Music In India A Fast Growing Industry Having Great Variety

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Who would not love to listen to music in any part of the world. The initial music which we humans heard were the chirping of the birds, sounds of cattle and wild animals, that of breeze and wind at varying degrees, rainfall, our own communication in the initial stages, the crackle of fire wood, sound of the moving dry leaves on the ground, sound of water in streams, brooks, rivers and finally seas. What we understand from all these is that there music in life. Life is filled with music which we in today’s age fail to understand and appreciate as we live in cities and concrete structures.

Slowly when communication systems increased between humans so did refinement in language. The number of languages increased depending on the area and the kind of society in which they used to live. Man had in the earlier times started a form of music by mimicking the birds and other such things mentioned above and increased his vocabulary. Thus he started gaining control and mastery over language and then came the time of fine arts in the form of dance and music. Initially music in ancient India was performed to pray to the Goddesses and Gods in temples. It was a way to attain salvation by spreading Gods name in the world.

In this blog I will be delving in certain forms of music which were ancient and are even played and performed even today.  India being a land of diverse cultures, hundreds of languages, thousands of dialects is a perfect place for music to flourish as it has the capacity to accept and assimilate all forms of music from different parts of the world too. The listeners of music in India seem to have an inclination to music and also seem to understand the finer nuances of the same and appreciate the solace they get when they happen to hear it again and again over many years.

Schools also  have a music department. The elderly in the house would want the children to learn music too as the older generation was more into it and that was classical music which they seemed to like. They are also conservative and appreciate classical music more. The young have a wide variety of interest in music they would like to hear different genres and also like new varieties like fusion music and music from all over the world.

• Classical music –  It is the oldest more of music even Gods and Goddess liked music. Like God Shiva who is considered the master of dance and music. Goddess Saraswati who is considered to be residing in people who have a good voice and knowledge of music. Music requires training and practice of a life time it is not like a graduation course of three years which one finishes and that’s the end of it. In classical music we have the Hindustani style of music which is famous in mostly in the north but also is present in the south. Whereas in the case of Carnatic  music which is mostly restricted to the south of India. It is very famous in all the states in the south and the western states too. There are many other forms of classical music I am restricting myself to these two in this blog.

• Tribal Music –  This is also an ancient form of music which was usually performed by the tribes especially in their religious rituals to pray to the mother Goddess, who is the nourisher, provider and protector. Tribal music is also performed to unwind in the evening around the bonfire as staying near fire would provide safety to the tribes and also create noise would frighten away wild animals, and also provide them entertainment and recreation after a hard days work. Which would potentially calm their frayed nerves. Earlier India was full of dense forests and there were many tribes with their unique lifestyle and music for which they were famous. Today they are a reduced lot some of the tribes who have music and dance are the Chenchus, Gonds, Bhils, Nadar, Mangniar, Banjaras, Lambadas and many others the list is endless. I remember one interesting incident of my childhood where a Lamaba women used to sit in the public garden people would go to her tell her to sing and listen and enjoy the music and pay her some money for the song which she used to sing. It was a joy to listen to the elderly lady perform for me.

•  Harikatha –  Literally means telling the katha or story of Hari or God. This is a specialized form of spiritual music performed in the name of the particular deity Whose festival is there on a particular day and Whose name has to be invoked. They have a ektara which Meerabai had, a one string instrument attached to a pumpkin and the stick or a string instrument made of wood which has four or five strings. This music is diverse and varies from region to region the composition too is unique to the place where it is being played.

• Folk Music – It is usually played in villages to tell about a particular folk tale or a struggle which a king had to go through  or the trials and tribulations of someone important in the history in whose name it is sung. It is also sung depending on the place, area, region and other physical features too.  Folk music is a important genre which is widely sung and listened too in villages too. People in thousands gather to listen to these people during festival seasons where big stages are set. It is also sung by men and women in villages  and the tunes are catchy and the compositions simple and easy for one to understand and relate to.  Some of the famous ones are pahadi, banjara, lori, katchi etc.

• Film Music – This is the modern entertainment and film industry music which has become very famous in India and worldwide. This started with the Bollywood or the Hindi film industry, followed by Tollywood or the Tamil and Telugu film industry, Kollywood or the Kannada film industry, Mollywood or the Malayam film industry, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali to name a few. All these are having great musicians, composers, lyricists, singers. They are called playback singers as the style of singing is different when compared to the above and it has to cater for the audience who want entertainment. This industry has become a Multi Billion Dollar industry. It is seeking corporate status from the government.  A few among the list of  many  famous musicians is mentioned below in Bollywood Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, R.D.Burman, S.D.Burman etc. The list is endless.

•   Bhakti Music  –  This is a music which was composed and sung by many famous saints and savants of the medieval times in India. Some of the famous among many of them whose music is heard and sung even today. Meera Bai who bhakti music is famous, Kabir Das his music is sung as Kabir Ki Vani, Soordas the famous saint who was blind and prayed to God Shri Krishna,  Annamayya who kritis and kirtanas  etc. are very famous. Many of these songs have also been incorporated in Film industry music as it touches a chord with the minds and hearts of the people of India. All these great saints reached God through the route of music.

• National Songs – Patriotic songs are very famous among the people. They played a very important role in the process of attaining independence for India from the British. Even today they have the same effect on the population which they used to have during the freedom movement among the ordinary citizens of India. When one hears the National Anthem at any place abroad it makes any citizen of India feel proud of his being part of the country and a national of the country. There are many famous patriotic songs which are added to patriotic films even today.

• Bhajans –  Are related to the spiritual side of the music they are available and sung in each and every language of the country in praise of different Gods and Goddess based on the occasion. It is sung in temples, places where religious events take place, festivals and musical events. Such a vast variety is available in this genre that it is a merit which shows and reflects the diversity of India.

There are many more details to be covered but the industry in India is so big that in needs to be compiled into a book and a small article like this is doing injustice to it. There are many other forms too like ghazal, sufi, qawalli, etc. Hope readers like this article which is a small snap shot of what Indian music is. Do you like music? Share your experience about music in the comments.