Page 22 - The score

SOUVIK CHAKRABORTY

The Indian classical music can be broadly Sufi is trance music at its best. When philosophies
The Sound of aNation
categorized into Hindustani and Carnatic or are peppered along with a dash of spiritualism
Karantak of the south. Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal, and a whole wheat bread of devotion you just
Tappa and Thumri are some of the styles that are cannot afford to not lose control anymore. This
included in the Hindustani styles. Hindustani songs are ingrained with the emotions of love but
form of singing also culturally seeps down deep not necessarily with the hint at the carnal affair
into the spiritualism and that is how the bhajans between men and women but rather primarily
and the qawaalis had originated from the with the prophet himself.
olden times.
Soofiyna Moosaqi is a traditional choral music
Dhrupad is a non ornate style of singing and of the kashmir which is performed by a group of
finds its genesis from the classical singer, four to five musicians played along with santoor,
Tansen. The performance starts with a long sarang or surnai. Chakri is another folkish song
complex alaap and focuses more on the nuances genre of the northern India usually rendered
of the raga and tries to do away with the technical with the harmonium, the rubab, sarangi etcetera,
embellishments. A dhrupad might enthral like a mainly employed for singing out love poems or
chant but end up conjuring a house packed in legends on love.
audience within minutes. This also means that
the vocalist enjoys a lot of liberty in weaving the Qawaali is even a purer form of the sufi singing
and is more passionate and fast paced than the
magic donning the hat of the composer, singer
and the lperformer all at once. classical ways of singing. Aamir Khusrau is
credited with this style of singing and is again a
Khyaal on the other hand is more ornamental romantic beckoning of the lovers or the devotee
with a higher dose of embroidery. The focus to his God. Qawaali has been known to endow a
is purely on the subtleties of the raga and the mehfil-e-samaa and is religiously sung on the
characteristics of the raga is gently pulled up a day of the dead and the days of the prayer like
gradient of melodies. Then comes the bandish or Fridays. A pilgrim will rollick at the idea of a
the first composition once the raga is introduced. visit to the shrine for a session of qawaali. It was
a common custom that the performers of qawaali
Thumri stands out for being an emotional, lyrical will get nazir or a token of appreciation; usually
and graceful kind of melody, it incorporates a lot in the form of money. And, this is followed till
of the taal and rhythm that finds a space in the date in many sessions across the shrines.
dance form of kathak. Thumri is more about the
perspective of the feminine self on romance and While the southern style of the Carnatic is more
life while it was incredibly sung by some of the varied and slightly complex yet upbeat and free
greatest male voices that the sub continent has from the influence of the Persian and Asian tunes.
produced like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali khan. Purandara Dasa is regarded as the father of the
Carnatic music. The ragams and the thalaams
Bhajans largely form the most integral part of the make the music sound rich and complex leaving
main course devotional genre of the Hindustani a lot of room for improvisations. The maestros of
music. Bhajans are culturally important because this kind of a music is revered to as the saints like
they had found its roots and base at a time when Syama Sastri, Tyagaraja, Mutuswamy Dikshitar
Buddhism was literally sweeping off any other etcetera. A performance usually begins with
religion from the face of the sub continent. varnum containing pallavi, anupallavu and
Bhajans became very important to actually chittaswaram which is a devotion to Ganesh and
validate the importance of the philosophies and is immediately followed by alppana or the alaap
faith of a religion across the valleys and baanks and thalaam. The shorter pieces of this kind of a
of the sacred river Ganges. musical do away with the verses of long tempo
Ghazal is perhaps the most popular and the most and thus sounds characteristically different
talked about form of music because it has been from the Hindustani form of singing.
made popular in the pop culture of our times, be In the eastern part of our country the travelling
that in Bollywood or the Indian popular music. minstrels or the bauls have emerged as the
Genetically stemming out from Urdu poetry and musicians of secular and universal importance.
the Mughal sentiments, these songs were by and Baul does not only confine itself to a style of
large retrospective or memoirs of the romantic singing but gently ascends to a higher form
infatuation of the kings and the spoils of their of philosophy both in terms of the words
taming games. Shayari, Mausiqui and Jazbaat that are sung and the way of living and
forms three different elements of a Ghazal. dressing. While some of the musicians
Likewise, matla, makta, misra and antara are the submit to the tantric Buddhism, some
various couplets in a Ghazal. Every single Ghazal others delve deep into the whimsies of
carry along a baggage or a slice of legend which is an ascetic life and some descend to a
associated with the emperors and their scandals madness in search for God!
or spoils.

20 The Score Magazine
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