The journey begins....

Hi there. Fasten your seat belts as we embark on a journey; exploring the mystical side of Indian Classical Music. Enjoy…








Indian Classical Music originated from the Vedas, old scriptures or texts that originate from Ancient India. The Vedas are the oldest form of Sanskrit literature and contains ritualistic and philosophical aspects of Hinduism. Indian classical music was used to facilitate meditation because its melodies are believed to energise the chakra’s or energy centres located in various parts of the human body. It is also used as an accompaniment for traditional Indian dances and dramas. It is known to be among the most complex and complete musical genres. Being monophonic in nature, Indian classical music is based around a single line, which is played over a fixed drone. The seven basic notes for Indian classical music are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa which is similar to its western counterpart that uses Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do instead.

The two main traditions of classical music which have been Carnatic music, found predominantly in the peninsular regions and Hindustani music, found in the northern and central parts. While both traditions claim Vedic origin, history indicates that the two traditions diverged from a common musical root since the 13th century.

Hindustani music is an Indian classical music tradition that took shape in northern India approximately during the 13th and 14th centuries AD from existing religious, folk, and theatrical performance practices. The practice of singing based on notes was popular even from the Vedic times where the hymns in Sama Veda, a sacred text, sung as Samagana and not chanted. Developing a strong and diverse tradition over several centuries, it has contemporary traditions established primarily in India but also in Pakistan and Bangladesh. In contrast to Carnatic music, the other main Indian classical music tradition originating from the South, Hindustani music was influenced not only by ancient Hindu musical traditions, Vedic philosophy and native Indian sounds but also by the Persian performance practices of the Mughals.

The present form of Carnatic music is bases on historical developments goes back to the 15th - 16th centuries AD and thereafter. From the ancient Sanskrit works available, the history of classical musical traditions traces back to about 2500 years. Purandaradasa is credited with having founded today's Karnataka Music. He synchronised the teaching method by framing a series of graded lessons such as swaravalis, janta swaras, alankaras, lakshana geetas, prabandhas, ugabhogas, thattu varase, geetha, sooladis and kritis. He introduced the Mayamalavagaula as the basic scale for music instruction. Teachers and students of Carnatic music follow these even today. Another of his important contributions was the fusion of bhava, raga and laya in his compositions.



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