ascribed the magical
power to bring rain, are performed during the monsoon. However, these
prescriptions are not strictly followed, especially since modern concerts are generally
held in the evening. There has also been a growing tendency over the last century for
North Indian musicians to adopt South Indian rgas, which do not come with any
particular time associated with them. The result of these various influences is that
there is increasing flexibility as to when rgas may be performed.

NOTATIONS

Although notes are an important part of rga practice, they alone do not make the
rga. A rga is more than a scale, and many rgas share the same scale. The
underlying scale may have five,six or seven tones, called swaras. Rgas that have
five swaras are called audava () rgas; those with six, shaadava (); and
with seven, sampurna (, Sanskrit for 'complete'). Those rgas that do
 P a g e | 33

not follow the strict ascending or descending order of swaras are

called vakra () ('crooked') rgas.

The mood of the rga and the way the notes are approached and used are more
important than the notes it uses. For example, Darbari Kanada and Jaunpuri share the
same notes but are entirely different in their renderings. Similarly, although
Bilaskhani Todi is classified under the Bhairavi thaat because of the notes it uses, it
is actually closer to Todi than to Bhairavi.

NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN DIFFERENCES

The two streams of Indian classical music, Carnatic music and Hindustani music,
have independent sets of rgas. There is some overlap, but more "false friendship"
(where rga names overlap, but rga form does not). In north India, the rgas have
been primarily categorised into ten thaats or parent scales (by Vishnu Narayan
Bhatkhande, 1860-1936); South India uses an older and even more systematic
classification scheme called the melakarta classification, with 72 parent (melakarta)
rgas. Overall there is a greater identification of rga with scale in the south than in
the north, where such an identification is impossible. Rgas in north Indian music
system follow the 'law of consonances' established by Bharata in his Natyashastra,
which does not tolerate deviation even at the shruti level.

As rgas were transmitted orally from teacher to student, some rgas can vary greatly
across regions, traditions and styles. Many ragas have also been evolving over the
centuries. There have been efforts to codify and standardise rga performance in
theory from their first mention in Matanga's Brihaddeshi (c. tenth century).

[EDIT]CARNATIC RGA
Main article: Carnatic rga

In Carnatic music, rgas are classified as Janaka rgas and Janya rgas. Janaka rgas
are the rgas from which the Janya rgas are created. Janaka rgas are grouped
together using a scheme called Katapayadi sutra and are organised
as Melakarta rgas. A Melakarta rga is one which has all seven notes in both the
rhanam (ascending scale) and avarhanam (descending scale).
Some Melakarta rgas
are Harikambhoji, Kalyani, Kharaharapriya,Mayamalavagowla, Sankarabharanam
and Todi.
 P a g e | 34

Janya rgas are derived from the Janaka rgas using a combination of the swarams
(usually a subset of swarams) from the parent rga. Some janya rgas
are Abheri, Abhogi, Bhairavi, Hindolam, Mohanam and Kambhoji. See the fullList
of Janya Ragas for more.

Each rga has a definite collection and orders of swaras (the basic notes). In Carnatic
music, there are 7 basic notes of which there are a total of 16 varieties. The seven
basic swarams of Carnatic music are: Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni.

[EDIT]RELATED RGAS
Even though Janya rgas are subsets of Janaka rgas in notation and representation,
the differences between the child ragas are clear due to the differences like

some notes that figure more in a particular rga compared to another, while other
notes used sparingly
some notes may be sung with gamaka, stress, elongation, etc., in one rga
compared to other
specific phrases used and other phrases to be avoided in a rga (so as to avoid
deviation into another rga's domain)
the scales of some ragas may contain at least one swara that does not figure in
their janaka ragas. Such ragas are termed as bhashanga ragas. Ragas such
as Bhairavi, Kambhoji, Bilahari, Devagandhari, and Neelambari fall under this
category.
Bhairavi and Kharaharapriya are never sung together, since the prayogas while
singing aalapana are almost the same, with the Suddha dha of Bhairavi being the
only difference between the two.
The effect of the rgas are different from each other, even if they notationally use
same swarams (or subset of swarams between each other) due to above subjective
differences related to bhava and rasa (mood caused in the listener). The artists have
to ensure the same when elaborating on a rga, as has been followed and expected on
each rga, without digressing into the phrases of another related rga.

[EDIT]RGA -RGINI

For illustrations of ragas and raginis, see Ragamala paintings.

 P a g e | 35

Basohli painting of Ragaputra Velavala, son of the raga Bhairava.

The rga-rgini scheme is a classification scheme used from the 14th century to the
19th century. It usually consists of 6 'male' rgas each with 6 'wives' (rginis) and a
number of sons (putras) and even 'daughters-in-law'. As it did not agree with various
other schemes, and the 'related' rgas had very little or no similarity, the rga-rgini
scheme is no longer very popular.[6]

Rgas and rginis were often pictured as Hindu gods, Rajput princes and aristocratic
women in an eternal cycle of love, longing and fulfilment.

Indain Classical Instruments

BAMBOO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

 P a g e | 36

[EDIT]OVERVIEW

There are numerous types of bamboo flutes made all over the world, such as
the dizi, xiao, shakuhachi, palendag and jinghu. In India, it is a very popular and highly
respected musical instrument, available even to the poorest and the choice of many highly
venerated maestros of classical music. It is known and revered above all as the divine flute
forever associated with Lord Krishna, who is always portrayed holding a bansuriin sculptures
and paintings. Four of the instruments used in Polynesia for traditional hula are made of
bamboo: nose flute, rattle, stamping pipes and the jaw harp. Bamboo may be used in the
construction of the Australian didgeridoo instead of the more traditional eucalyptus wood. In
Indonesia and the Philippines, bamboo has been used for making various kinds of musical
instruments, including the kolintang, angklungand bumbong.

Bamboo is also used to make slit drums. Traditional Philippine banda kawayan (bamboo bands)
use a variety of bamboo musical instruments, including
the marimba, angklung, panpipes and bumbong, as well as bamboo versions of western
instruments, such as clarinets, saxophones, and tubas.[2] The Las Pias Bamboo Organ in the
Philippines has pipes made of bamboo culms. The modern amplified string instrument,
the Chapman stick, is also constructed using bamboo. The khene (also
spelled khaen, kaen and khen; Lao: , Thai: ) is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose
pipes, which are usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood
reservoir into which air is blown, creating a sound similar to that of the violin. In the Indian
 P a g e | 37

Ocean island of Madagascar, the valiha, a long tube zither made of a single bamboo stalk, is
considered the national instrument.

Bamboo has also recently been used for the manufacture of guitars and ukuleles. Bamboo
Ukuleles are constructed of solid cross laminated bamboo strips not plywood. The bamboo solid
wood strips are similar to bamboo manufactured flooring. In addition to their strength, bamboo
ukuleles have excellent sound & rival ukuleles made out of more traditional woods like
Mahogany and KOA. Bamboo makes an excellent choice for an eco-friendly cost conscious
ukulele aficionados.
SITAR

The sitar (English pronunciation: /str/) is a plucked stringed instrument used mainly in Indian
classical music, which is believed to have been derived from the ancient Indian instrument
Veena and modified by a Mughal court musician to conform with the tastes of his Persian
patrons and named after a Persian instrument called the setar (meaning "three strings"). Since
then, it underwent many changes, and the modern sitar evolved in 18th century India. It derives
its resonance from sympathetic strings, a long hollow neck and a gourd resonating chamber.

Used widely throughout the Indian subcontinent, the sitar became known in the western world
through the work of Ravi Shankar beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s after The Kinks'
top 10 single "See My Friends" featured a low tuned drone guitar which was widely mistaken to
be the instrument.[1] The sitar saw further use in popular music after The Beatles featured the
sitar in their compositions, namely "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and "Within You
Without You". Their use of the instrument came as a result of George Harrison's taking lessons
on how to play it from Shankar and Shambhu Das.[2] Shortly after, Brian Jones of The Rolling
Stones used a sitar in "Paint It, Black" and a brief fad began for using the instrument in pop
 P a g e | 38

SAROD
ORIGINS
The sarod is believed by some to have descended from the Afghan rubab, a similar instrument
originating in Central Asia and Afghanistan. [1] The name Sarod roughly translates to "beautiful
sound" or "melody" in Persian (which is one of the many languages spoken in Afghanistan).
Although the sarod has been referred to as a "bass rubab"[2] its tonal bandwidth is actually
considerably greater than that of the rubab, especially in the middle and high registers. Lalmani
Misra opines in his Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya that the sarod is an combination of the ancient
chitra veena, the medieval rubab and modern sursingar. There is also speculation that
the oud may be the origin of the sarod.
Among the many conflicting and contested histories of the Sarod, there is one that attributes its
invention to the ancestors of the present-day Sarod maestro, Amjad Ali Khan. Amjad Ali Khans
ancestor Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash, a musician and horse trader, came to India with the
Afghan rubab in the mid-18th century and became a court musician to the Maharajah
of Rewa(now in Madhya Pradesh). It was his descendants, notably his grandson Ghulam Ali
Khan Bangash, a court musician in Gwalior, who changed the rubab into the sarod we know
today.[3] A parallel theory credits descendants of Madar Khan, Niyamatullah Khan in particular,
with the same innovation circa 1820. The sarod in its present recognizable form dates back to
approximately 1820, when it started gaining recognition as a serious instrument in
Rewa, Shahjahanpur, Gwalior and Lucknow. In the 20th century, the sarod received some
finishing touches from Allauddin Khan, the performer-pedagogue from Maihar best known as
sitarist Ravi Shankar's guru and the father of sarod player Ali Akbar Khan.
However, as is the case with most young, evolving instruments, much work remains to be done
in the area of sarod luthiery in order to achieve reliable customization, and precise replication of
successful instruments. This reflects the general state of Indian instrument making today.
 P a g e | 39

The design of the instrument depends on the school (gharana) of playing. There are three
distinguishable types, discussed below.
The conventional sarod is an 17 to 25-stringed lute-like instrument four to five main strings
used for playing the melody, one or two drone strings, two chikari strings and nine to
elevensympathetic strings. The design of this early model is generally credited to Niyamatullah
Khan of the Lucknow Gharana as well as Ghulam Ali Khan of the Gwalior-Bangash Gharana.
Among the contemporary sarod players, this basic design is kept intact by two streams of sarod
playing. Amjad Ali Khan and his disciples play this model, as do the followers of Radhika
Mohan Maitra. Both Amjad Ali Khan and Buddhadev Dasgupta have introduced minor changes
to their respective instruments which have become the design templates for their followers. Both
musicians use sarods made of teak wood, and a soundboard made of goat skin stretched across
the face of the resonator. Buddhadev Dasgupta prefers a polished stainless steel fingerboard for
the ease of maintenance while Amjad Ali Khan uses the conventional chrome or nickel-plated
cast steel fingerboard. Visually, the two variants are similar, with six pegs in the main pegbox,
two rounded chikari pegs and 11 (Amjad) to 15 (Buddhadev) sympathetic strings. The
descendants of Niyamatullah Khan (namely Irfan Khan and Ghulfam Khan) also play similar
instruments. Some of the followers of Radhika Mohan Maitra still carry the second resonator on
 P a g e | 40

their sarods. Amjad Ali Khan and his followers have rejected the resonator altogether. These
instruments are typically tuned to B, which is the traditional setting.
Two of the earliest sarods are still in concert circulation. These are the sarods built for
Niyamatullah Khan (c. 1840) and for Murad Ali Khan (c. 1860). Both have seen extensive use
for over five generations, and are in perfect playing condition. As a result of the resurgence of
these two early prototypes, the theories that proclaim the 20th-century variants to represent the
zenith of sarod design, face a serious and credible challenge. The Murad Ali sarod, in particular,
has acoustic sustain and projection that surpasses those of modern variants by a considerable
margin. On this sarod, it is possible to sustain slides of up to ten whole tones on one string, with
one downward stroke driving the string and membrane.
Another type is that designed by Allauddin Khan and his brother Ayet Ali Khan. This
instrument, referred to by David Trasoff (Trasoff, 2000) as the 1934 Maihar Prototype, is larger
and longer than the conventional instrument, though the fingerboard is identical to the traditional
sarod described above. This instrument has 25 strings in all. These include four main strings,
four jodstrings (tuned to Ni or Dha, R/r, G/g and Sa respectively), two chikari strings (tuned
to Sa of the upper octave) and fifteen tarab strings. The main strings are tuned
to Ma ("fa"), Sa ("do"), lowerPa ("so") and lower Sa, giving the instrument a range of three
octaves. The Maihar sarod lends itself extremely well to the presentation of alap with the
four jod strings providing a backdrop for the ambiance of the raga. This variant is, however, not
conducive to the performance of clean right-hand picking on individual strings. The instrument is
typically tuned to C.
Sarod strings are made either of steel or phosphor bronze. Most contemporary sarod players use
German or American made strings, such as Roslau (Germany), Pyramid (Germany) and
Precision (USA). The strings are plucked with a triangular plectrum (java) made of
polished coconut shell, ebony, cocobolo wood, horn, cowbone, DelrinTM or other such materials.
Early sarod players used plain wire plectrums, which yield a soft, ringing tone.
 P a g e | 41

SHEHNAI

CHARACTERISTICS
This tube-like instrument gradually broadens towards the lower end. It usually has between six
and nine holes. It employs one set of quadruple reeds, making it a quadruple reed woodwind. By
controlling the breath, various tunes can be played on it.
The shehnai has a range of two octaves, from the A below middle C to the A one line above the
treble clef (A3 to A5 in scientific pitch notation).
[EDIT]ORIGIN OF THE SHEHNAI
The ancestor of North Indian shehnai is believed to be from Persian Surna (Sur = feast,
Nai=Ney= flute). The shehnai is thought to have been developed by improving upon the pungi (a
woodwind folk instrument used primarily for snake charming).
There are varying legends of the shehnai's origin. In one of these, a shah initially banned the
playing of the pungi in his court due to its shrill sound. A barber, belonging to a family of
musicians, improved on it and created the shehnai. As it was played in the Shah's court and
giving due reference to the nai or barber, the new instrument was called shehnai.
In other variants of the legend, the shehnai was
 P a g e | 42

named after a shehnai player called shehinaia,

derived from sheh (breath) and nai (flute), or
derived from the combination of the Persian words shah (king), and nai (reed, flute) to give
the meaning "the king's flute".
Another theory of the origin of the shehnai is that the name is a modification of the word "sur-
nal". The word nal/nali/nad is used in many Indian languages to mean pipe or reed. The word
"sur" means tone or tunemusical note or simply musicand is used as a prefix to the names of
many Indian instruments. The "sur-nal" is said to have given its name to the "surna/zurna" which
is the name by which the reed-pipe is known throughout the Middle East and eastern Europe.
Shehnai is usually played at traditional North Indian weddings and is associated with the bride
leaving her parental house for her husband's house.[4] Sometimes, two shehnais can be tied
together, making it a double shawm similar to the ancient Greek aulos.[5]
Whereas the counterparts played in West Indian and Coastal Karnatka are indigenous to the
territory. Shenai players were/are an integral part of Goan/Konkani and temples along the
western coast and the players are called as Vajantriand they were alloted lands for services
rendered for the temples.[6]
[EDIT]SHEHNAISTS
Some exponents of the shehnai are:

Bismillah Khan, who was a well-known shehnai player (1916-2006).

Ali Hussain Khan
Anant Lal (1927-2011)
Raghunath Prasanna (1913-1999)
Lokesh Anand
Krishna Ram Chaudhary
Ali Ahmad Hussain
Hanuman Jadev, who played the shehnai on the George Harrison Beatles song The Inner
Light (song).[7]
jazz musician, Yusef Lateef.
Dave Mason played shehnai on the Rolling Stones' 1968 hit song "Street Fighting Man". The
shehnai is also played extensively on the Suns of Arqa albums 'Cradle' and 'Jaggernaut'.
Bageshwari Qamar is a female exponent.
 P a g e | 43

SANTUR

CHARACTERISTICS
The name santur was first referenced in ancient Iranian poetry.[citation needed] To date there has
never been verifiable evidence what this name actually means, it is just a name and the only
meaning it has in the Iranian language is this instrument.[citation needed] The oval-shaped Mezrabs
(mallets) are feather-weight and are held between the thumb, index and middle fingers. A typical
Iranian santur has two sets of bridges, providing a range of approximately three octaves. The
right-hand strings are made of brass or copper,[2] while the left-hand strings are made of steel.[3]
Two rows of 9 bridges called "kharak" (total of 18 kharaks) divide the santur into three positions.
Over each bridge crosses four strings spanning horizontally across the right and left side of the
instrument. There are three sections of nine pitches: each for the bass, middle and higher octave
called Poshte Kharak (behind the left bridges) comprising 27 notes all together. The top "F" note
is repeated 2 times, creating a total of 25 separate tones in the Santur. The Iranian santur is
primarily tuned to a variety of different diatonic scales utilizing quarter tones, which are used in
the twelve dastgahs (modes) of Iranian classical music called the Radif.[citation needed]
[EDIT]DERIVATIONS
Similar forms of the santur[citation needed] have been present in neighboring cultures like India,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Turkey, Iraq, China, and Greece. The Indian santoor is wider,
more rectangular and has more strings. Its corresponding mallets are also held differently played
with a different technique. The Chinese yangqin and the Greek santouri also derived from the
santur.[citation needed] The eastern-European version of the santur called the cimballum is much
larger and chromatic and used as an accompanying instrument in gypsy music.[citation needed]
[EDIT]NOTABLE IRANIAN SANTUR PLAYERS
Iran

Abol Hassan Saba

Manoochehr Sadeghi
Faramarz Payvar
 P a g e | 44

Pashang Kamkar
Parviz Meshkatian
Majid Kiani[4]
Mohammad Sadeq Khan[5]
Ali Akbar Shahi[6]
Hassan Khan[7]
Hussein Malek[8]
Habib Somai[9]
Reza Varzandeh[10]
Reza Shafieian[11]
Mansur Sarami[12]
Masoud Shaari[13]
Mohammad Santour Khan[14]
Daryoush Safvat[15]
Peyman Heydarian
Jalal Akhbari[16]
Kourosh Zolani
Arfa Atrai[17]
Azar Hashemi[18]
Susan Aslani[19]
Manijeh Ali Pour[20]
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SARASWATI VEENA

The Saraswati veena (also spelled Saraswati vina) is an Indian plucked string instrument. It is
named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the
instrument. Also known as raghunatha veena (veena also spelled
'vina', Tamil: , Sanskrit: (v), Kannada: , Malayalam:
, Telugu: ) is used mostly in Carnatic Indian classical music. There are several
variations of the veena, which in its South Indian form is a member of the lute family. One who
plays the veena is referred to as a vainika.

It is one of other major types of veena popular today. The others include chitra veena, vichitra
veena and rudra veena. Out of these the rudra and vichitra veenas are used in Hindustani music,
while the Saraswati veena and the chitra veena are used in the Carnatic music of South India.
Some people play traditional music, others play contemporary music.

[EDIT]HISTORY

The veena has a recorded history that dates back to the Vedic period (approximately 1500 BCE)

In ancient times, the tone vibrating from the hunter's bow string when he shot an arrow was
known as the Vil Yazh. The Jya ghosha (musical sound of the bow string) is referred to in the
ancient Atharvaveda. Eventually, the archer's bow paved the way for the musical bow. Twisted
bark, strands of grass and grass root, vegetable fibre and animal gut were used to create the first
strings. Over the veena's evolution and modifications, more particular names were used to help
distinguish the instruments that followed. The word veena in India was a term originally used to
 P a g e | 46

generally denote "stringed instrument", and included many variations that would be either
plucked, bowed or struck for sound.[1][2]

The veena instruments developed much like a tree, branching out into instruments as diverse as
the exotic harp-like Akasa (a veena that was tied up in the tops of trees for the strings to vibrate
from the currents of wind) and the Audumbari veena (played as an accompaniment by the wives
of Vedic priests as they chanted during ceremonial Yajnas). Veenas ranged from one string to
one hundred, and were composed of many different materials like eagle bone, bamboo, wood
and coconut shells. The yazh was an ancient harp-like instrument that was also considered a
veena. But with the developments of the fretted veena instruments, the yazh quickly faded away,
as the fretted veena allowed for easy performance of ragas and the myriad subtle nuances and
pitch oscillations in the gamakas prevalent in the Indian musical system.[2] As is seen in many
Hindu temple sculptures and paintings, the early veenas were played vertically. It was not until
the great Indian Carnatic music composer and Saraswati veena player Muthuswami
Dikshitar that it began to be popularized as played horizontally.

"The current form of the Saraswati veena with 24 fixed frets evolved in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu,
during the reign of Raghunath Nayak and it is for this reason sometimes called the Tanjore
veena, or the Raghunatha veena. Prior to his time, the number of frets on the veena were less and
also movable." - Padmabhooshan Prof. P. Sambamurthy, musicologist.[3] The Saraswati veena
developed from Kinnari Veena. Made in several regions in South India, those made by makers
from Thanjavur in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu are to date considered the most
sophisticated. Sangeeta Ratnakara calls it Ekatantri Veena and gives the method for its
construction.

A portrait of Veenai Dhanammal, legendary Veena player of Tamil Nadu

While the Saraswati veena is considered in the lute genealogy, other North Indian veenas such as
the Rudra veena and Vichitra veena are technically zithers. Descendants of Tansen reserved
Rudra Veena for family and out of reverence began calling it the Saraswati Veena.
 P a g e | 47

INDIAN FOLK MUSIC OVERVIEW

Indian village musicians

Indian folk music (Hindi: ) is diverse because of India's vast cultural

diversity. It has many forms including bhangra, lavani, dandiya and Rajasthani. The arrival
of movies andpop music weakened folk music's popularity, but cheaply recordable music has
made it easier to find and helped revive the traditions. Folk music (desi) has been influential on
classical music, which is viewed as a higher art form. Instruments and styles have influenced
classical ragas. It is not uncommon for major writers, saints and poets to have large musical
libraries and traditions to their name, often sung in thumri (semi-classical) style. Most of the folk
music of India is dance-oriented.

[EDIT]DISTRIBUTION

Assam: Bihugeet, Lokageet, Tokarigeet

Chhattisgarh: Pandavani
Karnataka: Bhavageete, Dollu Kunita, Kolata, Veeragase
Maharashtra: Lavani
Punjab: Bhangra
Tamil Nadu: Naatupura Paatu
West Bengal: Bauls
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[EDIT]BHAVAGEETE

Bhavageete (literally 'emotion poetry') is a form of expressionist poetry and light music. Most of
the poetry sung in this genre pertain to subjects like love, nature, philosophy, etc., and the genre
itself is not much different from Ghazals, though Ghazals are bound to a peculiar metre. This
genre is quite popular in many parts of India, notably in Karnataka. Bhavageete may be called by
different names in other languages.

Kannada Bhavageete draws from the poetry of modern, including Kuvempu, D.R.
Bendre, Gopalakrishna Adiga, K.S. Narasimhaswamy, G.S. Shivarudrappa, K. S. Nissar Ahmed,
N S Lakshminarayana Bhatta etc. Notable Bhavageete performers include P. Kalinga
Rao, Mysore Ananthaswamy, C. Aswath, Shimoga Subbanna, Archana Udupa, Raju
Ananthaswamy etc.
 P a g e | 49

[EDIT]BHANGRA

Bhangra (Punjabi: ) is a form of dance-oriented folk music of Punjab. The present

musical style is derived from the traditional musical accompaniment to the folk dance
of Punjab called by the same name. The female dance ofPunjab region is known
as Giddha (Punjabi: ).

[EDIT]BIHUGEET

Bihugeet is a traditional folk music of Assam, performed through Bihu dance in the festival
of Bihu. The songs have themes of romance, love, nature and incidents. The dance is celebrates
in group by young girls and boys.

[EDIT]LAVANI
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Lavani is a popular folk form of Maharashtra. Traditionally, the songs are sung by female artists,
but male artists may occasionally sing Lavanis. The dance format associated with Lavani is
known as Tamasha.This dance format contains the dancer (Tamasha Bai), the helping dancer -
Maavshi, The Drummer - Dholki vaala & The Flute Boy - Baasuri Vaala.

[EDIT]UTTARAKHANDI MUSIC

Uttarakhandi folk music had its roots 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 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.

[EDIT]DANDIYA
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Dandiya is a dance-oriented folk music that has also been adapted for pop music worldwide,
popular in Western India, especially during Navaratri. The present musical style is derived from
the traditional musical accompaniment to the folk dance of Dandiya called by the same name.

[EDIT]PANDAVANI

Main article: Pandavani

Pandavani is a folk singing style of musical narration of tales from ancient epic Mahabharata
with musical accompaniment and Bhima as hero. This form of folk theatre is popular in the state
of Chhattisgarh and in the neighbouring tribal areas of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Main article: Music of Rajasthan

Rajasthani music has a diverse collection of musician castes, including langas, sapera, bhopa,
jogi and Manganiar.[1]

[EDIT]BAULS

The Bauls of Bengal were an order of musicians in 18th, 19th and early 20th century India who
played a form of music using a khamak, ektara and dotara. The word Baul comes
from Sanskrit batul meaning divinely inspired insanity. They are a group of Hindu mystic
minstrels. They are thought to have been influenced greatly by the Hindu tantric sect of the
Kartabhajas as well as by Sufi sects. Bauls travel in search of the internal ideal, Maner
Manush (Man of the Heart).

[EDIT]GARBA

Garba ("song") is sung in honor of Hindu goddesses god during Navratri. They are sung in the
honour of god krishna, hanuman, ram, etc.
 P a g e | 52

[EDIT]DOLLU KUNITA

This is a group dance that is named after the Dollu the percussion instrument used in the
dance. It is performed by the menfolk of the Kuruba community of the North Karnataka area.
The group consists of 16 dancers who wear the drum and beat it to rhythms while dancing. The
beat is controlled and directed by a leader with cymbals who is positioned in the center. Slow
and fast rhythms alternate and group weaves varied patterns.

[EDIT]KOLATA

Kolata is the traditional folk dance of the state of Karnataka, located in Southern India on the
western coast. Similar to its North Indian counterpart Dandiya Ras, it is performed with coloured
sticks and usually involves both men and women dancing together.

[EDIT]VEERAGASE

Veeragase is a dance folk form prevalent in the state of Karnataka. It is a vigorous dance based
on Hindu mythology and involves very intense energy-sapping dance movements. Veeragase is
one of the dances demonstrated in the Dasara procession held in Mysore.

[EDIT]NAATUPURA PAATU

Naatupura Paatu is Tamil folk music. It consists of Gramathisai (village folk music) and Gana
(city folk music). It is also sung in Rajasthan.
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INDIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY

The Indian Music Industry (IMI) is a trust that represents the recording industry distributors
in India. It was founded on February 28, 1936 as Indian Phonographic Industry (IPI). Its the
2nd oldest music industry organization in the world that was involved in
protecting copyrights of music producers and supporting growth of music entertainment industry.
In 1994, it was renamed as Indian Music Industry (IMI) and represented India at the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). It is also registered with the West Bengal
Societies Registration Act.All major music labels in India are part of this association. Record
companies like Saregama India Ltd. (HMV), Universal Music (India), Tips, Venus, Sony Music
Entertainment (India), Crescendo, Virgin Records, Magnasound, Milestone, Times Music and
several other prominent national and regional labels are part of the IMI. The IMI represents over
75% of all legal music sales in India.

IMI has its registered office in Kolkata and Administrative office in Mumbai. It also has offices
in New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and other major Indian cities working on the protection of
rights of music producers and preventing music piracy.It has also been instrumental in launching
the IMMIES music awards in collaboration with MTV.

[EDIT]CRITERIA OF CERTIFICATION LEVELS

The Indian Music Industry has constituted different, prestigious awards to encourage and
promote music. The approved scheme of gold/platinum disc standards effective for sound
recordings of member companies released in one calendar year is as below:

Sales of all types of carriers, whether vinyl records, audio cassettes, compact discs, MP3
compact discs, music videos (i.e. excluding home videos) or any other existing or future type
of carrier is considered on the basis of one unit.
If a sound recording contains a combination of two program, any program over half of its
total duration can be weighted at 50%, of the sales of the sound recording of that program.
Any program comprising less than half of the total duration of the sound recording will not
be counted for the purpose of certification.
Sales in domestic markets only will be considered for the calculation of sales of sound
recording.
The time-limit for achieving above sales in any category is one year from the release of the
recording in India.
 P a g e | 54

Applications should be accompanied by a copy certified by the members chartered

accountant stating the date of release & the number of units sold, along with a letter from the
managing director or CEO.
[EDIT]CERTIFICATION LEVELS

India has most separate scales for music recording certification. Certifications are usually based
on sales, like some other Asian countries. Like many other Asian countries, domestic repertoire
accounted for more than 50% of Indian music market.

Current certification levels

Release type Gold Platinum

Hindi films 100,000 200,000

Regional films 50,000 100,000

Regional basic 25,000 50,000

National basic 50,000 100,000

Classical/non-classical 15,000 30,000

Foreign repertoire 7,500 15,000

Previous certification levels

Like many other countries, sales requirements of music recording in India reduced due to music
piracy and declining sales. For example, prior to 2000, the sales requirements for Hindi film
category (the most dominant music genre) is 500,000 copies and a million copies, respectively,
for gold and platinum awards. It was later lowered to 250,000 and 500,000 copies, respectively.
Previously, recordings in the national basic category is required to sold 100,000 and 200,000
copies, in order to achieve Gold and Platinum awards.
 P a g e | 55

INDIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY

The Current size of Indian Music Industry

Size of the
is Rs 700 crore and the Projected size by
Industry
2010: Rs 740 crore with CAGR of 1%

Geographical Mumbai, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab, Andhra

distribution Pradesh, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai

Output per Music contributes as much as 15 % of

annum individual earnings in the Film Industry.

H ISTORY
The history of Indian Music is from the ancient day of 3rd
and 2nd millennia BC, during the Indus valley civilizations.
Indian music is based on rhythms and melodies but more
importantly it is more concerned with vibrant colors of the
rich musical heritage and a wide range of vivid emotions and
expressions. Many Archaeological studies are the evidences
and give validated presence of several musical instruments
like harps and drums during the era.

According to the Indian mythology, the laws of music was revealed known to Narada, the first
sage. It is being believed that Tumburu was the first singer and Goddess of music and learning is
Saraswati. Between 200 BC and 200 AD, Bharata created Natyashastra or the rules for theatre
between, which also focused on music. It included descriptions of various classes of instruments
like the Gandharva music and Talas which are the rhythmic element of Indian music.

The period during 300 AD to 600 AD which is the Gupta Period was marked by the masterpieces
created by Kalidasa, a lyrical poet and a writer of great epics and plays. The period of 600 AD to
1200 AD, was mainly of emergence of the regional music, classical Hinudstani music and which
was also influenced by Islamic music. The first major text describing ragas was written by
Matanga and was known as Brihaddeshi, which literally means 'The Great Treatise on the
Regional'. Brishaddeshi also introduced the sargam which is the musical notation in Indian
 P a g e | 56

music.

From 1200 AD to 1700 AD there were several other benchmarks in Indian music including the
maestro Khusro who composed verses in Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Braj Bhasha, Hindawi and
Khadi Boli. He also was invented qawali, qasida, qalbana, naqsh and many others forms of
Indian music and is being said to have created a new system of musicology, called 'Indraprastha
Mata' or 'Chaturdandi Sampradaya' and brought into circulation the two unique musical genres
called 'tarana' and 'kaul'. History of Indian music during the 800 BC was called the Bhakti
revolution. This period belonged to the saint poets like Tulsidas and Kabir. Then there was the
emergence of several music streams like Ashtachap and Haveli Sangeet. Music was prominent
during Emperor Akbar's court and came from the text Ain- e -Akbari which mentions the rich
music culture of Akbar's time. The instruments used were like sarmandal, bin, nay, karna and
tanpura.

Indian Music Industry was established on 28th Feb 1936 and is the Second oldest music
companies' associations in the world engaged in defending, preserving and developing the music
and actively promoting by encouraging advancement of creativity and culture through sound
recordings. Indian Music Industry members includes major record companies like Saregama
India Ltd. (HMV), Tips, Venus, Universal Music (India), Sony BMG Music Entertainment
(India), Crescendo, Virgin Records, Magnasound, Milestone, Times Music and several other
prominent national and Regional labels that represent over 75 % of the output in legitimate
recordings and a wide range of musical repertoire.

INDIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

B RIEF INTRODUCTION
Indian Music Industry has a rich musical tradition and is
capable of generating sizeable revenue for the country in
every genre of the music industry. There are log of
loopholes in the industry due to the unabated growth of
piracy. Raids spanning the length and breadth of the
country, the Indian music industry has lost of over Rs.
1800 crores in the past three years.There are registered
offices in Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai,
Bangalore and several other cities, towns across India
focusing on surveillance, law enforcement and intelligence
teams. Indian Music Industry is now working with newer
strategies and better infrastructure to reach and strike at the
very roots of piracy in India. Indian Music Industry along
with MTV launched the first music awards in India, THE
 P a g e | 57

IMMIES which has been having a resounding success. The

objectives of the award were to reward music talent.

C ONTEMPORARY S CENARIO

Contemporary Indian music is a mixture of classical music, pop music and popular Indian film
music. Several genres of music exist in India, some of the contemporary music genres in Indian
music are as follows:

INDIAN M USIC - C LASSICAL

Indian Classical music is usually dividend into two broad categories namely the Hindustani
music and the Carnatic music. The Carnatic music has its traditions from the southern part of the
Indian subcontinent which emphasizes on vocals. While the Hindustani music is a traditional
form from North India. The bases of the Hindustani classical music include melodic modes that
are a part of the ragas. Hindustani music is based on the basic system called sargam which is
similar to the Western solfege, thus the Indian sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni corresponds to the
western do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti.

INDIAN F OLK M USIC

Folk music usually comes from the rural lands, emerging from various regions of India, which
are distinctive and are embedded with a strong element of the regional culture. Bhavageete
which literally signifies as a emotional poetry is quite popular in India especially in Karnataka
and Maharashtra. Another popular genre in Indian folk music is the Punjabi Bhangra done by
farmers to celebrate the spring season that marks the time of harvest. There are various folk
music of Maharashtra are called Lavani and Gaulan and the Dandiya music from Gujrat and the
Baul from Bengal.

INDIAN P OP M USIC

Indian pop music is a mixture of almost everything like folk,

classical, and even western music beats. Some of the pop
singers include Usha Utthup, Peenaz Masani Sharon Prabhakar
from the early nineties. Other successive generation of pop
singers include the Baba Sehgal, Alisha Chinai, Shaan,
Sagarika, Lucky Ali, and Sonu Nigam.
 P a g e | 58

INDIAN F ILM M USIC

The music of Indian films has always been popular & full of entertainment for their song and
dance sequences they produce. Music has been a crucial part of Indian movies right from the
beginning. The popularity of music in Indian films is such that almost every filmmaker
incorporates at least four to five songs in the movies which is enjoyed by one and all.

S IZE OF THE INDUSTRY

The Indian entertainment industry is known and incomplete without music. Other segments such
as remix, Indi-pop, mobile music have also gained popularity. The Current size of Indian Music
Industry is Rs 700 crore and the projected size by 2010: Rs 740 crore with CAGR of 1%

T OTAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY / SALES

Music is the main important part of Indian film
industry. Music contributes as much as 15% of an
individual earnings in the Film Industry. The industry
analyzers and estimatations say approximately 15 crores
of unit sales of music cassettes and cds in a year, with
an average realization of Rs.40-45 crores. Which brings
the size of the industry of the music industry to about
Rs.670 crores though piracy will continue to hamper the
growth of the industry, Indian music industry was
expected to touch Rs.777 crores by 2009 which has to
great extent has been satisfactory.

Indian Music Industry today currently stands at INR 10.4 billion. Till the last decade the Indian
music industry at INR 18 billion (GBP) has more than doubled. The total Indian music cassette
(MC) market constitutes 95% while the compact disc (CD) market is 5% in volume terms.

India has become increased significantly in the global economic arena - it is known to be the
world's fourth largest economy in PPP (purchasing power parity) terms and is a strong founding
member of the WTO. India is amongst the world's top five fastest growing economies, with real
GDP growth at around 5.5% for the some years.
 P a g e | 59

T OP LEADING C OMPANIES

The major players in the Indian Music Industry in the film and non-film music categories are:

1. T-series
2. Times Music
3. BMG Crescendo
4. Polygram
5. HMV
6. Tips.
7. Magnasound
8. Sony Music
9. Universal
10. Virgin

E MPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Like the wide variety of forms in music like classical, folk, jazz, pop, fusion etc there are a
variety of opportunities in the Indian Music Industry like the performer (vocal or instrumental) or
a teacher, composer/song writer, music publisher, music journalist, Disc Jockeys/ Video Jockeys,
Music Therapist, Artist manager/PR.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Today Indian Music Industry has undergone a complete change with the process of
internationalization. The Music Industry today reaches every nook and corner all over the world
reaching the Indian and even Non Indians. This mainly is due to the Retail revolution in music
distribution and increased penetration of CDs.

Initiativs taken by the government of Impending radio privatization which would de-regulate
radio frequencies, assigning 150 new FM stations to an industry which, up until now, has
benefited from less than 10 radios broadcasting music hit.

Even Promotion of music is done by the way of satellite music channels like the one of Indian
versions of MTV and News Corp's and majority of them own local channel V.

Exports of Indian film soundtracks to around the world listeners that are expected to keep on
growing overseas. For example the film music of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai sold over 200 0000 units
in 20 countries.
 P a g e | 60

INDIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE IN 2011 - 2012

Indian Industries

Aluminium industry, Cement industry, Construction

industry, Copper industry, Dairy industry, Diamond
industry, Fashion industry, Fertilizer industry, Film
Classified industry, Granite industry, Health care industry, Jewellery
under RED category industry, Mining industry, Oil industry, Paint industry, Paper
industry, Power industry, Printing industry, Rubber
industry, Silk industry,Soap industry, Steel industry, Sugar
industry, Textile industry, Tabacco industry, Zinc industry

Automobile industry, Cotton industry, Hotel industry, Jute

Classified
industry, Pharmaceutical industry, Tractor industry, Weaving
under ORANGE category
industry

Advertising industry, Agricultural industry, Aviation

industry, Banking industry,Biotechnology industry, Biscuit
industry, Chocolate industry, Coir industry, Cosmetic
industry, Cottage industry, Electronic industry, Food
Classified Processing industry, Furniture industry, Garment
under GREEN category industry, Insurance industry, IT industry, Leather
industry, Music industry, Mutual fund industry, Pearl
industry, Plastic industry, Poultry industry, Railway
industry, Real estate industry, Shipping industry, Solar
industry
 P a g e | 61

CONTROVERSIES OF INDIAN MUSIC INDUSTRIES

WHAT'S WRONG WITH I NDIA'S MUSIC INDUSTRY ?

Last updated on: September 05, 2005 12:19 IST

On the surface, the Indian music industry seems peaceful enough, steeped in glamour, and a
perfect blend of melodies. Look closer though and you'll see the rifts -- little faultlines that
indicate a strain in the relationship between artistes and music companies.
And this strain has come to a head with the registration, last month, of the Singers' Association
of India, which aims to tackle the "problems faced by the industry today."
Problems? Isn't this the industry everyone wants to be part of -- an industry that has given us our
Indian Idol [ Images ] Abhijeet Sawant [ Images ], our desi crooner Rabbi Shergill, and that is
increasingly attracting global voices such as Trickbaby, Juggy D and Raghav, to name just a
few?
It's also the industry where Pakistani artistes Junoon, Strings, Fuzon and, more recently, Jal and
Ali Zafar [ Images ], are finding a firm foothold as they release albums to an increasing fan
following. A place for artistes to co-exist happily in, to live and let live?
Not quite.
This industry, which in the 1990s boasted of a turnover of Rs 1,150 crore (Rs 11.50 billion), now
stands abysmally low at Rs 450 crore (Rs 4.50 billion). What's more, the notes and melodies are
shaky, out of tune and discordant as the industry is plagued with controversies, discontent and a
growing unrest between music companies on the one hand, and music composers, lyricists and
singers on the other.
In other words, strip the music industry of its sheen and one finds a range of issues that need
urgent attention. As well-known playback singer and television anchor Shaan [ Images ] says,
"It's easy to highlight the trends of the music industry, but that's the glamorous part." A brief
pause and he adds, "Let's discuss the real story."
But what is the real story? Different versions rest with different parties. While music directors,
singers and lyricists take a break from strumming their instruments to point fingers at music
companies for mistreating them, the latter have their own ripostes. But whatever the
disagreement, both sides agree that the issue of piracy that has eaten into the music industry and
left it hollow.
Palash Sen, lead singer of New Delhi-based group Euphoria, says, "Technology has advanced
considerably and expanded the listeners' base, what with people downloading music at a low
 P a g e | 62

cost. Music is easily heard on radio channels, music videos are shown on television and people
are happily listening to innumerable songs on their MP3 players. However, this is precisely what
has led to a considerable decrease in the sales of the music albums."
Nobody, says Sen, wants to buy music cassettes or CDs any more "because they're happily
downloading music off the Net." Savio D'Souza, secretary general, Indian Music Industry (IMI)
agrees, citing this as one of the prime reasons why the industry has bled profusely in the past few
years. "The industry has lost nearly Rs 450 crore to piracy," he confirms.
But this is where the duet between IMI and musicians ends, with both parties opting for a solo
track thereafter.
Take Singers' Association of India (SAI), the association started by playback singer Sonu Nigam
[ Images ] along with colleagues Alka Yagnik [ Images ] and Suresh Wadekar that, in the
singer's own words, "is aimed at tapping the real issues that music companies fail to address."
What could possibly prompt Nigam, one of India's busiest playback singers, to make such a
statement? "If you hear the hit song 'Kajrare' from the film Bunty aur Babli [ Images ], it's called
the Aishwarya-Amitabh-Abhishek song. No one calls it the Shankar Mahadevan-Alisha Chinai-
Jaaved Ali song. It's such a wrong attitude, and that's what we want to change," he says firmly.
He feels music companies need to aggressively market singers, encourage the non-film music
market, give them their fair share of royalty and, essentially, "give singers due respect." His
colleague Kunal Ganjawalla, also a member of SAI, puts it simply, "You can't mix the Grammy
[ Images ] awards with the Oscars [ Images ]."
"As long as the issue of royalty remains unsettled," he says, "musicians will continue to be
insecure." Music companies, he feels, need to have faith in their artistes, and the industry on the
whole needs to be structured properly and give artistes their rightful share of money.
The controversies regarding royalty seem to be on the minds of almost everyone in the industry.
What's more, with technology advancing so rapidly, musicians want a share of the pie on not just
cassettes and CDs but also from radio and television channels that air their songs, from sites that
allow people to download music, and from ringtones that are being downloaded at a rapid pace.
 P a g e | 63

FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING

Rs 1,150 crore
The total size of the Indian music industry

Rs 450 crore
Losses due to piracy

Rs 15 crore
Money earned through ringtone downloads

Rs 400 crore
Organised market of film music in India

Rs 100 crore
Organised market for non-film music in
India

APPROXIMATE COST OF INVESTING

IN A MUSIC ALBUM

Total cost
Anywhere between Rs 35-50 lakh

Dubbing, mixing mastering

Approximately Rs 12 lakh

Cost per video

Rs 10 lakh (usually the artiste does two
videos)

Cost of promoting the album (ad spots on

radio and television, posters etc)
Rs 15 lakh

"If we compose a tune and it is played in pubs, discos or even live shows, we should rightfully be
earning royalties on the music," says music director Ehsaan Noorani, who says that "The
ringtones issue is the latest controversy that needs to be urgently addressed by the music
fraternity."
 P a g e | 64

It turns out that music directors, singers and lyricists are demanding an equitable share of
revenue for their music that ends up as ringtone downloads.
Currently, music companies end up cornering what, according to musicians, should be rightfully
theirs. Though there are no reports to suggest how big the ringtone market is in India, Rakesh
Nigam, general manager, Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS), confirms that nearly 200,000
ringtones are downloaded in India everyday.
With film and popular song downloads becoming increasingly popular, the telecom companies
are charging anywhere between Rs 7 and Rs 12 per ringtone download. IPRS's Nigam adds that
of the Rs 7 for a single ringtone download, the lion's share -- nearly 60 per cent -- goes to the
mobile service provider, while 25 per cent rests with the copyright owners (usually music
companies which, in turn, are expected to pay the artistes) and 15 per cent is given to the
government. But writers and composers gripe that they are barely paid 12 paise of this Rs 7, if at
all.
D'Souza, however, makes a point, "The business of ringtones," he says, "contributes merely Rs
15 crore (Rs 150 million) of the music industry's total revenue."
He feels musicians blaming music companies for having wronged them and robbed them of their
rightful royalty should understand that a majority of music companies are in the red due to issues
plaguing the industry: "We're losing money to piracy."
He feels that the division of revenue, not just for ringtones but also for music albums, is based on
individual contracts signed with the composers and singers. "If the contract gives the copyright
of a music album to the company then obviously it (the company) has every right on the music."
While most musicians admit the issue of royalty has invariably hit the wrong chords with music
companies, some musicians willingly offer an explanation.
Music director Anu Malik [ Images ], for instance, asks, "Can I refuse a Shah Rukh Khan
[ Images ] film on a royalty issue? I don't think so." He strongly feels musicians too need to
adapt and accept changes in technology. "You can't stop iPods from coming into the market, or
for that matter ringtones from getting downloaded."
Musicians say it's precisely for this reason that they've now increasingly started airing their
views. "If technology is changing rapidly, we have even more reasons to be informed of our
rights."
He argues, "As musicians we're not greedy, we're just becoming aware." Call it awareness or the
need to keep in step with the changing times or even a fight for their rights, the issues regarding
royalty are clearly stepping up the tempo for musicians.
 P a g e | 65

Though most of the music fraternity is tight-lipped about forming an organisation, sources admit
that musicians like Lalit Pandit (Jatin-Lalit), Aadesh Srivastava and Javed Akhtar [ Images ] are
garnering a lot of goodwill and support from their colleagues.
"Javed Sa'ab has been going to Kolkata [ Images ] quite often since the past one year with
regards to a court case that involves IMI and musicians on a particular royalty issue," admits this
source who adds, "Funds are being collected invariably for this cause and I'm told nearly Rs 2
lakh is spent every month on this case alone."
D'Souza refuses to comment on the issue, saying the matter is still sub judice. However, he feels
musicians are missing the core issue. "We should be tackling the issue of piracy, we should be
worried about recovering the losses that are to the tune of anywhere between Rs 450-500 crore
(Rs 4.5-5 billion)," he feels.
Musicians, however, argue that it's not just a recent trend; music companies have robbed them of
their righful dues for a long time.
Music director Aadesh Srivastava explains, "Our seniors haven't been given justice at all. Till
date, senior composers like Khyaam Sa'ab and Pyarelalji (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal) are waiting for
royalties from some of their films." "Music companies," says Srivastava rather sternly, "create
plastic boxes; it's ultimately our music that's helping them sell those boxes."
Not always, feels D'Souza. "When the film Murder was released, HMV Saregama paid more
royalty to the concerned parties. The music was such a hit and sold tremendously, which is why
the company didn't hesitate to give them their due," he argues.
Shamir Tandon, general manager, Virgin Records (India) and music director, stresses further,
"Invariably, artistes end up signing rotten deals with companies and regret it later."
He may have a point because controversies echo not just in the film music fraternity but also in
the non-film albums category that make up nearly Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) of the total music
market in India.
Back in the '90s, when the music industry was beginning to open up to an increasing number of
Indi-pop acts, companies didn't hesitate to invest in promoting artistes. The norm at the time was
to approach music companies with a good demo (usually of three songs or more) after which the
companies decided to invest accordingly.
Today, music bands and Indi-pop artistes have to invest their own money to bring out an album.
"Music companies continued to encourage half-baked products and subsequently declined," says
a source.
A majority of Indian artistes feel that it's this attitude of the Indian music companies that has
encouraged international artistes like Trickbaby, Juggy D and Raghav to capture the Indian
 P a g e | 66

market. Usually, the cost of bringing out a non-film music album is anywhere between Rs 35
lakh (Rs 3.5 million) and Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million).
A majority of artistes feel that music companies are not willing to shell out that kind of money
on their artistes and would prefer the artistes to give them the finished product.
This means that the artiste records the album, complete with mixing and mastering, and also
shells out the money for the music videos. The role of music companies, feel musicians, has been
relegated to giving the album the required publicity and bringing it out on the music shelves
(cost: approximately Rs 15 lakh -- or Rs 1.5 million).
Music director Shantanu Moitra [ Images ] feels the non-film music category should be
encouraged to grow. He says, "Folk music in particular needs to be encouraged as it's a limited
resource."
Like a majority of his colleagues, Moitra feels "self-sponsored albums and remixes have resulted
in the gradual death of the music industry in India." He adds, "Even as we're talking of royalties
and copyright issues, Fashion TV is blaring 90 per cent of the sound bytes from different
Rajasthani folk songs and tunes."
The situation, according to musicians, is getting bleaker, especially as a new trend arises. This
time it's a loaning facility wherein a particular music company loans an amount to an artiste for
bringing out an album.
The artiste, in turn, is expected to pay it back at the end of a certain period. Though music
companies remain tight-lipped on this issue and artistes prefer not to talk about it in the open, the
status is obvious. A majority of established artistes are finding it increasingly tough to convince
music companies to invest money in their projects.
"As a band, Euphoria," says Sen, "is fighting a lonely battle. Even if we venture into film music,
ultimately this (non-film music) is our forte. This is what we want to give to our fans and this is
what they expect to hear."
He feels, besides other reasons, it's the dearth of Artistes & Repertoire (A&R) managers in
music companies that has led to a downfall of the non-film market and the poor marketing of
artistes' albums. The poor marketing of albums and artistes by companies is also reason why the
non-film album category is faring so poorly.
"Look at the way Sony BMG and Sony television marketed Abhijeet Sawant. That's the kind of
marketing we need," says Nigam. Shaan also calls it a valid trend and says, "Television and
media are creating the stars today."
Perhaps that explains why Abhijeet Sawant's debut album has sold nearly 900,000 copies already
-- a fantastic figure by industry standards where a film album (that makes up for Rs 400 crore --
 P a g e | 67

Rs 4 billion -- of the total music market in India) doesn't sell more than 500,000 copies in today's
scenario.
Sony BMG is said to have invested nearly Rs 60 lakh (Rs 6 million) on Sawant's album. "I
received a cheque of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) as advance for the album," Sawant says. He also
negates the issue of royalty and adds, "I've not had any problem so far and regularly get cheques
of Rs 2,000-3,000 as royalty from the first Indian Idol album that all the contestants has recorded
earlier."
The only other artiste to have come so far has been Rabbi who sold a whopping 60,000 copies
within a month of its release in March 2004.
Anand Surapur, the man behind Rabbi and founder, Phatphish records, says, "I was passionate
about the album and invested nearly Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) on this project." Moitra feels,
"Rabbi's success lay in the fact that he came out with a fresh sound at a time when the market
had nothing new to offer."
The industry orchestra isn't likely to serve up too many winners though if the current status quo
between key members of the industry isn't sorted out some time soon.
Maybe the Singers Association will help mend the differences; maybe it'll fuel it further. Either
way, making music isn't going to be fun for some more time to come.
 P a g e | 68

Evolution of different genres of music

Jazz
evolved and became a significant genre of music over the course of the 20th century,
and during the second half of that century,rock musicdid the same. Jazz is an American musical
artform which originated in the beginning of the 20th century

Rock
music is a genre of popular music that developed in the 1960s from 1950srock and
roll,rockabilly, blues, andcountry music.The sound of rock often revolves around the electric
guitar or acoustic guitar, and it uses a strong back beatlaid down by arhythm sectionof
electric bass guitar ,drums, and keyboard
instrumentss u c h a s organ, piano, o r , s i n c e t h e 1 9 7 0 s , d i g i t a l synthesizers. A l o n g
w i t h t h e g u i t a r o r keyboards,saxophoneand blues-styleharmonicaare used as soloing
instruments.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, rock music branched out into different
subgenres, rangingfromblues rock and jazz-rock fusiontoheavy metaland punk rock , as well as
the more classicalinfluenced genre of progressive rock . The sound of rock often revolves
around theelectric guitar
.
TRENDS

Falling Behind
- Ten years ago, The Record Industry had The CD Release Complex and knewexactly
what to do. Now everyone else is taking fans to the future that they used to determine.Instead of
leading the way, they're left holding the hands of innovators and squeezing tightly when
they get scared. .
Groundswell

- Defined as, A social trend in which people use technologies to get things theyneed
from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.

Pirate Software
- It remains to be most efficient system for getting music. You can download AC/DC's
Complete Discography, a 3GB torrent containing 276 songs at 320bps, in a few hours on a good
day. Even that isn't the problem, its that you can put over ten into the program, fall
asleep, and the next day everything will be done. It is just getting duplicate copy of the software.
 P a g e | 69

Music Overload
- Its both exciting and disheartening to wonder.The CD Release Complex wasa way of
regulating the flow of content between artists and people. For those who buy musicThe
Paradox of Choice is a reality, but what does it mean for pirates. They download
moremusic than they could ever possibly listen to.

Searching Alone
- S earching for musi c onli ne doesn't have the sam e feeli ng as com bi ng through
selections at a local record store. Walking through the isles at Best Buy, Walmart.

Attention
- There's too many artists for people to actually pay attention to. There are a
no of singers prevailing in the market so its difficult to follow singers but they follow songs
which are best.
 P a g e | 70

FUTURE OF MUSIC

The Indian Scene

With the world making it huge on the digital music segment, India definitely cannot afford to
lag behind. India`s digital music market mainly comprises the web and mobile music market.
According to general secretary Dsouza , handsets are on rise and more and more radio stations
are coming up also people are becoming more internet.Times Music is trying to expand by
signing exclusive deals with mobile operators and others in this segment. Everyone realises that
five years down the line, this segment will be a very important source of income and revenue. No
one can afford to just wait and watch."In fact, the digital music business, dominated by mobile
music, will surpass physical music in sales in India, says a study by digital music company
Sound buzz. The report notes that India is likely to be the second country in the world,
after South Korea, where digital music will surpass physical music in sales. "In India, Music-to-
Music accounts for Rs one billion (Rs 100 crore) and physical music Rs six billion (Rs 600
crore). So, In o where see mobile music sales surpassing physical music sales."
MUSIC MARKET - NATIONAL
Size of Music Industry In India :
The esti m ati on of t he m usi c i ndustr y si ze i s a chal l enge, as t he uni t sal es and
t he average erealization prices continue to be a closely guarded secret of the music
companies. The industry estimates approximately 15 crores of legitimate unit sales of music
cassettes and cds in the past year, with an average realization of Rs.40-45. This brings the size of
the industry to about Rs.670crores (USD 149 million) Piracy will continue to hamper the
growth of the industry, though measures from the Indian music industry will help curb
some of this. Indian music industry is expected to touch Rs.777 crores by 2009
 P a g e | 71

REVENUESOFINDIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY

INDUSTRY PROFILE

Music of India is one of the oldest unbroken musical traditions in the world.
It is said that the origins of this system go back to the Vedas (ancient scripts of the Hindus)
and It traces its origin to the very first sound created on earth. The
Chants of Vedas followed this foremost creation of sound and are believed to be the
first music of India.The earliest written reference of Indian music is found in the great
scholar and Sage Bharat's illustrious book Natya Shastra, a landmark in the written history of
fine arts including music.The Indian Music Industry is the Second largest in the world in volume
terms, trailing only the US.

In value terms though, its position is lower, owing to the low unit prices here. As
for numbers, India is the fourth largest in the world in terms of units, but 23rd in terms of
value.Due to its very nature, the industry is considered to be an important constituent of
the Indian Entertainment industry as a whole, rather than an independent sub-sector.The music
industry in India has a unique structure unlike most other global markets.

Till 1990,the music market was almost completely dominated by film and
devotional music. The early90s saw t he advent of t he t el evisi on and i ncreas ed
consum er exposure to non -fil m musi c channels, non-film albums and music videos. The
music industry in India has more than doubled in the last decade. While total music
cassette(MC) market constitutes 95% of the market, the compact disc (CD) market is
 P a g e | 72

5% in volume t erm s. In val ue t erms, it is i n the rati o of 70:30, wi th an export

m arket est im at ed at INR 15 million.IMI estimates the music industry in India currently
stands at INR 10.4 billion
Problems In Indian Music Industry

PIRACY

Piracy has played havoc with the music industry in India eroding huge chunks of profits.The
industry suffered a revenue loss of INR 18,000 million ( 238.85 million) due to piracy
over a period of three years.In the last two years, legitimate market has shrunk by 27%
in unit terms and 38% in value terms. Practically non-existent some years ago, CD piracy has
ballooned to over 70% due to MP3 compression technique and cheap availability of blank
CDs.It has to be noted here that in spite of mounting losses, the industry spends INR 50 million
annually on anti- p i r a c y . A l m o s t e v e r y S t a t e G o v e r n m e n t h a s i t s o w n A n t i -
P i r a c y c e l l u n d e r t h e P o l i c e Department.

INTERNET PIRACY

It is understood that there are about 600 sites that allow downloading of music from the net, most
of t he s ervers based i n the US and all of them report edl y, i ll egal . P oli cing
di git al pi racy i s virtually impossible since any person with an Internet connection
can upload and download musi c wit h rel ati ve ease. Indust r y observers est im at e
t he percent age to rise to 25%
unl es s s t r i n g e n t m e a s u r e s a r e t a k e n i m m e d i a t e l y . T o g i v e a n e x a m p l e , a n
M P 3 C D c o n t a i n i n g compilations of up to 150 popular songs sell for the price of one
legitimate audio cassette i.e INR 55 (75p approx) .expected to rise to 25% in the next two-three
years.

FILM INDUSTRY AS A PARTNER

The Indian music industry is quite unique compared to those in other countries as it is virtually
dependent on new Hindi films for the lions share(40%) of its revenue

IMPACT OF FM RADIO

The rise of this segment has seriously affected sale of music, which have fallen by more
than30%. Though the Copyright Board has given an award on the rate payable by FM Radio
 P a g e | 73

operators to Copyright owners i.e. music companies, this is believed to be much less than sought
for by music companies.

OPTICAL DISC REGULATION

With Optical discs (CD CDR,VCD, DVD) becoming the main carriers for music software,
many plants have come up in India. There is an urgent need to regulate these on lines of
international Optical Disc Regulations

A UNIQUE INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

The Indian music industry has a unique structure compared to most global markets. Till 1990, it
was completely dominated by film and devotional music. With the advent of satellite television
and increasing consumer exposure to non-film albums and remixes have gained popularity
recently. In the non-film category devotional music produced by smaller .

MAJOR PLAYERS AND THEIR SHARES IN INDIAN MUSIC MARKET

The major players in the Indian Music Industry in a film and non-film music categories are:
1. T-series
2. Times Music
3. BMG Crescendo
4. Polygram.
5 H M V
6 . T i p s .
7. Magnasound.
8. Sony Music
9. Universal.
10. Virgin

Tip
Was the leading soundtrack label (12% market share);

T-Series
l abel o f m anufacturing conglom erat e Super C assett e Indust ries account ed for
9 %market shares;

Gramco
, which was owned until the 80s by EMI and has since been taken over
b y R P G Enterprises accounted for 8% of total market shares;

Venus
Record had a 7.5% market share.Record companies distribute through a large number of
wholesalers based in 24 of Indias largest cities. Until recently the country had just one
music megastore,
 P a g e | 74

the Rythm House

shop in Bombay. In 1999, ten additional large music outlets have opened up including
two operated by R h yt hm House. Gram co has conti nued t o expand it s M us i c
W orld chain and has now fi ve outlets. The Times of India publishing group opened
a specialist shop, Planet M, and is now planning to develop a chain. Another new entrant is
the Khambattas family with the opening of The Groove chain of music stores.

TRENDS IN INDIAN MUSIC MARKET

The Indian music market is undergoing a process of internationalisation. This results from:

Retail revolution
in music distribution;Increasing

penetration of CDs;
Impending

radio privatisation
. The Indian Government announced it would de-regulateradio frequencies, assigning 150 new
FM stations to an industry which, up until now, has benefited from less than 10 radios
broadcasting music hits;
Promotion by satellite music channels
( Indi an versions of MTV and News C orps majority owned local channel V);

Exports of Indian film soundtracks

, that are expected to keep on growing overseas. For example the film music of Kuch Kuch Hota
Hai sold over 200 0000 units in 20 countries;
 P a g e | 75

Leading Music Companies in India

Saregama India Limited

Kolkata-based Saregama India Limited is an Indian music company and also an integrated
entertainment company with the largest music archive in India. It was earlier called as
Gramophone Company of India. Its business includes music, film production, home video,
television software, and digital distribution and of audio and video content. The company
operates in the entire entertainment space. Saregama has four regional offices in metro cities and
13 branch offices.

2. Times Music
Times Music is the music production, promotion and distribution subsidiary of the biggest media
conglomerate in India, The Times Group. It has pioneered the concept of spiritual, world and
remixes music in India. The company has carved a niche for itself in the international, spiritual,
remix and Indi-pop genres with more than 4,000 releases since its launch in 1997. Times Music
has pioneered the concept of spiritual, world and remix music in India and has also established
itself as the most popular music label in the spiritual music genre.
 P a g e | 76

3. Tips Industries Limited

Tips Industries Ltd was established in the year 1975 as a small shop in the market of Lamington
road. The company is one of the largest corporate houses in the field of films and music. Its main
area of interest is music production, promotion, and distribution, now also in films. Tips
Industries has the highest number of gold and platinum discs to its credit compared with any
other record label in India.
 P a g e | 77

4. Universal Music India

Universal Music India is a music company based in Mumbai and is a subsidiary of Universal
Music Group. The company operates from its corporate office in Mumbai. The company
embraces a vast array of artists covering the full spectrum of music around the world and is also
a leader in the international and Indian music. The Indian artists signed to Universal Music India
include Mohit Chauhan, Bombay Rockers, Josh, Panjabi MC, Bombay Vikings, Ali Zafar,
Mehsopuria, and Asha Bhosle.

5. Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt Ltd

Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music
Entertainment Inc, New York, a global recorded music company. The company distributes radio
and television goods. It also publishes music from current artists and archival recordings. The
company was founded in 1996 and is based in Mumbai.
 P a g e | 78

6. JMD Telefilms Industries Ltd

JMD Telefilms Industries Ltd was started in the year 1984 in the name and style of Avtar
Finance & Management Consultants Limited. Later, the name was changed to JMD Telefilms
Industries Ltd in the year 2001 where JMD denotes the famous brand of Jai Mata in the audio
video and television arena. The company has copy rights of more than 300 music cassettes.

7. Blue Frog Production

Blue Frog Production is a full-service production company that offers complete music solutions
to the music lovers all over the world. They operate from Mumbai and hold the pride of being an
 P a g e | 79

integrated and revolutionary music company in India. It has 4 state-of-the-art studios for music
recordings, artist management service, an independent record label, and a music production
house.

8. Music Today
Music Today is a division of The India Today Group since its inception in 1990s. The company
has emerged as the most prestigious label in the classical Indian music taking the lead in
preserving and promoting Indias rich musical heritage the world over. Music Today is based in
New Delhi. Some of the music categories handled by them are easy listening, home videos, pop
music, remix, film music, devotional music, carnatic music and Hindustani music. The company
sells this music online through their web portal.
 P a g e | 80

9. Phat Phish
Phat Phish is an advertising film, music and motion pictures Company based in Mumbai started
in the year 1997. The company came into existence with a focus on making advertising films and
slowly they introduced Phat Phish Motion pictures and Phat Phish records. They are in the music
industry through their Phat Phish Records.

10. Natraj Music Company

Natraj Music Company is the prominent music production companies in India having offices in
London and Chandigarh. The company was founded in 2002 by Nitin Arora; Natraj Music brings
 P a g e | 81

CASE STUDY

Contributions of A.R.Rahman

Allahrakka Rahman pronunciation (helpinfo) (born A. S. Dileep Kumar, 6 January 1966) is

an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and
philanthropist.[3] Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer
by Time,[4] his works are notable for integrating Eastern classical music with electronic
music sounds,world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won
two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National
Film Awards, fifteenFilmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition
to numerous other awards and nominations. His extensive body of work for film and the stage
earned him the nickname "the Mozart of Madras" and several Tamil commentators and fans have
coined him the nickname Isai Puyal (English: Music Storm).[5] In 2009, Time placed Rahman in
its list of World's Most Influential People.[6] The UK based World Music magazine Songlines
named him one of 'Tomorrow's World Music Icons' in August 2011.[7]
Having set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record Inn at Chennai, arguably one of
Asias most sophisticated and high-tech studios, Rahman's film scoring career began in the early
1990s with the Tamil film Roja. Working in India's various film industries, international
cinema and theatre, Rahman is one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists.[8][9][10] In a
notable career spanning two decades, Rahman has garnered particular acclaim for redefining
contemporary Indian film music and thus contributing to the success of several films. Rahman is
currently one of the highest paid composers of the motion picture industry. He has also become a
notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for beneficial causes and
supporting charities.
CAREER
FILM SCORING AND SOUNDTRACKS
When he was nine, Rahman accidentally played a tune on piano during his father's recording for
a film, which R. K. Shekhar later developed into a complete song, "Vellithen Kinnam Pol", for
the Malayalam film Penpada. This track credited to his father, was sung by Jayachandran and
penned by Bharanikkavu Sivakumar.[19] His film career began in 1992, when he
started Panchathan Record Inn, a music recording and mixing studio attached to the backyard of
his house. Over time it would become the most advanced recording studio in India,[20] and
arguably one of Asias most sophisticated and high-tech studios.[21] He initially composed scores
for documentaries, jingles for advertisements andIndian Television channels and other projects.
In 1987 Rahman, then still known as Dileep got his first opportunity to compose jingles for new
range of watches being launched by Allwyn.[22] In 1992, he was approached by film
directorMani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for Ratnam's Tamil
film Roja.[20][23] The debut led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) award for Best
Music Director at the National Film Awards, an unprecedented win for a first-time film
composer. Rahman has since been awarded the Silver Lotus three more times for Minsara
Kanavu (Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Hindi) in 2002, Kannathil Muthamittal (Tamil) in 2003, the
most ever by any composer.[24]
 P a g e | 82

Roja's score met with high sales and acclaim in both its original and dubbed versions, led by the
theme song "Chinna Chinna Aasai" bringing about a marked change in film music at the time.
Rahman followed this with successful scores for Tamillanguage films of the Chennai film
industry including Ratnam's politically charged Bombay, the urbanite Kadhalan, Thiruda
Thiruda and S. Shankar's debut film Gentleman, spurred by the popular dance song "Chikku
Bukku Rayile".[25][26][27][28] Rahman worked with director Bharathiraaja's Kizhakku
Cheemayile and Karuththamma, producing successful Tamil rural folk inspired scores and
delivered the grand saxophonic score for K. Balachander'sDuet.[29][30] The 1995 film Indira and
the romantic comedies Mr. Romeo and Love Birds all gained him considerable
notice.[31][32][33] His fanbase in Japan increased with Muthu 's success there.[34] His soundtracks
gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and around the world for his stylistic
versatility incorporating Western classical, Carnatic and Tamil traditional/folk music
traditions, jazz, reggae and rock music.[35][36][37][38] The soundtrack ofBombay sold 12 million
copies worldwide.[39] The "Bombay Theme"from Ratnam's Bombaywould later reappear in
his score of Deepa Mehta's Fire and various compilations and media around the world. It was
featured in the Palestinian film Divine Intervention in 2002, and in the Nicolas Cage film Lord of
War, in 2005. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut for Hindi-
language films made in the Mumbai film industry.[40] Many successful scores for films
including Dil Se.. and the percussive Taal followed.[41][42] Sufi mysticism would inspire the track
"Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the former, as well as the composition "Zikr" from his score for the
film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero for which he created large symphonic
orchestral and choral arrangements.[18] His score for the Chennai production Minsaara
Kanavu garnered Rahman his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1997,
and a South FilmFare Award for Best Music Direction in a Tamil film, breaking a record with
six consecutive wins in the latter category. Rahman would go onto win the award a further three
consecutive times. Musical cues in scores for Sangamam and Iruvar employed Carnatic vocals
and instruments such as the veena with leads of rock guitar and jazz.[43] In the 2000s Rahman
created hit scores for Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain,Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh
Gowariker's Swades and Rang De Basanti.[44] He composed songs with Hindustani motifs
for Water (2005).
Rahman has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Javed
Akhtar, Gulzar, Vairamuthu and Vaali. He has consistently produced commercially successful
soundtracks when collaborating with particular film directors such as Mani Ratnam, who he has
worked with since Roja, and the director S. Shankar in the
films Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Sivaji and lately
for Enthiran.[45]
In 2005, Rahman extended his Panchathan Record Inn studio by establishing AM Studios in
Kodambakkam, Chennai, thereby creating the most cutting-edge studio in Asia.[46][47] In 2006,
Rahman launched his own music label, KM Music.[48] Its first release was his score to the
film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal.[49] Rahman scored the Mandarin language picture Warriors of Heaven
and Earth in 2003 after researching and utilizing Chinese and Japanese classical music,[50]and
won the Just Plain Folks Music Award For Best Music Album for his score of the 2006
film Varalaru (God Father).[51] He co-scored the Shekhar Kapur project and his first British
film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in 2007.[52] He garnered an Asian Film Award nomination for
Best Composer at the Hong Kong International Film Festival for his Jodhaa Akbar score.[53] His
compositions have been sampled for other scores within India,[54] and appeared in such films
 P a g e | 83

as Inside Man, Lord of War, Divine Intervention and The Accidental Husband. In 2008, Rahman
scored his first Hollywood picture, the comedy Couples Retreat released the next year, which
won him the BMI London Award for Best Score.[55] Rahman scored the film Slumdog
Millionaire in 2008, for which he won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards, becoming the
first Asian to do so. The songs "Jai Ho" and "OSaya" from the soundtrack of this film met
with commercial success internationally. In 2010, Rahman composed scores for the romance
film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, blockbuster sci-fi romance film Enthiran and Danny
Boyle's 127 Hours. Rahman started off the year 2011 by scoring Imtiaz Ali's musical
film Rockstar. The soundtrack became a phenomenal success and earned Rahman immense
critical praise.[56
AWARDS
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by A. R. Rahman

AR Rahman at his residence inChennai after bagging two Academy Awards for his work
in Slumdog Millionaire (2009)
Rahman was the 1995 recipient of the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for
contributions to music.[1] He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his first West-End
production. A four-time National Film Award winner and recipient of six Tamil Nadu State Film
Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South for his music and
scores.[1] He has been conferred Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu for
excellence in the field of music, special music achievement awards from the Government of
Uttar Pradesh and Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Padma Shri from the Government of
India.[90] In 2006, he received an honorary award from Stanford University for contributions to
global music.[91] In 2007, Rahman was entered into the Limca Book of Records as "Indian of the
Year for Contribution to Popular Music".[92] He is the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award
recipient from the Rotary Club of Madras.[93] In 2009, for his score of Slumdog Millionaire,
 P a g e | 84

Rahman won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best
Original Score,[94] the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and two Academy Awards for Best
Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. Rahman has
received honorary doctorates from Middlesex University and Aligarh Muslim
University.[95][96] Later the year Rahman was conferred the honorary doctorate from Anna
University in Chennai.[97] He has also won two Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation
Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for a Visual Media.[98] Rahman was awarded
the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2010.[99] Rahman's work for the
film 127 Hours garnered him Golden Globe, BAFTA, and two Academy Award nominations for
Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song in 2011.[100][101][102] He is an Honorary Fellow
of the Trinity College of Music, presented to him by Trinity College London.[103]
On 7 May 2012, he was conferred Honorary Doctorate from the Miami University, Ohio. During
the acceptance speech, he mentioned that he received a Christmas card from the US
President'sfamily and an invitation for the dinner at White House.[104]

PERSONAL LIFE
He is married to Saira Banu and has three children, Khatija, Rahima, and Ameen.[105] Ameen
sings the track "NaNa" from Couples Retreat and his daughter Khatija the track "Pudhiya
Manidha" from Enthiran.[106][107] Rahman is the uncle of composer G. V. Prakash Kumar, who is
the son of Rahman's elder sister, A. R. Reihana.[108] Prakash Kumar's first work in film was
singing on the Rahman composition "Chikku Bukku Rayile" from his score to the 1993
film Gentleman.[109] A. R. Reihana debuted in film singing on the track "Vidai Kodu Engal
Naadae" from Kannathil Muthamittal and is also a music director. Rahman's younger sister
Fathima is in charge of his Music conservatory in Chennai. The youngest Ishrath has her own
music studio.[110] A. R. Rahman is brother-in-law of film actor Rahman.[111]
An atheist through much of his childhood, in 1989 Rahman converted to Islam, the religion of
his mother's family. After the early death of his father, his family went through hard times
and Sufism had a great influence on his mother and slowly on his family.[112][113] During the 81st
Academy Awards ceremony, he paid tribute to his mother, saying "There is a Hindi
dialogue, mere pass ma hai, which means 'even if I have got nothing I have my mother
here'."[114] He also began his own catchphrase, "Ella pughazhum iraivanukke", in Tamil which
literally means "All praises dedicated to God". The phrase was popularized after Rahman uttered
it prior to his speech at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony.[115]
HUMANITARIAN WORK
Rahman is involved in various charitable causes. In 2004, he was appointed as the Global
Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership, a project by WHO.[24] He has shown support to charities
including Save the Children, India, and worked with Yusuf Islam for his song "Indian Ocean".
The song featured a-ha keyboard player Magne Furuholmen and Travis drummer Neil Primrose.
The proceeds of the song went towards helping orphans in Banda Aceh, that was affected by
the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.[116] He produced the single "We Can Make It Better" by Don
Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota.[117] In 2008, Rahman opened his KM Music
 P a g e | 85

Conservatory partnered with Audio Media Education facility to tutor and train aspiring
musicians in vocals, instruments, music technology and sound design. The conservatory with
preeminent musicians on its panel and a newly founded symphony orchestra is located near his
studio inKodambakkam, Chennai, offering courses at Beginners, Foundation and Diploma level.
Violinist L. Subramaniam is on its board of advisors.[118] Several of Rahman's proteges from the
studio have gone onto score music for feature films.[119] Rahman composed the theme music for
a short film for The Banyan in 2006, in aid of destitute women in Chennai.[120] In 2008, Rahman
with noted percussionist Sivamani created a song titled "Jiya Se Jiya", inspired by theFree Hugs
Campaign and promoted it through a video shot in various cities in India.[121]
 P a g e | 86

CONCLUSION
At the end of this project I conclude that Indian classical music is the root of the
music and responsible for the growth and popularity of Indian culture. Indian
Music has now taken a lead role in world Music. As Late Pandit Ravishankar has
performed with The Beatles and A.R. Rahman has got 2 Oscars for the film
slumdog Millionaire. In One of his interview he had explained that Indian classical
is the secret of the great compositions.

We have all the Assets in the form of Indian classical music we have all the
Maestros like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Jasraj, Late Pandit Ravshankar. But the
saddest thing is we Indians are not fully identifying our assests. One positive thing
is the shows like Sa Re Ga MA PA 2013 has given same importance as they have
given to other forms of Music. Indian Classical Music have a Great power
increasing energy building . Many Doctors, Engineers, Architects plays Indian
classical music while working. It gives classical Music.

Music nowadays has become a BIG entertainment and an industry too. But it
had rather humble and unenviable beginnings. Especially in India, the psyche
about India was quite frightening. The professional musicians and courtesans were
looked down upon. Classical music was frowned upon by the middle classes. The
reason was definitely their lack of understanding and ignorance.

Less than 50 years ago music began to enter the thresholds of the middle class
Indian's home. The contribution of ALL INDIA RADIO is unquestionable. That,
musicians needed to be respected and honored dawned upon the Indians quite late.
The only music they were listening to were the devotional type, like bhajans,
quawwalis etc. Again that affinity for those genres was not because of any love for
 P a g e | 87

music. Their religious upbringing compelled them to listen to such music and sway
to their lyrics and tunes. Mind you, even today, quite a sizeable chunk of the
population is ignorant about the treasure trove of our classical and folk music. The
only form of music they count as "music" is film songs. I have nothing against film
music but the fact that one form of art thrives at the cost of another is hard to
digest. I, being a classical musician, have certain reservations, but for the benefit of
music and its survival, we have to compromise to a certain extent. Now, this is the
tricky part. Most classical musicians are into FUSION nowadays. Why give it a
name and try to justify something which is a passing phase. We musicians have a
social responsibility and commitment towards our music which has survived for
thousands of years. This FUSION thing is at times getting on the nerves.....can
anyone tell me how Mutton Korma is going to taste like with Paella? Mind you I
am not orthodox, but for the sake of good music one has to let it flourish on its own
merits and demerits. Some musicians are sending a wrong message to the current
generation; they think that Indian classical music has no capability to survive on its
own! It is true, that musicians have to resort to all sorts of "experimental" music
compositions to make themselves saleable in the "market" but at the same time
don't you think that the stalwarts also need to clear any misconceptions about
classical music which the present generation is digesting?
 P a g e | 88

BIBLOGRAPHY

WEBSITES
www.google.com
www.itsra.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.swarganga.com

BOOKS
Spirit of Music- A.R.Rahman
Swarbhaskar Pt. Bhimsen Joshi