Medieval Period (A.D. 1200-1800)

During the thirteenth century Sarangdev (1210-1247) wrote a scholarly manual of music called Sangeet Ratnakar, in which he brought up-to-date the musical development of the centuries right from Bharata onwards. He explained different musical modes and terms and vocal techniques of sharaj grama and madhyam grama. He divided the octave into 22 equal interval called shruties.

Then came the Muslim invaders from outside the frontiers of North India. Generally they did not take kindly to music, though some of the Muslim rulers patronise professional singers in their courts. However, Sufi mystics and some unorthodox Muslims continued to have a soft spot in their hearts of music. One of the notable musicians in the court of King Allauddin Khiliji was Amir Khusro (1253-1325) who composed a number of songs in praise of his religious preceptor, Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulya. He introduced new forms of music like khayal, taran and qawali, and new talas like farodast,jhoomra, pahalwan and theka-qawali. He also developed new instruments like the sitar and dhol.

In the fifteenth century, Kavi Lochan wrote an important treatise called Raga Tirangani. This is considered a reputed work on Hindustani music. He divided the existing ragas under twelve scales (thath). Swami Haridas, the saint-musician of Brindaban, was reputed singer of Dhrupad and he taught Tansen and Bajju Bawra. Another great musician and parton of singers with Raja Mansingh Tomar (1486-1516) of Gwalior who was an expert in dhrupad style and also made certain variations in classical ragas.

During this period, Indian music branched off into two main channels, following roughly the geographical division of the northern and southern parts of the country. The music of North India was called Hindustani Sangeet and that of South India was called Karnatak Sangeet. At this time the Bhakti movement (love-worship of God) gathered momentum and devotional music became very popular. Kabir (1440-1518),Tulsidas, Soordas and Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533) composed many bhajans (hymnal composition) which were sung in homes and temples.

The Sikh Gurus (1469-1708) composed hundreds of hymns called Shabads to be sung in classical ragas. This sacred music called Gurmat Sangeet or Kirtan has a beauty and fervour of its own. The catholic classical music to the ethos of devotional poetry. They also used the elements of folk music to inspire the masses towards holy living and meditation on divinity. Part II of this book deals with the characteristics and contents of Sikh sacred music. One of the most important musicians of the sixteenth century was Tansen (1506-1589) who was patronised by Emperor Akbar. He enriched the dhrupad style of singing with various flourishes and embellishments. He also introduced some new ragas such as Mian-ki-todi and Darbari Kanra. His direct descendants who played on the rabab were known as Rababigharana and his son-in-law's descendants who played on the been (veena) were called Beenkar-gharana.

During the seventeenth century Venkatamukhi wrote an important volume on Karnatak music in 1640 entitled Chaturdandi-Prakashka. He devised a scheme of seventy-two parent scales, melas, using all the twelve notes. He furnished a fine exposition of Karnatak music and its prevalent forms. Hindustani and Karnatak music differ in degree but not in kind. Though some of the ragas in both the systems are the same, there are some others which differ only in nomenclature and articulation. Karnatak music is generally more pure, precise and systemised than Hindustani music. The latter is eclectic, having absorbed the influence of its Muslim singers. It enjoys the freedom of experiment which is its greatest strength. In theme and in practice, it has a flexibility which is rare in Karnatak music. The latter is considerably preoccupied with spiritual and mystic content. Instrumental music in the Karnatak system strictly follows the vocal pattern. There is greater use of drums and mixing of tempo of Karnatak music than in Hindustani music.

However in northern India, the classification of ragas was modified on the rag-ragini pattern. There were six main ragas who had their wives called raginis. The ragas displayed the masculine traits of courage, wonder and anger, while the raginis exhibited feminine qualities of laughter, love and melancholy. This was represented by a family-tree called Ragamala (necklace of garland of ragas). Gangli listed 17 Ragamals in Sanskrit, Hindi and Persian including some anonymous ones [5]. Some of the texts of Ragmals contain pictures of ragas and raginis. Dr. Virsingh mentioned eleven kinds of Ragamals based on Shiva, Bharata, Hanuman and other systems [6]. There is a Ragamala at the end of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, cataloguing the six raga families, which is quite different from the previous Ragamalas.

Later on, artists created ragmalas which combined music, poetry and painting. These paintings were visual representations of musical modes (ragas) which were envisioned in divine and human forms by musicians and poets Some ragas and raginsis were regarded as human beings with individual characteristics. A raga became a man with a definite personality, dress and feeling; similarly a raginia was a woman of a certain complexion, dress and emotion. These were called Ragamala miniatures [7] and were done by painters of the Rajput School, Moghul School and Kangra School and can be found exhibited in some of the major art-museums all over the world.

Medieval Period (A.D. 1200-1800)

During the thirteenth century Sarangdev (1210-1247) wrote a scholarly manual of music called Sangeet Ratnakar, in which he brought up-to-date the musical development of the centuries right from Bharata onwards. He explained different musical modes and terms and vocal techniques of sharaj grama and madhyam grama. He divided the octave into 22 equal interval called shruties.

Then came the Muslim invaders from outside the frontiers of North India. Generally they did not take kindly to music, though some of the Muslim rulers patronise professional singers in their courts. However, Sufi mystics and some unorthodox Muslims continued to have a soft spot in their hearts of music. One of the notable musicians in the court of King Allauddin Khiliji was Amir Khusro (1253-1325) who composed a number of songs in praise of his religious preceptor, Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulya. He introduced new forms of music like khayal, taran and qawali, and new talas like farodast,jhoomra, pahalwan and theka-qawali. He also developed new instruments like the sitar and dhol.

In the fifteenth century, Kavi Lochan wrote an important treatise called Raga Tirangani. This is considered a reputed work on Hindustani music. He divided the existing ragas under twelve scales (thath). Swami Haridas, the saint-musician of Brindaban, was reputed singer of Dhrupad and he taught Tansen and Bajju Bawra. Another great musician and parton of singers with Raja Mansingh Tomar (1486-1516) of Gwalior who was an expert in dhrupad style and also made certain variations in classical ragas.

During this period, Indian music branched off into two main channels, following roughly the geographical division of the northern and southern parts of the country. The music of North India was called Hindustani Sangeet and that of South India was called Karnatak Sangeet. At this time the Bhakti movement (love-worship of God) gathered momentum and devotional music became very popular. Kabir (1440-1518),Tulsidas, Soordas and Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533) composed many bhajans (hymnal composition) which were sung in homes and temples.

The Sikh Gurus (1469-1708) composed hundreds of hymns called Shabads to be sung in classical ragas. This sacred music called Gurmat Sangeet or Kirtan has a beauty and fervour of its own. The catholic classical music to the ethos of devotional poetry. They also used the elements of folk music to inspire the masses towards holy living and meditation on divinity. Part II of this book deals with the characteristics and contents of Sikh sacred music. One of the most important musicians of the sixteenth century was Tansen (1506-1589) who was patronised by Emperor Akbar. He enriched the dhrupad style of singing with various flourishes and embellishments. He also introduced some new ragas such as Mian-ki-todi and Darbari Kanra. His direct descendants who played on the rabab were known as Rababigharana and his son-in-law's descendants who played on the been (veena) were called Beenkar-gharana.

During the seventeenth century Venkatamukhi wrote an important volume on Karnatak music in 1640 entitled Chaturdandi-Prakashka. He devised a scheme of seventy-two parent scales, melas, using all the twelve notes. He furnished a fine exposition of Karnatak music and its prevalent forms. Hindustani and Karnatak music differ in degree but not in kind. Though some of the ragas in both the systems are the same, there are some others which differ only in nomenclature and articulation. Karnatak music is generally more pure, precise and systemised than Hindustani music. The latter is eclectic, having absorbed the influence of its Muslim singers. It enjoys the freedom of experiment which is its greatest strength. In theme and in practice, it has a flexibility which is rare in Karnatak music. The latter is considerably preoccupied with spiritual and mystic content. Instrumental music in the Karnatak system strictly follows the vocal pattern. There is greater use of drums and mixing of tempo of Karnatak music than in Hindustani music.

However in northern India, the classification of ragas was modified on the rag-ragini pattern. There were six main ragas who had their wives called raginis. The ragas displayed the masculine traits of courage, wonder and anger, while the raginis exhibited feminine qualities of laughter, love and melancholy. This was represented by a family-tree called Ragamala (necklace of garland of ragas). Gangli listed 17 Ragamals in Sanskrit, Hindi and Persian including some anonymous ones [5]. Some of the texts of Ragmals contain pictures of ragas and raginis. Dr. Virsingh mentioned eleven kinds of Ragamals based on Shiva, Bharata, Hanuman and other systems [6]. There is a Ragamala at the end of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, cataloguing the six raga families, which is quite different from the previous Ragamalas.

Later on, artists created ragmalas which combined music, poetry and painting. These paintings were visual representations of musical modes (ragas) which were envisioned in divine and human forms by musicians and poets Some ragas and raginsis were regarded as human beings with individual characteristics. A raga became a man with a definite personality, dress and feeling; similarly a raginia was a woman of a certain complexion, dress and emotion. These were called Ragamala miniatures [7] and were done by painters of the Rajput School, Moghul School and Kangra School and can be found exhibited in some of the major art-museums all over the world.