HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC

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  • A form of Indian classical music commonly associated with the Northern part of the Indian subcontinent
  • Hindustani classical music is a tradition that originated in Vedic ritual chants and has been evolving since the 12th century CE, in Northern India and to some extent in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan 
  • Today, it is one of the two genres of Indian classical music, the other being Carnatic music, the classical tradition of Southern India 
  • The tradition was born out of a cultural synthesis of several musical traditions: the Vedic chant tradition, the ancient Persian tradition (Musiqi-e assil), and various folk traditions 
  • The central notion is that of a melodic mode or raga, sung to a rhythmic cycle or tala
  • The rhythmic organisation 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 ragas can be classified based on the notes they use 
  • The 7 notes used are : 
    • Sa (Shadja)=Do 
    • Re (Rishabh)=Re 
    • Ga (Gandhar)=Mi 
    • Ma (Madhyam)=Fa 
    • Pa (Pancham)=So 
    • Dha (Dhaivat)=La 
    • Ni (Nishad)=Ti 
    • Sa (Shadja)=D0 
  • A typical rendition of a raga involves two stages: 
    • Alap (a rhythmically free improvisation on the rules for the raga) and, 
    • Bandish or Gat (a fixed, melodic composition, performed with rhythmic accompaniment)
  • Types of compositions (vocal forms or styles) are dhrupad, khyal and tarana. Other folk or semi-classical styles include dhamar, thumri, dadra, ghazal, tappa, kajari and bhajan 
  • Tanpura (as drone), sitar, sarod, sarangi, bansuri, shehnai, harmonium(as melodic ensemble), tabla and pakhavaj (as percussion ensemble) are usually the musical instruments associated with Hindustani classical music 
  • Ut. Karim Khan, Pt. Bhatkhande, Ut. Ghulam Ali Khan, Vid. Girija Devi, Pt. Sawai Gandharva, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Ut. Fiazuddin Dagar, Pt. Jasraj, Vid. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, are a few renowned Hindustani vocalists

Jaipur Atrauli Gharana is known for its Taan Pradhan Gayaki with its trademark Firat Taans. It was founded by Gaan Samrat Alladiya Khan, who learnt mainly from his uncle Jehangir Khan of Jaipur, though he was heavily influenced by Mehboob Khan Daras Piya of Atrauli (UP) & Dagar Vani dhrupad of Baba Behram Khan Dagar. Therefore, the Jaipur Gharana employs a huge number of dhrupad bandishes in its performances, for example, “Yeh Narahara Narayana” in Vibhas which was originally a Dagar Vani dhrupad bandish. He also mentions Bade Mubarak Ali Khan, son of Bade Mohammed Khan as an influence. Some of the well-known musicians from Jaipur
include Kesarbai Kerkar, Mogubai Kurdikar, Mallikarjun Mansur, Gajanan Rao Joshi (who was equally adept at the Gwalior style), Nivruttibuwa Sarnaik, Kishori Amonkar, Dhondutai Kulkarni & Shruti Sadolikar.

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