History and Culture |
A walk through India's history Art and Culture A spectacular blend of creativity and aesthetics
hawaj, mridangam and ghatam. All have evolved from simple folk instruments made from reeds, bamboo and gourds. Music and dance before the birth of classical dance forms revolved around the activities of rural and tribal people. Rural communities even today celebrate the rhythms of daily and seasonal life with dances and music, which have great similarities to each other. While in the Himalayan belt men and women hold each other and sway gracefully, in Punjab, dancing is more vigorous, called the Bhangra (performed by men) and Giddha (performed by women.) In Rajasthan, women with covered faces, whirl round and round in the Ghoomar while their counterparts in Gujarat perform the Garba. There are many existing forms of dance drama or folk theatre such as Nautanki in Rajasthan, UP and Bihar, Bhavai of Gujarat, Tamasha in Maharashtra, Jatra in Bengal, Yakshagana m Karnataka and Theyyam in Kerala. Martial art forms have been stylized to quasi dance forms in the northeast, Lazin dances of Maharashtra, Kalaripayattu of Kerala and Chhau of Orissa. Classical dances in India too have their own variety. There are six major classical dance styles in India - Bharatanatyam from Tamil Nadu, Odissi from Orissa, Katbak from Uttar Pradesh, Manipuri from Manipur, Kathakali and Mohini-attam from Kerala and Kuchipudi from Andhra Pradesh. They all adhere to the canons of classical dance as laid down in Natya Shastra, written by sage Bharata in the second century BC. Over the centuries, a complex repertoire of hand movements, rhythms, facial gestures and body movements have been developed to convey subtle meanings. Handicrafts Fabric weaving and printing in India is regarded as an art form by itself. From the fabled gossamer muslins of Bengal to thick, earthy tribal shawls, shimmering silk embroidered with gold thread to simple cottons with block prints, jamavars to mirror-work, Indian textiles are a treasure trove. As an example, zari is the fine glittery thread of gold or silver and the embroidery made using them. The stitches are extremely fine and are worked with dexterity and skill, with the embroidery starting from the centre and proceeding to the outer edges in a circular fashion. Zari designs are used for table linens and also for making articles of personal wear. The famous pashmina shawls of Kashmir are made of the finest wool and have a luxuriant silky texture. Indian shawls depend on embroidery or on weaving for their ornamentation. The Kashmiri embroiderer takes great pride in embroidering shawls which have a pattern identical on both sides. The motifs used for embroidery or weaving in shawls follow Indian traditions, and include the motifs of an elephant, mango, lotus and others. Cinema Motion pictures came to India in 1896, when the Lumiere Brothers' Cinematographe unveiled six soundless short films in Mumbai). India's first feature film - Raja Harishchandra - was released in 1913. It was made by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke (1817-1944). This was a silent movie. By 1920, film making had taken the shape of an industry. The first talkie made in India was Alam Ara (produced by Imperial Film Company) released in 1931. Until the 1960s, film-making companies, many of whom owned studios, dominated the film industry. Artistes and technicians were either their employees or were contracted on long-term basis. Since the 1960s, however, most performers went the freelance way, resulting in the huge escalations in film production costs. India today has the world's biggest movie industry in terms of the number of movies produced (around 800 movies annually), mostly in the Hindi language, besides Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam languages. A shift from popular to creative cinema came after Independence, as social realities and injustices were highlighted. But this gave way in the 70s to chocolate box films with tired, repetitive content and lots of music and dance. This also saw the genesis of the blockbuster and the growth of superstars like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. In reaction, a parallel cinema movement grew and was very successful. Satyajit Ray made movies like Father Panchali, and he was the first Indian to have won the Palm D'Or in Cannes and an Oscar award for lifetime achievement. Today, the technology of film-making m India is perhaps the best among all developing countries. However, the popular culture purveyed through films has a strong influence on Indian people. It is also one of India's enduring exports to countries throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Since films are almost wholly centred around songs, a whole new genre of popular film music now dominates the popular music scene. Art The Department of Culture in the Ministry of Human Resource Development plays a vital role in the preservation, promotion and dissemination of art and culture. The aim of the Department is to develop ways and means by which the basic cultural and aesthetic values and perceptions remain active and dynamic among the people. It also undertakes programmes of preservation, encouragement and dissemination of various manifestations of contemporary creativity. The Department is a nodal agency for commemorating significant events and celebrating centenaries of great persons. VISUAL ARTS LALIT KALA AKADEMI To promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country, the Government established Lalit Kala Akademi (National Akademi of Fine Arts) at New Delhi in 1954. To decentralise its activities, the Akademi has set up regional centres called Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendra at Lucknow, Calcutta, Chennai and Bhubaneswar as well as a small office at Mumbai. The Akademi has also set up Community Artists Studio Complex with workshop facilities in painting, sculpture, print-making and ceramics at Garhi village in New Delhi. The regional centres and workshops are headed by experts to give technical guidance in these disciplines. Since its inception, the Akademi organises national exhibitions of contemporary Indian art with 10 national awards, each of Rs 25,000. Three to four special exhibitions every year are organised with some concept involving known and eminent artists of India. Every three years, the Academy also organises Triennale India, one of the most significant exhibitions of contemporary art in this part of the world. The Akademi honours eminent artists and art historians every year by electing them as Fellows of the Akademi. To propagate Indian art outside, the Akademi regularly participates in International Biennales and Triennales abroad and also organises exhibitions of works of art from other countries. To foster contacts with artists from outside, it sponsors exchange of artists with other countries under the various Cultural Exchange Programmes and Agreements of the Government of India. The Lalit Kala Akademi accords recognition to art institutions/associations and extends financial assistance to these bodies as well as state Akademis every year. It also gives scholarships to deserving young artists of its regional centres. Under its publication programme, the Akademi brings out monographs on the works of Indian contemporary artists in Hindi and English and books on contemporary, traditional, folk and tribal arts authored by eminent writers and art critics. The Akademi also brings out bi-annual art journals, Lalit Kala Contemporary (English), Lalit Kala Ancient (English) and Samkaleen Kala (Hindi). Apart from these, it brings out large size multi-colour reproductions of contemporary paintings and graphics from time to time. The Akademi has started a regular programme on research and documentation. Scholars are given financial assistance to undertake projects in contemporary folk, field projects on various aspects of Indian society and culture for better understanding, salvage and revitalisation of the rich cultural heritage of the country. PERFORMING ARTS MUSIC Two main schools of classical music Hindustani and Carnatic continue to survive through oral tradition being passed on by teachers to disciples. This has led to the existence of family traditions called gharanas and sampradayas. DANCE Dance in India has an unbroken tradition of over 2,000 years. Its themes are derived from mythology, legends and classical literature, two main divisions being classical and folk. Classical dance forms are based on ancient dance discipline and have rigid rules of presentation. Important among them are Bharata Natyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchipudi and Odissi. Bharata Natyam though it derives its roots from Tamil Nadu, has developed into an all India form. Kathakali is a dance form of Kerala. Kathak is a classical dance form revitalised as a result of Mughal influence on Indian culture. Manipur has contributed to a delicate, lyrical style of dance called Manipuri, while Kuchipudi is a dance form owing its origin to Andhra Pradesh. Odissi from Orissa, once practised as a temple dance, is today widely exhibited by artistes across the country. Folk and tribal dances are of numerous patterns. Both classical and folk dances owe their present popularity to institutions like Sangeet Natak Akademi and other training institutes and cultural organisations. The Akademi gives financial assistance to cultural institutions and awards fellowships to scholars, performers and teachers to promote advanced study and training in different forms of dance and music, especially those which are rare. THEATRE Theatre in India is as old as her music and dance. Classical theatre survives only in some places. Folk theatre can be seen in its regional variants practically in every region. There are also professional theatres, mainly city-oriented. Besides, India has a rich tradition of puppet theatre, prevalent forms being puppets, rod puppets, glove puppets and leather puppets (shadow theatre). There are several semi-professional and amateur theatre groups involved in staging plays in Indian languages and in English. SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Akademy of Music, Dance and Drama, was founded in 1953 to promote the performing arts in collaboration with the states and voluntary organisations. By arranging free performances by talented artists, the Akademi seeks an enhanced public appreciation of music, dance and drama, together with exchange of ideas and techniques for the common gain of Indian performing arts. Kathak Kendra, Delhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal, are training institutions run by the Akademi. While the Kathak Kendra imparts training in Kathak Dance and Music, the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy imparts training in Manipuri dance and allied arts. The management of the two institutions vests in the Executive Board of the Akademi, which is assisted by the Advisory Committees of these constituent units. In furtherance of its objectives, the Akademi is supporting training programmes in Chhau dance of Mayurbhanj and Seraikella as also Koodiyattam in Kerala. The Akademi also runs the following schemes: assistance to theatre directors and playwrights, promotion and preservation of traditional performing arts, support to art forms which are in danger of extinction, inter-state cultural exchange programmes, cultural exchange programmes with foreign countries, documentation and dissemination, etc. The Akademi also annually honours artistes in the field of performing arts and holds festivals, seminars, workshops, etc. NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA The National School of Drama (NSD) - one of the foremost theatre training institutions in the world and the only one of its kind in India was set up by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1959. Later in 1975, it became an autonomous organisation, financed entirely by Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. NSD has produced a galaxy of talents - actors, directors, script-writers, designers, technicians and educationists who work not only in theatre but in film and television also - winning several awards, national and international. The training in the School is based on a thorough, comprehensive, carefully planned syllabus. The systematic study and practical performing experience of Sanskrit drama, modern Indian drama, traditional Indian theatre forms, Asian drama and western drama give the students a solid grounding and a wide perspective in the art of the theatre. In order to establish links between traditional theatre forms of India and modern expressions, the School brings in experts to train the students in these forms and also sends students to regional centres for training in traditional theatre. The School has also attracted to its training faculty some of the finest creative talents from within the country and abroad. The school has its performing wing, a Repertory Company, and Theatre-in- Education Company called Sanskaar Rang Toli that perform for Children and does workshops for children and teachers. Jashn-e-Bachan, a festival of plays for children was organized by NSD. Another important annual event started by NSD is Bharat Rang Mahotsava - a major festival of significant theatre productions, the first of its kind in India. NSD has its Regional Resource-cum-Research Centre at Bangalore. LITERARY ART Rediscovery of ancient and medieval Indian literature and development of modern literature in major Indian languages and English mark the literary activities of present-day India. A large number of literary periodicals and magazines, literary institutions and All India Radio have given impetus to the growth of modern Indian literature. SAHITYA AKADEMI Sahitya Akademi is the Indian National Academy of Letters meant to promote the cause of Indian literature through publications, translations, seminars, workshops, cultural exchange programmes and literary meets organised all over the country. The Akademi was founded in March 1954 as an autonomous body fully funded by the Department of Culture, Government of India. It was registered as a Society in 1956. Sahitya Akademi has a written constitution to guide and shape the modalities of its various functions. The Akademi has recognised 22 languages. It has an Advisory Board of ten members in each of these languages that suggests various functions and publications in the concerned languages. There are four Regional Boards to promote regional interaction among the languages of the north, west, east and south. Besides with its Head Office in New Delhi it has four offices in Calcutta, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. It has a Library stocking about two lakh books in different languages. Sahitya Akademi recognises eminent writers through 22 Awards for creative writing, 22 translation prizes, fellowships for distinguished contribution to literature, Bhasha Samman meant to promote peripheral languages, Ananda Coomaraswamy Fellowship for South Asian scholars and Honorary Fellowships for foreign scholars who have done significant work in Indian literature. The Akademi publishes books in 22 languages including translations of Award-winning works, monographs on the great pioneers of Indian literatures, histories of literature, Indian and foreign classics in translation, anthologies of fiction, poetry and prose, biographies, Registers of Translators, Whos Who of Indian Writers and Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. So far the Akademi has published around 3,000 books in these different categories. The Akademi has three journals, Indian Literature (bi-monthly in English), Samakaleena Bharatiya Sahitya (bi- monthly in Hindi) and Samskrita Pratibha (half-yearly in Sanskrit). Sahitya Akademi holds about 30 regional, national and international seminars every year on various topics in literature, literary history and aesthetics. Besides, it organises a series of programmes, such as Meet the Author, Kavisandhi, Kathasandhi, Asmita, Mulakat, Men and Books, Through My Window, Loka, The Many Voices Avishkar, Antaral, and Literary Forum. The Akademi also regularly holds Translation Workshops. The Akademi holds annually a week-long Festival of Letters usually in February. It has certain special projects like the Ancient Indian Literature, Medieval Indian Literature and Modern Indian Literature together constituting ten volumes of the best of Indian writing over five millennia. Another project for the translation and publication of Tribal Literature has been established at Vadodara as its headquarters. The Akademi has also launched a collaborative project with the Natioinal Book Trust, India to bring out 100 Indian classics in translation. Another project is the Archives of Indian Literature that is meant to document literature through films, videos, audios, CDs and to preserve manuscripts, photographs and other materials associated with eminent Indian writers. The Akademi gives Travel Grants to young authors to interact with writers in other parts of India. It also has a cultural exchange programme where Indian writers and scholars are sent abroad and foreign writers and scholars received in India. CHRONOLOGICAL HIGHLIGHTS 1814 The Indian Museum, Calcutta founded. 1861 The Archaeological Survey of India established. 1891 Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library established in Patna. 1931 The Allahabad Museum established. 1945 The Anthropological Survey of India established. 1951 The Salar Jung Museum Hyderabad established. 1954 The National Gallery of Modern Art established.
1960 The National Museum set up. 1967 The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies established. 1972 The Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation set up in Calcutta. 1978 The National Council of Science Museums set up in Calcutta (April). 1984 Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti formed (September). 1987 The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts formed (19 March). 1989 The National Museum Institute of History of Arts, Conservation and Museology started functioning. For further information please visit : http://education.vsnl.com/iccr Cinema AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA Feature films are being produced in India since 1912-13. While R.G. Torney along with N.G. Chitre made Pundalin in 1912, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (1870-1914) produced Raja Harishchandra in 1913. The era of silent films was overtaken by the talkie era in 1931 when Ardeshir Irani (1886-1969) produced Alam Ara, tthough silent movies continued to be produced till 1934. India leads the world in the annual output of feature films. CENTRAL BOARD OF FILM CERTIFICATION Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The Board set up under the Cinematography Act, 1952, consists of a Chairman and a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 25 non-official members, all appointed by the Government. The Board functions with headquarters at Mumbai and nine regional offices at Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai Thiruvananthapuram, New Delhi, Cuttack and Guwahati. The films produced in 14 languages are certified by nine offices all over the country. The regional offices are assisted in the examination of films by members of advisory panels which include eminent educationists, art-critics, journalists, social workers, psychologists, etc. The Board examines films for certification in accordance with the provisions contained in the Cinematography Act, 1952, Cinematography (Certification) Rules, 1983 and the guidelines issued by the Central Government. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi hears appeals against the decision of the CBFC. In 2000, the Board certified 855 Indian and 252 foreign feature films, 1,058 Indian and 194 foreign short films. 111 Indian video feature films and 38 foreign video feature films, 503 Indian video short films and 167 foreign video short films. FILMS DIVISION The Films division was established in 1948 to record, propagate and preserve the achievements of a resurgent independent India on celluloid. It has been the vital link between the people and the Government apart from its pioneering role in spreading the documentary film movement in India and the world. It is the largest national agency devoted to the production and distribution of newsmagazines, quickies and documentaries. Apart from its newsmagazines and documentaries the Films Division also produces story-based featurettes and educational films both in-house for various ministries and departments of the Government of India and other State Governments. Its cartoon unit has a unique place of pride in the country churning out most delightful and educative animation shorts. The Films Division produces and dubs all the released films in all the regional languages apart from Hindi and English. It has ten distribution branch offices located at Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Madurai, Nagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Vijayawada. Films Division has an archive with more than 8,000 titles on variety of subjects. Films Division started the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) in 1990. Since then MIFF has grown in stature. At the sixth MIFF held during 3-9 February 2000, 542 entries from 34 countries were received. The seventh MIFF is scheduled to be held in February 2002. The Films Division organises film festivals in different parts of the country. During 2000-2001 the Documentary Film Festivals were organised in Jamshedpur, Jaipur and Chennai. The first ever Delhi International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (DIFF 2001), was a non-competitive festival. Over 100 films from 15 participating countries were ned during the Festival. During 1999-2000, the Films Division produced 34 news magazines and 84 documentaries/short featurettes and video films and earned revenue amounting to Rs.13.77 crore. NATI0NAL FILM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Limited incorporated in 1975, was restructured in 1980 after amalgamation of the Indian Motion Picture Export Corporation (IMPEC) and Film Finance Corporation (FFC). The primary objective of NFDC is to foster excellence in cinema and to develop state-of-the-art technology in audio-visual and related fields. The main activities of the corporation include financing and producing films with socially relevant themes, creative and artistic excellence and experimental in form; distribution and dissemination of films through various channels. NFDC also provides essential pre-production and post-production infrastructure to the film industry, in pace with the latest technology, which includes financing of theatre construction. NFDC also endeavours to promote culture and understanding of cinema by organising film weeks, Indian panorama and film festivals in collaboration with film societies, National Film Circle and other agencies representing Indian and foreign films. NGDC encourages the concept of low-budget films which are high in quality, content and production values. During 2000-01 (up to November 2000) production of three films in different languages were completed and six films were under production. The Corporation acquired 28 foreign films for television satellite rights and exported 46 films during the same period. NFDCs film centre, Kolkata provides production and post-production facilities to the film industry of eastern-region. At the NFDC's laser sub-titling unit, Mumbai sub-titling in all the Latin character foreign languages and Arabic are being done. The unit also undertakes video sub-titling in various regional and foreign languages. The Cine Artists' Welfare Fund of India, set up by NFDC, is the biggest ever trust in the Indian Film Industry with a corpus of Rs.4.16 crore. During 2000-2001 (up to November), an amount of Rs.35 lakh was disbursed as pension to cine artists. NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE OF INDIA The National Film Archive of India (NFAI), established in 1964, has three principal objectives, viz., (i) to trace, acquire and preserve the national film heritage for posterity; (ii) to clarify and document data and promote research relating to films and (iii) to act as a centre for dissemination of film culture. NFAI has been a member of the International Federation of Film Archives since May 1969, which enables it to get expert advice and material on preservation techniques, documentation, bibliographies, etc., and to exchange rare films with other members. As a part of its activities under dissemination of film culture, NFAI's headquarters at Pune and three Regional Offices at Bangalore, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram extend distribution library facilities to the members throughout the country. NFAI also conducts joint screening programmes at Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Jamshedpur and Pune. Long and short-term courses in Film Appreciation are conducted in collaboration with FTII and other educational institutions and cultural organisations. CHILDREN'S FILM SOCIETY, INDIA Children's Film Society, India (CFSI) also known as National Centre of films for Children and Young People (N'CYP) was established in 1955 to provide value-based entertainment to children through the medium of films and is engaged in production, acquisition, distribution and exhibition of such films. The head office of the CFSI is located in Mumbai with branch/zonal offices in New Delhi and Chennai. Films produced/procured by the Society are exhibited through state/districtwise package programmes. During 2000-01, 88 programmes comprising over 2,064 shows with an audience of 12.11 lakh were organised. The films produced by CFSI screened in various National and International Film Festivals have won many awards. CFSI holds it International Film Festival every alternate year. DIRECTORATE OF ADVERTISING AND VISUAL PUBLICITY The Directorate of Adbvertising and Visual Publicity (DACP) is the central agency of the Government of India for undertaking advertising and audio visual publicity campaigns on behalf of various Ministries, Departments and autonomous bodies, except Railways and provides them a single-window service. The means of communication used are press advertisements, outdoor publicity, exhibitions and audio-visual and printed publicity materials like posters, folders, brochures, booklets, etc. SATYAJIT RAY FILM AND TELEVISION INSTITUTE Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, an autonomous academic institution under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, was registered in 1995 under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. The Institute is a National Centre offering post-graduate diploma courses of three year duration in (i) Film Direction & Screenplay Writing; (ii) Motion Picture Photography; (iii) Editing (Film & Video) and (iv) Sound Recording. Films Bhor and Meena Jha produced by the first batch of students have won three national awards. Music The Westerner coming to India who seeks contact with the arts will find that they are not all equally accessible to him on first acquaintance. The least accessible one will probably be Indias classical music, which will not surrender many of its pleasures to the unguided Westerner ear. Some preparation is necessary to prevent the Westerner from being misled by his previous ideas of music and habits of listening, which are quite different from those of an Indian. The differences between Indian and Western musical thought can be illustrated in many ways. Take, for example, the factor in music which in drama would be called pacing. In music, this is not just the speed of a piece (tempo), but the rate at which new ideas are introduced. The pace, if we may use this term, in Indian music is much slower than in most Western music. For this reason, the pieces on an Indian program, especially in the North, are long, taking from a half hour to an hour, the whole program often running three hours or more. Further, an entirepiece may be developed mainly from one tonal idea while a Western symphony or sonata of comparable length (few of them exceed forty minutes, anyway) will usually be formed from a number of ideas of varied nature. And while most Indian pieces are indisputably long (by clock time), they seem even longer to a Westerner because of drones sounding in the background, which do not change pitch during the piece, or even during the whole evening. It is as though an organist were to perform a whole concert with his feet resting continuously on one pair of pedal notes. It is not surprising, then, if one considers only the slow pace and drones, that the Westerner, listening passively, finds Indian classical music monotonous, or even soporific, on first acquaintance. If the Westerner observes Indians at a concert, however, he will see that they are not affected as he is. Their eyes are alert, they wag their heads in response to certain melodic turns, and they seem to be participating vicariously in the performance, even when, to the Westerner, the music is in its most static phases. Unlike the Westerner brought up on too much of our Romantic and Impressionistic music, which he appreciates by allowing it to pour over him, the Indian is inclined to be actively analytical as he listens. It is this analytical activity which fills the time of performance for an Indian, accounting, at least partly, for his feeling in regard to the length of a piece or concert, which is so different from that of the uninitiated Westerner. To share in the cultivated Indians pleasures with classical music, the Westerner has to know some of the technical points on which this listening pleasure is based. Indian classical music is an intimate art, nearer to the solo and instrumental music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance then to the well-known music of what has been called the period of common practice (about 1700-1900). As with all intimate arts, its pleasures are all the sweeter for the effort required in obtaining them. Raga is the first technical feature of Indian music with which the Western listener must become familiar. A raga is a group of tones from which a melody is formed. One thinks immediately of the scale in Western music; this, too, provides the tones from which the melody (and the harmony) is formed. While certain ragas may consist of an ascending and descending series of tones like our do, re, me, fa, sol, la, ti, do, the total concept of raga is more than such a mere schematic statement of the tones, by certain characteristic turns in the direction of the melody (in descending, especially), by certain deflections from normal pitch, and even by graces or ornamental notes used with certain tones. For example, there are a number of ragas using the tones of what we call the C major scale (the regular do, re, mi,…). But these ragas are quite different in effect because of the special ways certain tones are treated. One of the functions of the slow improvised introductory sections in many Indian pieces, called alapa, is to show the listener the tones of the raga, and the characteristic melodic figures, slowly and carefully, giving both the performer and the listener a chance to feel all the emotional and structural implications of the particular raga. One must give close attention to the alapa, or one will not be thoroughly ready for what follows. To fully grasp the raga, one really should have an ear trained well enough to recognize whole-steps, half-steps, and other intervals. In our common scale, for example, we have whole-steps between do-re and re-mi, but there is a half step between mi and fa; all the other steps are whole except for ti-do. This particular pattern of steps is so ingrained in our culture that anyone can sing it without realizing exactly what he is doing. More than half of our music uses this pattern in one way or another, as it happens to produce felicitous harmonies when the tones are sounded together in chords. But Indian music, which does not systematically use chords, finds this one pattern, though it is a popular one, inadequate as material for melody. Indian theorists have worked out by permutations the various combinations of not more than seven tones within an octave. There are 72 of these combinations, which are called melas. A raga, whether traditional or newly constructed, necessarily relates in pattern to a mela. In contrast to the systematic approach used in the theory of melas, a raga, which is the real substance of Indian tonal fabric, is defined simply as that which appeals to the ear. One must really use ones ears to cope with some ragas which differ greatly in mela from any common European scale - even if we include in our list the patterns of the modes of early church music (Gregorian chant). It is difficult or impossible to determine how many ragas there are, or might be theoretically, as the slightest change in the treatment of the tones of the mela means a different raga. But the number known to have been used is in the thousands, and there are performers who can reproduce hundreds of them. The popularity of certain ragas, however, tends to bring the effective number to a much lower figure, and many performers get along with not more than about fifty ragas. Each raga is assigned to a certain time of the day, and the character of the raga is somehow appropriate to that time, even in the technical demands made upon the voice. There are some musicians of the older school in the North who would not think of performing a raga except at the proper time. Consequently, at evening concerts, one may hear only evening ragas. In the South, where public concerts have a longer tradition than in the North, the older restrictions stemming from the practices of temple and royal court are freely broken. At a South Indian concert given in the evening, one may hear ragas from various times of the day. So far, we have mentioned mainly what could be called horizontal aspects of the ragas - the step patterns, emphases, and characteristic ornamentations. We have said, too, that Indian music has no chords. That is true. But it does not mean, really, that Indian music has no harmony, if harmony means two or more tones sounding together. As mentioned previously, Indian music usually employs a drone, which is do, sounded continuously against the other tones of the raga as they occur in the melody. Each tone, then, has not only its horizontal, melodic aspect; it also forms a vertical, harmonic combination with the drone. The quality of this harmony(actually, just a harmonically sounded interval) gives much of the individual expression of each tone in the raga. Hindu writers have gone into great detail in explaining the emotion conveyed by each tone; fa may be said to portray peace, while a sharpened fa may portray anxiety, and so forth. It is not only the location in the spatial scheme of the raga which causes these effects, but also the harmonic intervals formed as the melody notes sound against the drown, do. While there can be much difference of opinion as to the meaning, character, or ethos of intervals, the Indian designations for their raga tones correspond fairly closely with Western ideas about intervals and scale tones. In our music, for example, much is made over the third note of the scale. A low, or minor third is characterized as sad, and a high, or major third is gay. One finds the same general meaning attached to these tones in ragas. The interval formed by a sharpened fa with do, or between natural fa and ti, long given special attention in the West (it was called diabolus in musica in medieval theory), is also accorded meaning in Indian music which recognizes its difficulty of intonation, and unique effect. I give these few examples not to try to show that the sensibilities of the East and West are the same, but only to suggest that conditioning within a culture is not wholly responsible for what we feel in music, and that some of our reactions may depend on universal factors which are as valid in one culture as in another. What moves an Indian will move us, once we learn to apply our attention in the proper way. It goes without saying that the same is true for an Indian trying to appreciate Western music. Not only are harmonic intervals present in Indian music, but chords (three or more different tones sounded together) as well, even though their occurrence is not deliberately planned, as in Western music. The drone on do often has a companion drone on sol. This means that when a singer dwells on mi, we hear do-mi-sol, the common major chord. Or, if he sings a flattened mi, we hear a minor chord. Still other combinations are formed when the second drone is fa, or ti. In the latter form, ti, with its many reiterations, seems to strive constantly to move upwards into do. Some of the effects formed with this sort of drone sound like a familiar progression in Western pieces, when what is called the dominant chord moves to the tonic, or principal chord in the key. Indian music does have chords of a sort, then, and what they are will depend on the raga and type of drown used with it. The occurrence, over and over again, of certain chord combinations between melody notes and drones helps to set the mood of a raga in a manner quite analogous to the repetitious employment of certain chords in Western music to produce a given mood. The instrument which sounds the vitally important drone in Indian music is the tambura, a long instrument (near double-bass size) with a gourd-like soundbox at one end. The drone strings are carefully tuned before the performance (this is one of the reasons why Indian concerts get a very leisurely start, often a half hour to an hour after the announced time). The performer, who is often a student or friend of the soloist, plucks the strings in no particular rhythm, but simply keeps them vibrating. The reverberation is unusually long, and the instrument produces a buzzing and humming, rather than a plucked sound. If a tambura is not used with certain solo instruments of the guitar or mandolin type, the playing technique requires striking the lower strings from time to time; these tones serve as drones. The next main technical feature of Indian music after raga is tala. Just as a raga is an organized group of tones on which melody is based, a tala is an organized group of beats on which rhythmic structure is based. Approximately insofar as a raga corresponds to a scale in Western theory, a tala corresponds to a bar, or measure. Here again, as in the case of scales, Indian music, not distracted by the elements of harmony or counterpoint, has explored many more possible combinations that Western music*(*That is, more than Western music of the previously mentioned period of common practice. Contemporary music of the West has become imaginative and freely experimental in the sphere of rhythm. It should also be pointed out that medieval music, towards the end of the 14th century in France, was extremely complex rhythmically, touching the limits of performability). While beats in Western music are generally grouped in bars of two, three, four, or six, with some large measures of 3 x 3 (9) and 4 x 3 (12), Indian talas make general use also of the uneven metres such as five and seven. Quite frequently the tala contains a large number of beats, ten and sixteen being the number of units in two very popular talas. An Indian keeps time with his right hand and fingers, clapping his knee on strong beats, and waving his hand on some of the weaker ones. You will see members of the audience at a concert keeping time in this way. Great importance is attached to the first beat of the tala, which is called sam. At this point there will be emphatic gestures all over the auditorium. No intelligent listener at an Indian concert will fail to try to keep time, and to be aware of the arrival of each sam. This accounts in a large measure for the active interest observable among Indian listeners, as opposed to the often passive listening of many Western audiences. In the North Indian ensemble, the commonest percussion instrument is the tabla, actually a pair of drums, the smaller one being tuned to blend with the drone. Tablas are played with a great variety of touches by the palms of the hands and the fingers. In South India, the main percussion instrument is long drum with a drumhead at each end, called the mridangam, which is tuned in the same manner as a pair of tablas. This instrument is used for some types of pieces in the North also, where it is called pakhawaj. The tabla player does much more than merely strike out the beats of the tala. He is free to improvise any number of little strokes, subdividing the beats into smaller units. These rhythms fitted into the tala by the drummer are called tabla bols. No matter how complex the bols, the basic beats of the tala are always clearly set out by the tabla player as a guide to the soloist. But in the South, the mridangam player may not show the basic beats of the tala at all, but may very nearly duplicate the intricate patterns of the soloist. For this reason, someone sitting with the performers at a Southern concert will beat out the tala. This is a great help to the Western listeners; at North Indian concerts he may have more trouble to catch the tala, in the absence of visual help. Good drummers have many tricks of syncopations, false accents and strange rhythmical combinations which do not appear to fit together with the tala until sam is reached. The audience, keeping time, is held in suspense, wondering what is going on. When the performers and audience arrive together at sam, the audience will be so pleased that it will applaud spontaneously. Sometimes an instrumentalist or singer will engage in interplay with the tabla player, in which each one will use all his tricks to make the other lose the beat. The good soloist holds his own, to the delight of the audience, which will reward the performers with applause after sam is reached. The atmosphere at such a concert, as far as enthusiasm is concerned, is more like that of a sports event than a concert in the West! The audiences lack of inhibition shows, too, in that (with all their attentiveness) they do not hesitate to come in, move around, or get up and leave freely in the middle of a piece, if they feel like it, just as a Westerner might do at sports event. Even when a raga is like a Western scale in its tone pattern, the Indian way of singing it can be quite confusing to the Westerner. Indian signers add flourishes, grace notes, or embellishments (called gamakas) to nearly every tone, even when merely demonstrating the tones of a raga. Without gamakas, the notes seem unclothed and inexpressive to an Indian musician. Many gamakas are executed very rapidly, and Indian singers cultivate facility in rapid execution which exceeds that of Western singers, on the whole. On the other hand, we lay great emphasis on a certain mellow roundness in tone production, with a slight wavering of the pitch, called vibrato, while Indian singers pay less attention to beauty of tone, as such. Indian singing, by our taste, is inclined to be too nasal, and the softening effect of vibrato is almost totally absent. But the tone of an Indian singer is one which permits clarity in the execution of the gamakas, and the beauty sought by the singer lies more in imaginative ornamentation than in the tone color of individual notes. The gamakas include a large amount of sliding from pitch to pitch, which we call portamento. Western musicians are inclined to look down on this sort of melodic movement, perhaps having gotten the idea from keyboard instruments that melody should consist, ideally, of isolated pitches. Modern violinists in the West take considerable trouble to eliminate even those slides which are indigenous to their instrument, in the interest of purity. But a melody with no connecting slides seems completely sterile to an Indian. His ideal is to connect the pitches as much as possible, which gives the melodic line the same kind of undulating curve that one can observe in the hand motions of Indian dancers. Solo instruments use somewhat the same style of performance as the voice, as far as ornamentation is concerned. In fact, as in the West, it is difficult to say whether the voice imitates instruments, or whether the instruments imitate the voice. The instruments most like the voice, however, are the bowed instruments, the sarangi, dilruba, and israj. In a vocal concert, these instruments, held upright in the lap like some of our ancient viols, accompany the voice not in unison, but by nearly exact imitation a short time after the leading melody. The players imitation of melodic figure 1 is going on at the same time the singer starts melodic figure 2. But one does not feel the clashes, which are inevitable, because these instruments are very soft, with only about a quarter of the volume of the singer. It may be noted that what goes on here is a polyphonic device called canon in the West.*(* Rounds, like Row, row, row your boat use the canon technic.) The Violin of Western design is also used to accompany singers, and as a solo instrument, mainly in South India. Since much of South Indian music consists of fixed pieces, known to both the singer and the violinist, the violinist often plays not slightly tardy in imitation of the singer (like the sarangi player), but together with him, using somewhat different embellishments. Indians tune the violin differently from the Western way, and play (as with all Indian instruments) sitting on the floor, or a low platform, holding it against the chest, resting the scroll on one foot. They bow is sometimes held not at one end, as in the West, but further along the stick, nearer to the middle. Many players use mainly two fingers, getting most of the notes by sliding up and down the string. When played in this manner, the violin sounds like the typical Indian bowed instruments, except that it produces a little more volume. However, loosening the tension on the strings, according to the Indian way of tuning, makes the violin sound much softer than it does in the East, and the Indian bow technic, too, is not calculated to produce a great volume of tone. In the playing of plucked instruments (of which the sitar in North India and the Saraswati veena in the south are the most prominent), the consequences of having the note pitch definitely fixed at the moment of plucking are often avoided by pulling the string with the fingers of the left hand, deflecting the pitch in various ways. The ornaments on plucked instruments have a very subtle effect, as the volume dies down after the string is plucked, making each additional note gained by stretching or relaxing the string softer than its predecessor. The popular sitar and South Indian veena have fretted finger-boards of approximately cello length. One may also encounter the veena in the north (mahati veena). In playing the vichitra veena, which has no frets, a glass egg is used in place of the fingers of the left hand. Since the egg has to glide up and down the string between the different notes, sliding effects are a feature of this instrument. The plucked instrument group includes several mandolinsized instruments, of which the most popular one in the north is the sarode, a brilliant solo instrument. The rabab is distinguished by the use of gut rather than metal strings, which gives it a soft quality. The susringar, something like the rabab, uses metal strings. It is a curious fact that there is no popular brass instrument in India. These instruments have often had martial associations, and it may be that their absence can be explained variously in terms of Indian history, tradition, and temperament. But there are instruments similar to our woodwinds. There is an oboe called the shehnai, traditionally used in temples and on religious ceremonial occasions, which is now becoming a popular concert instrument. There are flutes, usually called bansari, which are played vertically (like the recorder), or in transverse position (like our flute). There are fingering holes, but no keys on these instruments, which is really an advantage in Indian music. The players develop remarkable skill at adjusting the pitch by lip, and by partly covering some holes. They are able to produce the characteristic Indian ornaments and slides on these instruments in a manner which would not be possible on Western keyed instruments. At a North Indian concert, no composers name will be given on the program, as most of the fixed (i.e., not improvised) elements of the music are of ancient and anonymous tradition, and the free elements are the responsibility of the performer himself. The types of pieces most likely to be encountered are : 1. Kheyal (Imagination) : The texts may be on almost any subject from religious devotion to love. The style, especially in slow kheyal, which has a prose text, allows great freedom in the use of ornaments and embellishments. The words tend, for this reason, to become secondary to the musical development. In fast kheyal (rhymed text) there is less freedom. Kheyal singing varies according to the region from which the performer hails. 2. Dhrupad (fixed) : The most serious and dignified style, having some of its earliest antecedents in pre-Muslim India. The subject-matter is usually noble, martial, or heroic. There is less freedom for ornamentation and improvisation than kheyal. Rhythmic variations are a feature of dhrupad, and this kind of singing is always accompanied by the big drum, the pakhawaj. As with kheyal, there are a number of regional varieties of dhrupad. 3. Thumri : (derived from the name of a tala): More importance is given to the text than in Kheyal. The subject-matter of thumri is always love, or erotic feeling. This is the lightest style, quite opposite to dhrupad. 4. Ragamala: While it is usual for Indian music to retain the same raga throughout a piece, this form calls for a different procedure. The singer uses a number of ragas - those which have associations with the imagery in the text - changing from line to line, or word to word, as the case may be. In spite of the changes of raga, a good performer will weave the piece together in a manner which gives some impression of unity. 5. Songs without text: In general, the words play a less important part in North Indian vocal music than in Western vocal music. There are three kinds of signing which have no text at all : a) Sargam: Singing with the Indian syllables equivalent to our do, re, mi.. They are : sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni. The name of this style of singing derives from the first four syllables. Sargam may take place within other kinds of pieces. b) Tarana: The singer uses the euphonious syllables usually employed in alapa, such as nom, tom, tana, dir-dir, etc, or the syllables employed by tabla players to describe strokes on the drums, such as ka, ga, gha, ta, da, and so forth. At a South Indian concert, one may find composers names given. South Indian music, called Carnatic, has common roots with the northern, or Hindustani variety. But it did not come under the Muslim influence which reshaped the character of music in the North. Carnatic music uses many of the same ragas and talas, but the names are different in most cases from those used in the North. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Carnatic music flowered with the work of certain great composers, the three most famous ones being Tyagaraja, Shastri and Dikshitar. We can speak of composers almost in the Western sense in this case, as much of the music by those saintly and revered men has been written down in Indian notations and published. There are few manuscripts directly from the composers, but the traditions are very strong, and the pieces have been written down by descendents, and by musicians whose teachers teachers learned them directly from the composers. The existence of this repertoire of more or less fixed music, in itself, makes for a consideration difference between the music of the North and the South. Similar, however, is the use of an improvised alapa before the fixed piece begins, setting the mood of the raga, and a further brilliant type of improvising within a tala at the end, called swaram (notes). The main composition types of South Indian music are : 1. Kriti : A form to texts of fervent, devotional character, especially cultivated by Tyagaraja. It has three large sections, called pallavi, anupallavi and charanam. The height of development of the raga is reached in the charanam. A strain of the pallavi returns at the end of the anupallavi, and again at the end of the charanam, giving unity, and rounding off the form much in the manner of some types of Western music. 2. Varnam : There are few words in these pieces, their purpose being mainly to exploit all the note combinations and characteristic ornaments of a raga. They are a little like what we call an etude in the West, and both singers and players use them for developing technique. 3. Padam: A piece in three sections, like the kriti, but less elaborate. 4. Javali: A two or three section piece, similar in text matter to the North Indian thumri (the subject is love). 5. Ragamalika: The South Indian equivalent of the northern ragamala - a piece using various ragas. The form is typically South Indian, however. The various ragas are introduced in successive charanam sections. In both North and South India, one may encounter a type of piece called lakshanageeta, in which the text gives the rules of the raga, and the melody provides illustrations. This is an important sort of piece, since it provides, in the absence of regularly used notation, a means of carrying on the tradition of ragas entirely by aural means. Ultimately, the most important factor in releasing the pleasures of Indian classical music to the Western listener is not so much a knowledge of technical details as it is a receptive attitude, and one not tinged with condescension. We must guard against the too easy assumption that the West, being ahead of India in many technological developments, is necessarily ahead of her in other things as well. In music, the Western symphony orchestra is often taken by the Indians themselves as a symbol of our progress. But the size of a performing apparatus has never had any relation to the artistic quality of music; in any case, the finest musical art of the West is most probably not that for orchestra. Harmony, too, is a unique Western development, and it would seem to be a mark of progress over purely melodic cultures, such as ours also was, prior to about the year 1000 AD. Again, if one considers artistic quality, one must realize the harmony, in itself, is no advantage. If this were not so, any harmonized song would be artistically on a higher level than our finest folk melodies, or the soaring unaccompanied chants of the church. One can easily think of examples which make nonsense out of the proposition that harmony necessarily carries with it an increase of artistic quality. Artistic quality results not from the technical devices of external sound, but from the inner emotional, or spiritual state of the creative artist. External sound is only the means of expressing that state, and complexity of means may hinder such expression as often as it helps it. In the case of Indian music, the means, although they do not include harmony or orchestral ensembles in the Western sense, are far from primitive. On the contrary, two elements, melody and rhythm, are carried to a higher degree of development in many respects than in Western music. These elements, being primary ones, carry greater expressive potential than harmony (in itself) or the devices of tone color exploited in the modern orchestra. What Indian music can express, then, is limited, as in all music, simply by the creative force of the musician. The finest Indian musicians have an abundant supply of this creative force, and the sensitive Westerner who learns to respond to the sound externals of Indian music can get from these artists musical experiences of the highest type. Having once arrived at this realization, the Westerner need never compare the music of East and West; he can take each one on its own terms, and be glad that he has two channels rather than one to that inner source to which music provides one of the most effective means of communication. |
Embassy of India Ashgabat, Turkmenistan |