enera Knowledge aay India’s Daily €-Magazine of GK & Current Affairs General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Services Examinations 2014 Salient Features of Indian Culture Module-6: Music, Dance, Drama & Folk Music www.gktoday. Lost Updated: December 2018, © 2015 Suresh Soni |All Rights Reserved No part ofthis publicationmay be reproduced orcopied in any material form (including photo copying or storingitin anymedium informof graphics, electronic ormechanical meansand whetheror nottransient or Incidentaltosome other use of this publication) without written permission ofthe copyright owner. Dicer \Whilelicarehas been taken n he preparation ofthis material, noresponsibiltyisacceptedby theeuthar forany errors, omissionsorinaccuracies. Thematerial providedin this resourcehasbeen preparedtoprovidegeneral informationonly.Itisnotintendedto be relied upon orbeasubstituteforlegalor other professional advice. No responsibility can beacceptedby the author forany known or unknown consequences that mayresultfromreliancecn any informationprovidedinthis publication‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Contents Chapter 1. Indian Classical Music Initial development of Indian Musi. Origin of Sargam Origin of the Guru Shishya Parampara The Marg Sangeet. Pathya Sangeet Music in Maurya Era ~ Buddhist and Jain Sources. Bharat’s Natyashashtra.. Later Development of Indian Music Brihaddeshi Influence of islam. ‘Amir khusro. Sharangdeva Man Singh Tomar. Impact of Bhakti movement on Indian Music. Miyan Tansen.... sen Darbar Sangeet - Mughal Era. Modern Hindustani Classical Music Mohammad Shah Range. 19° century. 10 20" century Seacoast eterna 10 Musical Gharanas. elas aerate 11 Concepts in Hindustani 11 Swar 1 Rgds 12 Classification of Ragas... a 7 recesses) Te time theory of Rigas a TOLA ene . Dhrupad .. khayal. Tappa .. Thumri Dasa . : Dhamar-Hori eer eared Ragasagar... 16 Tarana’ 16 Chaturang, 16 Ghazal. 16 Chapter 2. ‘Carnatic Music. ‘Comparison of Hindustani and Carnatic music: Chapter 3. Devotional Music of India. Bhajan. Kirtan... ‘aww Shabad Chapter 4. “indian Classical Dance. ‘Bharatanatyarn.. ae kKuchipudi.... Difference between Bharatnatyam and Kachin Kathok.. Maniputi Kathakati. Odissi.. Mohiniyattam Sattriya Dance Chapter 5. Folk Music and Dance of India Important Folk Music of India... £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 2|Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Important Folk Dances... 12h Chapter 6. Folk Theatre, eee eaten 28 Origin of Theatre 28 Important Theatrical Forms of India. 29 Chapter 7. Puppetry Art 32 String Puppets... 33 Shadow Puppets: 34 Rod Puppets... 34 Glove Puppets ic 35 Chapter 8. Miscellaneous Topics... 35 Evolution of Veena through different stages 35 ‘Adherence to rules in Fotk music versus classical musi. areata Musical stone piliars in temples. 36 Modern trends in Indian classical music a7 co an Classical Music Initial development of Indian Music Music in the Indus Valley Civilization ‘+ Music was present in the Indus Valley Civilization. It is evident from the presence of some ‘musical instruments, such as the arched or bow-shaped harp and few varieties of drums on terracotta figures and pictographs on the seals. ‘+The dancing girl figurine is a testimony to the presence of music and dance in the Indus Valley Civilization. However, what kind of music or dance was prevalent that time, we are totally ignorant about it. Origin of Music The Samveda '* The Vedic religious life was such that the priests composed hymns in praise of the nature gods, which had to be sung or chanted at religious sacrifices. This tradition led to the composition of a sizable body of the religious poetry, which we call Shruti Literature. ‘+ The Vedic hymns or Richds were not committed to written texts but the hymns and the method of chanting them, was handed down by word of mouth from one generation to generation. So, the richs of the Vedas are arranged at per the priestly families, who composed and chanted them. ‘+The composition of Yajurveda and Samveda followed the Rig-Veda. While Yajurveda tells us the procedures followed in the sacrifice, the Samveda contains the hymns to be sung by those who chanting them. Samveda is related to the origin of music in India, Samveda basically consists of a samhita (collection) of richas or their portions from the Sakala Sakha ofthe Rig-Veda. Vedic Music ‘* How these Rigvedic richas should be sung - is known as composition of Rig-Veda richas in the form of notes, while Samgana is the song thus sung. ‘This music is called the Vedic Music, It is the testimony to the deep relationship of music with religion in India. ‘This means that Sam is the £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 3) Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘¢ The simgana included the instrumental music also. The prominent instruments in the Vedic ‘Music were the veena, tunay, dundubhi, bhoom#-dundubhi and talav. Origin of Sargam © The Indian music were three viz. udatta, anudatta and svarita. The Samaveda tial notes employed more notes and thus finally settled down on seven notes, which were krusht, pratham, dwitiya, tritiya, chaturth, mandra and atiswar. This later evolved into what we call the seven Svaras, ‘© The seven Svaras are the basic notes of an octave named Sagjam, Risabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Paficham, Dhaivata and Nisad (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha and Ni) respectively. Collectively, they are called Sargam. A series of the seven notes is also known as Saptak. Origin of the Guru-Shishya Parampara In our country, the music has been passed in on a tradition which we call the Guru-Shishya Parampara. A guru Is considered Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme as the metaphysical father of the the ministry of Culture With the alm of preserving the Guru-Shishya disciple and is ranked higher —parampara tradition and promoting talents in the field of music and : Grama and other art forms introduced the Gucu Shishya Parampara than biological parents. This Scheme in 2005-04. As per the scheme, great masters in the feld of system dates back to the Vedic Music and Dance, folk and tribal art forms will be identified in each zonal cultural centres and pupil will be assigned to them. Financral era. assistance and Scholarship will be given by the government, ‘The pupil, ater the initiation * encouraging the systematic learning of different art forms. er tei), lived in the house of his guru and studied the Vedas and other subjects under his guidance, for a period of 12 years. The institution of Gurukul was supported by the Kings and was accessible only to the upper classes. ‘The Gurus were of four kinds viz. Acharya, Pravakta, Shrotriya and Adhyapak. Out of them, the highest category was of the Acharya. We know the names of some of the Acharyas belonging to the samhita period such as Angiras, Garga, Atri, Brinaspati and Vasishtha, all of them were linked to the composition of the Richas. ‘+ The pupils were also of two kinds viz, the Acharya-bhaga, who paid fees to the teacher and the Dharma-shishya who performed the domestic chores in the guru's house in liew of the fees®. ‘© Today, what we know as various Gharanas of Indian music, have evolved from the Gurukuls, Thus, Gurukuls are the direct precedent of the Gharana concept. The obvious difference between the Gurukul and Gharana is the while the former imparted religious education also, the later is confined to the musical training, ‘The Marg Sangeet Marg Sangeet can be seen as the predecessor word used for Classical Music. It was the accepted and prestigious mode of the music that became prominent in the epic times. For example, in £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 4|Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Ramayana, we find Rama describing about the kingdom of Kishkindha to Laxman in a way which refers to various sounds and rhythms of Divine Origin of Indian Music nature such as fute-like resonance of the ine Glin oft Saar bees, the rhythmic croaking of frogs and Narada was the first sage to whom the laws of musi revealed. Veena is the oldest music instrument, which was the mridang-like sounds of clouds. This invented by Narada. Tumburu was the frst singer. Saraswati has been called the Marga Sangeet. It was ‘goddess of music and learning: and Bharata was the said that it was created by Brahma. It was ReeaiiscegeceicietTn of vrhich rasic was 2 for the entertainment of God and was to be performed by Gandharvas (Male Singers), Apsaras (Female Dancers and wives of Gandharvas) and Kinnaras (the instrumentalists). The Ramayana epic describes various technical musical terms such as pramana, laya, tala, samatala, kala, matra and shamya. This describes the rich heritage of Indian mus in those ancient times. The Gandhravashashtra or musicology becomes more prominent in the Mahabharata period. In Mahabharata, we learn Arjuna learnt the art of music from Chitrasena, a Gandharva. Pathya Sangeet ‘This was another form of Indian music in its early development phase. Pathya means words. Pathya sangeet was neither for rituals nor for the entertainment of the Gods. it was a special music whose aim was to inform and instruct. Thus, this music was created for imparting knowledge. According to the Natyashashera of Bharat, there are six main features of Pathya vi Seven notes (saptasware) “Three basic locations for tone-production (sthanas) Four fundamental ways of empowering tonal arrangements (varnas) “Two basic intonation modes (kakus) Six embellishments (alankaras) Six aspects (anga) Music in Maurya Era - Buddhist and Jain Sources ‘+ The way the Yakshas and Yakshis have been depicted in the Buddhist sculptures, it is obvious that Maurya era had a richly flourished music. However, Buddhist theology saw music as distraction, but nevertheless, music flourished in that era very well. ‘+ In Jain theology as well we find that some of the rare instruments have been discussed in these texts. Some of them are bhambha, mukund, machal, kadamb etc. Some of them may be the instruments of the folk music. Bharat’s Natyeshashtra ‘ere ar Uva flows + The Natyashashtra of Bharat is an “Ayrveda associated withthe Rigyeda Dhanurveda- assorted with the Yajuveda ancient treatise on theatre, dance Frei ateta= voce visi a SeaTTe ‘Shasrashastra - associated with the Atharvaveds ‘of Vedic literature that deals with theatre is period between 200 BC to 200 AD. (56000 slolas in total). Bhart's Natyashashtra and music. It was written during the hawaveds. ‘+ It covers stage design, music, dance, makeup, and other aspects of theatre, Itis called the foundation of the fine arts in India. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in S| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘© twas based upon Gandhravaveda, The treatise is composed in prose and verse, but verse predominates. Gandharva music, the techniques of playing musical instruments and the rules for talas are explained, The Rasa Theory in Natyashashtra ‘The fountainhead of the rasa theory is Bharata's Natyashastra. + Rasa or essence refers to the dominant emotional theme of a performing art which is invoked in the audience. * Rasa is the fundamental concept in not only the performing arts viz. dance, music and drama but also the cinema and literature, Rasa is what that brings to mind a multitude of sensations through taste, emotion, and delight. + Rasa is non-material and it is the finest part of an art. It is described as the atman or soul in the body of an art. In its most commonly understood sense, it denotes taste, flavor, or relish, often yielding pleasure. «The Rasa Theory says that Rasa arises from a (proper) combination of the vibhavas (the stimulants), the anubhavas (the physical consequents) and the vyabhicharibhavas (the transient emotional states)". * The Natyashashtra describes the eight Rasas as follows: 1. Songaram (agi): Love, Attractiveness Hasyam re: Laughter, Mirth, Comedy Raudram gi): Fury, Wrath Kérunyam crest): Compassion, Tragedy Bibhatsam caer?) Disgust, Aversion Bhayanakam (wav Horror, Terror Viram c&r; Herote mood 8. Adbhutam (sg): Wonder, Amazement * Apart from the above, Abhinavgupta, who is known for have written the best commentary on ‘Natyashashtra called Abkinavabhérati, had proposed a ninth Rasa called $antam which denotes the peace or tranquillity. This along with the eight rasas of Bharat are called Navaras. + A few more Rasas such as Vatsalya Rasa and Bhakti Rasas were added in the later times. Later Development of Indian Music + The Gupta period is known for the excellence in all fields of Indian art and culture. The reference to Music in Gupta period comes from the works of Kalidasa and Vatsyayana among others. Kalidasa has written the names of some instruments such as Parivadini Veena, Vipanchi Veena, Pushkar, Mridang, Vamshi and Shankha. He has also discussed different types £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 6|Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music of songs. such as Kakaligeet, Streegeet and Apsarogeeti, apart from some technical terms such as Murchana, Swarasaptaka and Tana. ‘+ Vatsyayana has listed 64 Kalas or arts in his magnum opus Kamasutra, wherein he includes the singing, dance and playing of musical instruments among these Kalas. ©) Fachien, who vi sd during Gupta period, has noted that music was remarkably prevalent in Indian society. From Gupta age onwards, various genres of Indian Music were played in temples. ‘+ After Guptas, we find a great development in art in literature in times of Harsha, who himself was a singer. His plays 'Nagananda’, ‘Ratnavali’ and 'Priyadarshika’ discuss the making of Brihaddeshi ‘+ In post Gupta period, a great treatise only after Natyashashtra was composed in Sanskrit as Brihaddeshi by Matanga Muni. Brihaddeshi is the first text that speaks about riga_and distinguishes the music genres into Marga Sangeet (Classical Music) and Dest Sangeet (Folk Music) ‘+ Brihaddeshi was also the important work on Indian music before the Islam came and influenced the Indian music. Brihaddeshi was based upon the Natyashashtra itself and has Clarified many things which were unclear in the Bharata’s text. Influence of Islam. Around the 9th century, the Sufis tradition had itself a firm foothold in India. The Sufi mystics are known for their great love for music and acceptance of many indigenous customs. The followers of Nizamuddin Chishti (1324 AD) included the 'Basant’ and ‘Rang’ celebrations in thei religious practices, Similarly during the time of Kaikubad (1287-1290 AD), both Farsi and Hindi songs found a place in performances. By the 12% century, Islam started making great impact on Indian Music. ‘Amir Khusto * Amir Khusrow was a Sufi mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. He lived for 72 years, out of which 60 years he lived in the courts of as many as ten different rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. # He was a poet as well as prolific musician. His primary language to write poems was Persian but he composed almost half a million verses in Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Braj Bhasha, Hindavi as well as the Khadi Boli, His Khalig-e-bari, which is known as oldest printed dictionary of the world deals with Hindi and Persian words. Contribution of Amir Khusro to Indian Music © He is regarded as the “father of qawwali”. He is also credited with enriching Indian classical ‘music by introducing Persian and Arabic elements init, and was the originator of the khayal £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in T)Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music and tarana styles of music. Khayal later reached to its zenith during the times of Mohammad Shah Rangile and today is integral part of Hindustani classical music. ‘+ His association with various sultans enabled him to travel and stay in various parts of India and this gave him exposure to various local traditions. This helped him to assimilate diverse ‘musical influences. He was patronized by three Khilji rulers successively. Sharangdeva ‘+ Sharangdeva (1210-1247 AD) is the author of the famous Sangeet Ratnakara, This treatise 1, Hindustani and is so highly regarded that the two important systems of art music in In Carnatic, try to trace their basic concepts to it. ‘+ Itis divided into seven chapters so also known as Saptadhyayi. Sharangdev was patronized by the Yadavas of Devgiri ‘+ ‘The Sangeet Ratnakara explains the construction and the techniques of playing 14 kinds of drums. ‘+ Sangeet Ratnakar shows that by 13% century, Indian music was started getting highly influenced by Islam. This is evident from some of the names of Raga mentioned in it such as Turushka Todi and the Turushka Gaud. Man Singh Tomar Contribution in Indian Music © Raja Mansingh Tomar of Gwalior (1486-1516 AD) was the driving force behind introducing and consolidating Dhrupad. He is also known to have related the Indian music to the ‘common and laymen by replacing many of the the traditional Sanskrit songs by Hindi songs, + Man Singh Tomar is credited with composing three volumes of songs viz. Vishnupadas (Songs in praise of lord Vishnu), Dhrupads, and Hori and Dhamar songs associated with Holi * Mansingh's support gave pride of place to both the + Mankutuhal was the name of a treatise created under the patronage of Raja Man Singh Tomar. jindu and Muslim musicians. Impact of Bhakti movement on Indian Music * The Bhakti cult directly an to rf the theory and practice of music, [naivaanony teattan eaiatnnann ee ' called Haveli Sangeet. Haveli, literally means “ma ‘hich deeply impacted the Hindustani 314’ aico refers to a temple of the Pushtimarg sect. More Classical Music. popular devotional music genres include bhajans and + The impact of Bha Natadiare in Rajasthan was the main seat of ths Indian music was through the Ashtachap and Haveli sangeet along with the Bhajan and Kirtans. Movement on of Haveli sangeet. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 8) Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Using the regional language, Braj, Avadhi or whatever, as Astachap ‘The Astachap poetxy and music fs named after the eight the vehicle, saint-composers acharyas or preceptors who composed the music of the: Sampradaya or the Pushtimarga, It's worth note that Vallabhacharya Were able to reach to people of Topounded the Shudhadvatta Vedanta (pure non-dualsm) oF in social strata otherwise Pushtimarga (the road to grace). The cult was called Rudra Sampraday.. ae a “The religious and musical procedures ofthe cult were systematized by impervious to the influence of vaizpnacharya's son Goswami Vithainathj (1516-1698 AD). The four artand musi ‘of the eight acharyas of Astachap were diciples of Vallabha while four ae eae like 9teF_were ciples of Vallabha's son Goswami Vithainathi re works of composers like Legendary poet Surdas was also one of the diciples of Vallabhacharya. Jayadeva (11th century), Vidyapati (1375 AD), impact ofthe cult was such that Miyan Tansen also came under ts Chandidas (14th-15th century}, Bhakta Narasimha (1416-1475 AD) and Meerabai (1555- 1603 AD) were used as literary bases to the music. The advent of the Dhrupad, Khayal and Tappa, the dissociation of dance from music, and the shift from the pakhawaj to the tabla, all happened during the Bhakti Movement period. Miyan Tansen ‘Tansen (Ramtanu Pande/Mohammad Ata Ali Khan) was the legendary musician of Akbar's court. His early training was held in the musi It’s worth note that he was born in a Brahmin family but when he was a child, he was taken to Mohammad Ghaus, a sufi mystic of Gwalior for his blessings. While blessing, Mohammad Ghaus is said to have put a little bit of Pan from his mouth to Tansen's mouth, as a blessing. ‘This is how his religion was converted®. There are no proofs to this story. Tansen’s earliest guru was Swami Haridas, who is best known for his Vishnupadas and devotional compositions, especially in the Dhrupad style ‘The name Tansen was later given by Akbar. ‘Among the many works attributed to him are a treatise named the 'Ragamala’, many ‘Dohas’ dese school of Raja Mansingh Tomar. ing the ‘lakshanas' or the attributes of rdgas, ‘Sangeet Saar’, and ‘Shri Ganesh Stotra’. Itis said that Tansen reduced the 4000 ragas and raginis of his time into a system of 400. He also reduced 92 talas to 12. Some of the famous Ragas of today sich as ‘Miyan ki Malhar’ and “Miyan ki Todi were created by Tansen. ‘The Gharana of Tansen is known as Senia Gharana, His elder son Bilaskhan headed the gharana of the Rabab players and is known to have created some new Ragas such as Bilaskhani Todi. One more son Suratsen headed another gharana of Sitar players. Darbar Sangeet ~ Mughal Era During the Mughal period, and especially under Akbar's reign, temple music was largely overshadowed by the Darbar Sangeet, in which music was composed mainly to eulogise patrons, £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 9O]Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘+The court of Akbar employed many musicians Indians as well as Persians. The musicians were divided into seven orders. There was one for each day of the week. Headed by the legendary Tansen, there were 19 singers, three who chanted and several instrumental musicians. The main instruments, as per records of Abul Fazal, were the sarmandal, been, nay, karna and tanpura. ‘+ The times of Akbar are known for a complete fusion of the Pe systems. jan and Indian music ‘+ Jehangir was genuinely interested in music and generously patronised the art. Same was with Shahjahan, However, puritan Aurangzeb baned the court music, Still, some literary works on music were produced in his times, such as Persian translation of Makutuhal. Modern Hindustani Classical Music Mohammad Shah Rangile ‘+ With the Mughal power in Delhi weakening after Aurangzeb’s death, there was a quick succession of emperors. But, there was a relatively long period of prosperity of music during the reign of legendary Muhammadshah Rangile (1716-1748 AD). ‘+ He was a loving and generous patron to many musicians. Qawwali was reintroduced into the ‘Mughal imperial court and it quickly spread throughout South Asia faster than ever before, incorporating many newly patronized instruments such as Sarod, Surbahar, Sitar and Sursingar that bolstered the traditional Tambura, Veena and Tabla. ‘© Khayal was popularized by Niyamat Khan (Sadarang) and his nephew Firoz Khan ( ‘Adarang), both musicians in the court of Muhammad Shah Rangile. Khayal was pre-existing at that time, but for the frst time, it became so popular that it later almost replaced Dhrupad. 19" century * The thumri form of romantic and devotional music also became popular in the 19th century. + Ramnidhi Gupta, or Nidhubabu gave us the Bengali tappa, a new genre. This assimilated the features of the Tappa in Hindustani music and the lilting rhythm of Bengali music. 20" century + Inthe early 20th century, the most important contribution to Hindustani Classical Music was that of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Pandit Vishnu Narayana Bhatkhande. \VD Paluskar © Pandit V. D. Paluskar (1872-1931 AD) introduced the first music college, the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1901. * He sang the original version of the bhajan Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram. He gave an entirely new perspective to the education and propagation of music He is known to have given the first public concert in Saurashtra, because by that time, music was sung only in temples and palaces. [twas his efforts that £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 10| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music elevated music and musicians in the social hierarchy! His Gandhrava Mahavidyalaya was open to all and one ofthe first in India to run on public support and donations, rather than royal patronage. V.N.Bhatkhande V.N.Bhatkhande (1860-1937 AD) pioneered the introduction of an organised musical system reflecting current performance practices. He wrote the first modern treatise on Hindustani Classical Music He is best noted for reclassification of the Indian Ragas. So far, the Ragas were classified into Raga (male), Ragini (female), and Putra (children). Bhatkhande reclassified them into the currently used That system. He collected data on music, and documented and analysed performing traditions. His literature on music remains unparalleled even today and is essential for a systematic study of Hindustani Art Music. He classified a total number of 1800 compositions from the major gharanas accessible to him, dividing them in ten thaats according to his that system. Musical Gharanas ‘The term gharana is derived from the Hindi word 'ghar’. This concept became prominent in the nineteenth century after the fall of the Mughals. The dwindling Mughals could not continue the royal patronage enjoyed by performers traditionally. Performers were then compelled to move to urban centres or princely states. To retain their respective identities, they fell back on the names of the regions they hailed from. Therefore, even today, the names of many gharanas refer to places. Some important Gharanas in Khayal singing are Agra, Gwalior, Patiala, Kirana, Indore, Mewat, Rampur and Jaipur Gharana ‘A gharana also indicates musicological ideology, the thinking, teaching, performance and appreciation of music. Concepts in Hindustani Classical Music Swar ‘Swar means a note in the octave. The seven basic notes of the scale (swaras), in Indian music are named shadja, rishabh, gandhar, madhyam, pancham, dhaivat and nishad, and are shortened to Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni. It is believed that primitive sound Oum gave birth to Swar. Swar is also called “sur*, At a fundamental level they are similar to the solfa of Western music. Two of the swar are noteworthy in that they are immutably fixed. These two notes are shadja (Sa) and pancham (Pa) and are referred to as “achala swar”. These two swar form the tonal foundation for all the Indian classical music. The other notes have alternate forms and are called "chala sar”. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘+ The swar have special relationships with each other. Although there are only seven notes they repeat in the upper and lower directions. Therefore, when ascending the scale when ‘one reaches Ni, then the scales starts over with Sa, Re, Ga, etc. This is the upper register. By the same token when one is decsending the scale, it does not stop at Sa but continues down as Ni, Dha, ete; thi the lower register. Raga A raga uses a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is constructed. Raga is neither a scale, nor a mode. However, itis a scientific , precise, subtle, and aesthetic melodic form with its own peculiar ascending (aaroh) and descending (avroh) movement which consists of five or more notes. ‘+ The Ragas are distinguished by the Pattern of ascending and descending movement of the notes Omission of a jarring or dissonant note Emphasis on a particular note, Slide from note to another © Use of different microtones along with other subtleties. In the Indian music, there is above all awareness between man and nature, each acting and reacting on the other. Hence, each Raga is associated, according to its mood, with a particular time of the day, night or a season. Improvisation is an essential feature of Indian music, depending upon the imagination and the creativity of an artist; a great artist can communicate and instil in his listener the mood of the Raga. Ragas involve several important elements. ‘+The first element is sound -- metaphysical and physical, which is referred to as Nada. There are two types of nada, anahata nada or un-struck sound and ahata nada or struck sound. ‘+The next element of raga is pitch, relegated into swara (whole and half tones), and sruti (microtones). ‘+ Raga is based on the principle of a combination of notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave, Ragas are placed in three categories: ‘+ Odava or pentatonic, a composition of five notes + Shadava or hexatonte, a composition of six notes ‘+ Sampoorna or heptatonic, a composition of seven notes Every Raga must have at least five notes, starting at Sa, one principal note, a second important note and a few helping notes. The speed of a raga is divided into three parts: Vilambit (slow), Madhya (Medium) and Drut (fast). £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Classification of Rigas In the Hindustani Classical Music, all the Ragas have been divided into 10 thats by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. In Carnatic Music, there are 72 parent Ragas (melakarta). The two streams of Indian Music, the names of the rdgas overlaps yet the form of Ragas is different. Régas in the Carnatic music fall into two categories, the base or melakarta ragas and the derived or anya ragas. The 16 swaras form the basis for the melakarta scheme, Melakarta ragas have a formal structure and follow a fairly rigid scheme of scientific organization whereas the janya rdgas are rooted in usage and are liable to evolve with the music. That ‘The 10 thats are as follows: 4. Bilawal that 2) Kham) that 3. kafithat 4. Asavar that 5. Bhairvi that 6 Bhairav that 7 8 9. 4 Kalyan that Marwa that Puri That 0. Tedi That The time theory of Rigas ‘The Time Theory of the Indian music says that each raga has its own stipulated time of singing it or playing it on an instrument, Some ancient texts such as Sangita-Makaranda have given warnings to musicians against playing ragas at the incorrect time. In this theory, all the Ragas have been divided into 2 parts of 24 hours of a day viz Poorvi and Uttar. If a Raga is Poorvi, itis sung before noon and iffa Raga is Uttar, itis sung after noon. Thus_: {aga is sung from Midnight to Noon * Uttar: Raga is sung from Noon to Midnight ‘The beauty of the raga is not distorted by singing them at different times than stipulated. Yet, Raga is fully expressed when it is sung in its own time only. Apart from the above broad classification, + Poorv there is a timetable of most ragas to be sung at particular time. However, there are many Ragas which can be sung any time. The most popular Ragas and there time has been given below: (ou dost need tomemoriae them, yet syou wish to remeber plese dont put wrongrign in wrong tne) ‘+ Morning Ragas: Ahir Bhairav, Todt ‘+ Afternoon Ragas: Brindavani Sarang, Shuddha Sarang, ‘+ Later Afternoon: Bhimpalasi ‘+ Evening: Yaman, Puriya, Shuddha Kalyan ‘+ Night: Bageshwari, Chandrakauns ‘+ Midnight: Malkauns, Darbari ‘+ Dawn: Lalit, Bibhas, Bhatiyar £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Season based Ragas: There are some Ragas which best expressed when sung in the stipulated seasons. In other way, when they are sung by a versatile artist, they can create ambi exampl ‘+ Spring: Raga Basant ‘+ Rainy Season: Raga Megh, Raga Malhar, Raga Miyan Malhar Tala Tala is the second important factor in Indian music. These are rhythmic cycles ranging from 3 to 108 beats. The division in a tala and the stress on the first beat, called sum, are the most important features of these cycles. ‘+ Tala is independent of the music it accompanies and has its own divisions. ‘© Different talas are recognised like Dadra, Rupak, Jhaptal, Ektal, Adha-Chautal and Teen-Tal. ‘+ There are over a 100 Talas, but only 30 Talas are known and only about 10-12 talas are actually used. ‘+ The most commonly encountered one is the one with sixteen beats called the Teentaal ‘+ Talas having the same number of beats may have a stress on different beats, e.g. a bar of 10 beats may be divided as : 2-3-2-3-, or 3-3-4, or 3-4-3. ‘+ ‘The Laya is the tempo, which keeps the uniformity of time span. The Matra is the smallest unit of the tala. ‘+ Carnatic music has a rigid thala structure, The thalas are defined on the basis of intricate arithmetic calculations. The thalas are made up of three basic units, namely, laghu, druram and anu drutam. The most common thala is the Adi thala, which consists of a repeating ‘measure of 8 beats. ance of particular season. For ‘+ Alop: Alap is the first movement of the Raga. It is a slow, serene movement acting as an invocation and it gradually develops the Raga. ‘+ Jor: Jor begins with the added element of rhythm which, combining with the weaving of innumerable melodic patterns, gradually grains in tempo and brings the raga to the final movement. ‘+ Jhala: Jhala is the final movement and climax. It is played with a very fast action of the plectrum that is worn on the right index finger. ‘+ Gat: It is the fixed composition. A gat can be in any tala and can be spread over from 2 to 16 of its rhythmic cycles in any tempo, slow, medium or fast. A gat, whether vocal or instrumental, has generally two sections. The first part is called “pallavi" (Carnatic) or “asthayi” (Hindustani) which opens the composition and is generally confined to the lower and middle octaves. The following part of the composition is called the “anupallavi" (or antara) which usually extends from the middle to upper octaves. In Carnatic music further melodic sections called “charana” follows the “anupallavi.” £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Dhrupad Dhrupad and Khayal are the two forms of classical singing that are popular today. Out of them, Dhrupad is certainly older, which took proper shape in medieval era, replacing the ancient Prabandha. It enjoyed wide popularity till the 17th or early 18th century, after which it gradually declined with the emergence of Khayal, which is more romantic and entertaining style. ‘+The nature of Dhrupad music is spiritual. It does not seek to entertain, but to induce feelings of peace and spirituality in the listener. ‘+ Itis primarily a form of worship, in which offerings are made to the divine through sound or Nada. Dhrupad was initially sung only in the temples, the singer facing the Lord. From this carly chanting, Dhrupad evolved into a sophisticated classical form of music. ‘+ One significant characteristic of Dhrupad is the emphasis on maintaining purity of the Raga. ‘+ ‘The language of Dhrupad changed from Sanskrit to Brij Bhasha some time between the 12th and the 16th century. ‘+ In medieval India, Dhrupad had mainly thrived under the patronage of Mughal and Rajput kings. Later it declined with the shift of interest in Khayal. ‘+ Performance of Dhrupad is done in two parts viz. the Alap and Bandish. In the Alap, the singer uses syllables from Sanskrit Mantra which add texture to the notes. The Raga is slowly and methodically developed in a meditative mode. ‘+ ‘The speed of Alap increases with the use of an accelerating rhythmic pulse that builds to a point, where the melodic patterns literally dance in space. Bandish is a short poem accompanied by the Pakhawai, The poem is sung using melodic and rhythmic improvisations. The intricate patterns and improvisations woven by the Pakhawaj player and the singer create a dialogue often playing against or complimenting one another. Khayal ‘+The dhrupad style of music was replaced by the romantic khayal. Khayal is a Persian term Which means imagination, The most important feature of a khayal is tans or the running slides over notes and boltans which clearly distinguish it from dhrupad, The slow (vilambit) and fast (drut) styles of khayal are the two recognised types today. ‘+The singer is accompanied generally on Tabla and Harmonium or Sarangi. ference between ee and ra ‘Older in Origin ‘Younger in origin Primarily spiritual, purpose worship Primarily mantic, purpose entertainment ‘Short Bandishisused generally Long Bandish generally ‘Uses Sanskrit Syllables in Alap Alap may or may not be in Sanskrit Special attention to purity of Riga Flexible but till Raga purity is paid attention Singeris accompanied by Pakhawa} ‘Tabla and Harmonium, Sarangi for accompaniment ‘Two arts Alap+ Banghish ‘Three parts generally viz. Alap, Bada Khayal and Chota (Drut) Khayal Meaning ofthe words generally not recognizable Comparatively recognizable £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 15] Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Tappa «This isa distinct style having its origin in the Punjab. Its beauty display of various permutations and combinations of notes. ‘© Itis strange that even though the Tappa lyrics are in Punjabi, Tappa is not sung in the Punjab. sin the quick and intricate Thumri ‘+ Thumri originated in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, Its most distinct feature is the erotic subject matter portraying the various episodes from the lives of lord Krishna and radha. ‘+ ‘The beauty of thumri lies in the artist’s ability to convey musically as many shades of ‘meaning as the words ofa song can bear. ‘+ Itisa much freer form than khayal, Dadra ‘+ Dadra bears a close resemblance to the Thum ‘Thumris, The major difference is that dadras have more than one antara and are in dadra tala, Singers usually sing a dadra after a thumti ‘The texts are as amorous as those of Dhamar-Hori ‘+ These compositions are similar to Dhrupad but are chiefly associated with the festival of Holi. Here the compositions are specifically in praise of Lord Krishna, This music, sung in the dhamar tala, is chiefly used in festivals like Janmashthami, Ramnavami and Holi ‘+ Hori is a type of dhrupad sung on the festival of Holi. The compositions here describe the spring season. These compositions are mainly based on the love pranks of Radha-Krishna. Ragasagar + Ragasagar consists of different parts of musical passages in different rdgas as one song composition. These compositions have 8 to 12 different riigas and the lyrics change of the ragas. The peculiarity of this style depends on how smoothly the musical passages change along with the change of ragas. dicate the Tarana ‘+ Tarana is a style consisting of peculiar syllables woven into rhythmical patterns as a song, It is usually sung in faster tempo. Chaturang + Chaturang denotes four colours or a composition of a song in four parts: Fast Khayal, Tarana, Sargam and a "Paran' of Tabla or Pakhwa). Ghazal ‘The ghazal is mainly a poetic form than a musical form, but its more song-like than the thumri, The ghazal is described as the "pride of Urdu poetry". + The ghazal originated in Iran in the 10th Century AD. It grew out of the Persian qasida, a poem written in praise ofa king, a benefactor or a nobleman. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘The ghazal never exceeds 12 shers (couplets) and on an average, ghazals usually have about Tshers. Even though ghazal began with Amir Khusro in northern India, Deccan in the south was its home in the early stages. It developed and evolved in the courts of Golconda and Bijapur under the patronage of Muslim rulers. ‘The 18th and 19th centuries are regarded as the golden period of the ghazal with Delhi and Lucknow being its main centres. Carnatic music is confined to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, In Carnatic music there is a very highly developed theoretical system. It is based upon a complex system of Régam (Raga) and Thalam (Tala). Most compositions in Carnatic music have three parts to their body. ‘The first two lines of the song are called Pallavi, They occur over and over, especially after each stanza, Usually the Pallavi is followed by two more lines or sometimes just one more. This portion is. called Anu Pallavi. This is sung at the beginning for sure, but sometimes even during the end of the song, but not necessarily after each stanza. ‘The stanzas of a song are called 'Charanam’, Purandardas (1480-1564) is considered to be the father of Carnatic music. To him goes the credit of codification of the method of Carnatic music. He is also credited with creation of several thousand songs. Another great name associated with Carnatic music is that of Venkat Mukhi ‘Swami. He is regarded as the grand theorist of Carnatic music. He also developed "Melankara’, the system for classifying south Indian rdigas. It was in the 18th century that Carnatic music acquired its present form. This was the period that saw the “trinity” of Carnatic music; Thyagaraja, Shama Shastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar compile their famous compositions. Varna: It is a composition usually sung or played at the beginning of a recital and reveals the general form of the Raga. The Varnam is made up of two parts: 1) the Purvanga or first half and 2) the Uttaranga or second half. The two halves are almost equal in length. Keri Ragam: It is a melodic improvisation in free rhythm played without mridangam It isa highly evolved musical song set to a certain rdga and fixed tala or rhythmic cycle. accompaniment, Tanam: Itis another style of melodic improvisation in free rhythm. Pallavi: This is @ short pre-composed melodic theme with words and set to one cycle of tala. Here the soloist improvises new melodies built around the word pallavi. Trikalay constant. It is the section where the Pallavi is played in three tempi keeping the Tala £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘+ Swara-Kalpana: It is the improvised section performed with the drummer in medium and fast speeds. ‘+ Ragamalika: This is the final part of the Pallavi where the soloist improvises freely and ‘comes back to the original theme at the end. Comparison of Hindustani and Carnatic music Een Mest popular in South Indian states viz. Tamil Nad, ‘Anda Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala Purely indigenous, normally isolated from alien influences Gives more importance to literary aspects of singing ‘A. song composed in the Cammatic style necessary ‘comprises of 3 Pallavi, Anupallavi and one oF two oF more Charanas. Each of these parts of the song is ghen importance, while singing inthe Cammatc syle CCamatic masic has its own way of delineating ga. Ik does with alapana in the beginning. Alapana consists in the claboration of the particular tga in which the Kiit is Hindustani Classical Mi Popular in Nort India Influenced heavily from Persian music and other genres of music Give moce importance comparatively to the aesthetics ‘More importance i given to the Raga Unlike Hindustani music, Camatc music does not adhere to Time or Samay concepts and instead of Thaats, Camatic ‘music follows the Melakarta concept. composed. The alapana is fllowed by the rendering of Pallavi. Iti followed by Nizaval accompanied by Kalpta, Sraras. The musician & given the bert to explore the ga, and the various aspects of rg finally concluding with the kr Co Poe In the Vedic period (3000-1500 BC), music was solely ritualistic. Some of the major earlier forms of Indian Classical music like Prabandh Sangeet and Dhruvapada were all devotional in character. Gradually other forms of devotional mustc like bhajans, kirtans, shahbads and qawwalis came into being. Bhajan Bhajans owe their origin to the Bhakti Movement. The word bhajan is derived from bhaj which means ‘to serve’ in Sanskrit. Bhajan is a popular form of devotional singing prevalent in north India. It is usually sung in temples in praise of god or is addressed as a plea to him. ‘+ Bhajans are usually sung in groups. There is a lead singer who sings the first line or stanza and is followed by the chorus. ‘+ The compositions are usually based on Shantam Rasa. Stories and episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are popular themes for bhajans, as are the episodes from the lives of Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva. ‘© Meera, Kabir, Surdas, Tulsidas, Guru Nanak and Narsi Mehta are some of the most significant names in bhajan singing Kirtan ‘* Kirtans are another type of folk music usually sung by the Vaishnavas and are based on the love stories of Krishna and Radha. It is prevalent in Bengal. Kirtans were transformed into £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music song and dance congregations by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15-16th Century AD), drawing inspiration from Jayadeva's Geet Govinda. ‘© Kirtans are of two types: Nama-Kirtana and Lila-Kirtana. The first involves constant uttering of the name and singing of the glory of God, while the second describes the various anecdotes of the Radha-Krishna love. ‘+ The singing of Kirtans is accompanied by musical instruments like mridanga and cymbals. Qawwali ‘© Qawwali is a devotional form of music, prevalent among the sufi ‘+ The lyrics are in praise of Allah, Prophet Mohammad, members of Prophet's family or renowned Sufi saints. ‘+ Itis written in Persian, Urdu and Hindi and is composed in a specific raga. ‘© Qawwali is usually sung in a group, with one or two lead singers. ‘© Originally it was sung to the beat of the daff: However, now the Qawwali singing is accompanied by the dholak, tabla, manjira and the harmonium. Shabad ‘+ Shabads are devotional songs of the Sikhs sung in gurdwaras on religious occasions. They are ascribed to Sikh gurus and many Bhakti saint-poets. ‘+ Shabad originated as a musical composition around the 17th century AD. Guru Nanak and his disciple Mardana are credited with the development and popularity of shabad. ‘© Shabads are sung to the accompaniment of the harmonium, tabla and often the dholak and chimta. ‘+ Today, three distinct styles exist in shabad singing. They are rdga-based shabads, traditional shabads as mentioned in the Adi Granth and those based on lighter tunes. The common root of all classical dance forms can be traced to Bharata's Natyasastra. It contains deliberations on the different kind of postures, the mudras, the kind of emotions, the kind of atires, the stage, the ornaments and the audience. According to the Natyashastra, Brahma, the creator of the Universe, created drama. He took the following components to create the fifth Veda called Natyaveda: © Pathya (words) form the Rigveda ©. Abhinaya (gesture) from the Vajurveda © Geet (music and chant) from Samaveda Rasa (sentiment and emotional element) from Atharvaveda There are ample evidences of the popularity of dance in the Indian society right from the Mesolithic period. The first and the oldest of evidences to date are the discovery of the bronze figurine of a dancer from the Indus Valley Civilization excavations at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 19] Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Indian classical dances are dances of the mind and soul and are extremely traditional. It is very sensuous but the experience of ananda (bliss) it evokes is very spiritual. + There are eight classical dances recognized by the Government of India viz, Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi and Sattriya, ‘Among them, the five classical dances of India are considered to be the mystic manifestation of the ‘metaphysical elements of nature (Panchatatva) in the human body. These include Odissi (element of water), Kuchipudi (element of earth), Mohiniattam (element of air), Bharatnatyam(element of fire) and Kathakali (element of sky or aether). Here we look at them very briefly: Bharatanatyam Originated in Tamil Nadu, name possibly derived from Bharat. In Natya Shastra, Bharatanatyam is described as ekaharya in which one dancer depicts many roles. Siva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance is depicted in various dance forms. Bharatnatyam leans heavily on the abhinaya or mime aspect of dance - the nritya, where the dancer expresses the sahitya through movement and Jon), Bharatanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical music. ‘* Itis practiced by male and female dancers. Noted Exponents: Rukmini Devi Arundale, Mallika Sarabhai, Yamini Krishnamurthy ime (gestures and facial expre Kuchipudi ‘+ Its name derived from a village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. Its worth note that there are many similarities between the Kuchipudi and Yakshagana. In fact, the evolution of Kuchipudi and Yakshagana seems to be common, ‘+The Kuchipudi style was conceived by Siddhendra Yogi, a talented Vaishnava poet of 17% century. It begins with an invocation to Lord Ganesha followed by nritta (non-narrative and abstract dancing); shabdam (narrative dancing) and natya. * The dance is accompanied by song which is typically Carnatic music. The singer is accompanied by mridangam, violin, flute and the tambura. + Like other classical dances, Kuchipudi also comprises pure dance, mime and histrionics but itis the use of speech that distinguishes Kuchipudi's presentation as dance drama. + Noted Kuchipudi exponents are: Raja Reddy and Radha reddy, Sonal Mansingh, Yamini Krishnamurthy Difference between Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi =m [ET ‘Ancient in erigin Relatively younger than Bharatnatyam £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 20| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘State - Tamil Nadu State - Andhra Pradesh Panchatatva ~ Element of Fire Panchatatva ~ Element of Earth Precise and Rhythmic Steps Rounded Steps Lot of focus to the “aramandl (half -sit in ground) Dancers don't st ow on ground Some items include dancing on Brass Place (Tatangam) Dress has three fans of differing length Dress has one Fan longer than other fans, which may not be three Kathak ‘* Kathak dance is a combination of music, dance and narrative. The name Kathak is derived from the Sanskrit word katha meaning story. This dance form traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India, known as Kathaks, or storytellers. The present day Kathak dance mainly depends on the medieval period Ras Lila,a local dance in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh. Kathak became highly stylised in both Hindu and Muslim courts and came to be regarded as a sophisticated form of entertainment. ‘* There are three major schools or gharanas of Kathak from which performers today generally draw their lineage. These include the Lucknow Gharana, Jaipur Gharana and the Banaras Gharana. ‘+ Noted Kathak exponents are: Shambhu Maharaj, Sitara Devi, Pandit Birju Maharaj Manipuri ‘+ Originated in Manipur and associated with the rituals and traditional festivals. The central theme is the Raslila of Radha and Krishna, The themes often depict the pangs of separation of the gopis and Radha from Krishna. ‘+The vital elements of this dance are the characteristic symbols (Kartal or manjira) and double-headed drum (pung or Manipuri mridang) of sankirtan into the visual performance. ‘+ The most popular forms of Manipuri dance are the Ras, the Sankirtana and the Thang-Ta. n Singh, Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, his wife Charu Sija Mathur, Darshana Jhaveri are some of the prominent exponents of this classical dance form, Sankirtana ‘+ The Kirtan form of congregational singing accompanies the dance which is known as Sankirtana. The male dancers play the Pung and Kartal while dancing. The masculine aspect of dance - the Choloms is a part of the Sankirtana tradition. Thang-ta ‘+The martial dancers of Manipur - the Thang-ta - have their origins in the days when man's survival depended on his ability to defend himself from wild animals, Today, Manipur has an. evolved and sophisticated repertoire of martial dances, the dancers use swords, spears and shields. Real fight scenes between the dancers show an extensive training and control of the body. © Guru Naba Kumar, Guru Bi £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Kathakali * Evolved from many social and religious theatrical forms of Kerala. ‘+ This dance form is a blend of dance, music and acting and dramatizes stories, which are mostly adapted from the Indian epics. Poet Vallathol, composed the classical Kathakali dance form. ‘+ Noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune the anchor playback. ‘music and complementary percussion. ‘+ Kathakalt is considered to be a combination of five elements of fine art: ‘©. Expressions (Natyam, the component with emphasis on facial expressions) ©. Dance (Nritham, the component of dance with emphasis on rhythm and movement of hands, legs and body) © Enactment (Nrithyam, the element of drama with emphasis on “mudras", which are hand gestures) ‘© Song/vocal accompaniment (Geetha) went (Vadyam) ‘+ Noted Kathakali exponents are: Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Kalamandalam Gopi, ©. Instrument accompani Madavoor Vasudevan Nair Odissi ‘+ Odissi is known as the oldest dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. ‘The reason is the bass reliefs of 1* century BC in the Udaygiri caves. The Natya Shastra speaks of the dance from this region and refers to it as Odra-Magadht. ‘+ Characterized by various Bhangas (Stance), which involves stamping of the foot and striking various postures as seen in Indian sculptures. The common Bhangas are Bhanga, Abanga, Atibhanga and Tribhanga. ‘+The techniques of movement are built around the two basic postures of the Chowk and the Tribhanga. © The chowk is a position imitating a square - a very masculine stance with the weight of the body equally balanced. ©. The tribhanga is a very feminine stance where the body is deflected at the neck, torso and the knees. ‘There are three traditions of the Odissi Dance viz. Mahari, Gotipua and Nartaki Schools. Mahari Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari or Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri, Early Maharis performed mainly Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) based on Mantras and Slokas, Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda, £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 22| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Gotipua Gotipuas were boys dressed up as giris and taught the dance by the Maharis. Only this tradition out of these three remains extant today. Nartaki Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts. During the British time the misuse of devadasis came under strong attack, so that Odissi dance withered in the temples and became unfashionable at court, © Noted Odi sxponents are: Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sonal Mansingh Mohiniyattam ‘+ Itis a classical dance form from Keralalt is considered a very graceful form of dance meant to be performed as solo recitals by women. + The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words "Mohini" meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and “aattam" meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word “Mohiniyattam literally means “dance of the enchantress”. ‘+ There are two stories of the Lord Vishnu disguised as a Mohini In one, he appears as Mol to lure the asuras (demons) away from the amrita (nectar of immortality) obtained during the churning of the palazhi or Ocean of Milk. In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva from the demon Bhasmasura. ‘+ The dance involves the swaying of broadhipsand the gentle movements of erect posture from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swinging of the palm leaves and the gently flowing rivers which abound Kerala. + There are approximately 40 basic movements, known as atavukal. ‘+The vocal music of Mohiniyattam involves variations in rhythmic structure known as chollu. Noted exponents of Mohiniyattam are: T. Chinnammu Amma, Kalamandalam Sugandhi Sattriya Dance ‘+The Sattriya dance form was introduced in the 15th century AD by the great Vaishnava saint and reformer of Assam, Mahapurusha Sankaradeva as a powerful medium for propagation of the Vaishnava faith. Sankaradeva introduced this dance form by incorporating different elements from various treatises;then prevalent dance forms and local folk dances combined with his own rare outlook. ‘+ Sattriya dance is a clear indication of the influence of the former on the latter. Other visible {influences on Sattriya dance are those from Assamese folk dances namely Bihu, Bodos etc ‘+ Many hand gestures and rhythmic syllables are strikingly similar in these dance forms. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 23)?General Know e Today ‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations cence stent Mia Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘+ Noted Sattriya exponents are: Indira PP Bora, Maniram Datta Moktar a Brihaddeshi was the first text that speaks about rga and distinguishes the music genres into Marga Sangeet (Classical Music) and Dest Sangeet (Folk Music). Important Folk Music of India ‘© Uttarakhandi folk music had its root in the lap of nature, The pure and blessed music have the feel and the touch of nature and subjects related to nature, The folk music primarily is related to the various festivals, religious traditions, folk stories and simple life of the people of Uttarakhand, ‘© Lavani is a popular folk form of Maharashtra, Traditionally, the songs are sung by female artists, but male artists may occasionally © The dance format associated with Lavaniis known as Tamasha. ‘© Bhavageet (literally ‘emotion poetry’) is a form of expressionist poetry and light music. 1g Lavanis, ‘This genre is quite popular in many parts of India, notably in Karnataka, © Pandavani is a folk singing style of musical narration of tales from ancient epic Mahabharata with musical accompaniment and Bhima as hero. This form of folk theatre is popular in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and in the neighbouring tribal areas of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. ‘+ Naatupura Paatu is Tamil folk music. It consists of Gramathisai (village folk music) and Gana (city folk music) Itis also sung in Rajasthan. ‘+ Rajasthani Folk Music: Traditional music includes the women's Panihari songs, which lyrically describe chores, especially centred around water and wells, both of which are an integral part of Rajasthan's desert culture, Important Folk Dances Gaur dance ‘* Gaur means Bison, and in this dance, the dancers mimic the movements of a ferocious bison such as charging, tossing of horns, hurling wisps of grass into the air etc. This dance is performed in the Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh, Pandavani Dance ‘+ Pandavani dance and music is a folk singing style of musical narrs epic Mahabharata with musical accompaniment and Bhima as hero. It is a folk dance of Chhattisgarh. Teejan Bai is a known Pandavani artist. Chhau Dance © Chhau means a mask. Chhau dance probably originated as a martial art and performers, apart from a mask, hold swords and shields and performing vigorous movements and leaps. This is a popular dance in Odisha, Bihar and Bengal. The stages are decorated and brightly lit by of tales from ancient £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music torches, lanterns and flickering oil lamps. The musical instruments used are the Dhol, ‘Nagara and Shehnai, The themes often revolve around mythological heroes and warriors from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Jatra Dance ‘+ Jatra dance is a folk dance of West Bengal & Bangladesh, The name literally means ‘going’ or ‘journey’. It is performing art combining acting, songs, music and dance. The dance form developed from ceremonial functions conducted before setting out on a journey such as the processions brought out in honour of various deities. Bihu Dance ‘© Bihu is a popular folk dance of Assam, It is an integral part of the Bihu festival in April when the harvesting of crops is over. Young men and girls perform the Bihu dance together to the accompaniment of drums and pipes. ‘+ Love forms the subject matter of the songs that are sung during the performance. The dances are performed in circles or parallel rows. Bidesia, Bihar ‘+ It isa popular form of dance drama prevalent in the Bhojpuri-speaking region of Bihar. Bhikari Thakur is believed to be the creator of these dramas. It dealt with many social issues, contradictory topics & conflict between the traditional and the modern, the urban and rural, and the rich and the poor. ‘+ In Bidesia, the female roles are also played by the male actor-dancers. The plays and style of theatre is very popular for their rhythmic language, sweet songs and appealing music. Jat-Jatin Dance, Bihar ‘+ It is one of the most admired folk dances of North Bihar (including the Mithila and Koshi region). It is normally performed in a couple. The original theme of the dance explains the story of the lovers Jat and Jatin, who were separated and living in difficult situations. But now through many social situations are also discussed like natural calamities situation like droughts and floods. Many socially concern topics like poverty, sorrow, love, all find expression in this dance. i Dance, Bihar ‘© Itisa folk dance of Mithilanchal of Bihar. It is somewhat similar to garba and only married women perform it, As many other rituals that are performed by married women, it also signifies a good omen. It is usually performed in the beginning of karthik month as per the Hindu calendar. At this time, the sky is crystal clear. This creates Maids in love go on dancing, singing and celebrating the turns of the season, £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Paika Dance, Bihar ‘+The word "paika’ is believed to derive from the Sanskrit word ‘Padatika’ which means the infantry. Therefore, the name of the dance is Paika (battle) dance. The Paika dance is performed with employing shield and sword. It is a dance of martial character. In the dance performance, skills & ability of the dancers in handling sword and shield is displayed. The dance reach at the climax with the fast beats produced by "Mandal. Cheraw Dance ‘© Cheraw is also known as Bamboo Dance. It is a folk dance of Mizoram, in which the dancers move by stepping alternately in and out of the pairs of horizontal bamboos. Thus, a grid of bamboo poles is an integral part of this dance. The performers tap the bamboos open and closed in ‘+ They tap the bamboos open and closed in rhythmic beats. ‘+ The dancers step in and out of the squares formed by the bamboos with ease and grace. ‘The pattern and stepping of the dance resemble the movements of birds, swaying of trees Dumbhal Dance ‘+ Dumhal dance is performed by the men folk of the Wattal tribe of yy Kashmir. This dance is performed with long colourful robes, tall conical caps. Dumhal dance is accompanied by songs which the performers themselves sing. Performers of this dance place a banner. es Sm into the ground at a fixed location, They begin to dance around this banner. Kariyala ‘+ It is a popular art form of Himachal Pradesh, The plays celebrate local traditions of dress, worship, and morality, by telling stories of ordinary life using a range of familiar characters. ‘Music, dance, and satirical humour enliven the performances, which sometimes last all night. ‘+ There is also a religious element with a chorus that sings praises to the gods. This form of shows present sharp and pungent satires about the bureaucracy and social issues very boldly. Namagen ‘+ In Himachal, the Namagen dance is performed for the celebration of the autumnal hue in the ‘month of September. The most striking dance performance amongst these is the Gaddis. The costumes that are used in this dance are of woolens and women wear richly studded ornaments of silver. The dancing steps & rhythm of the dance is wonderfully mixed with each other. Drum plays an important part in this dance performance. Bhangra Dance ‘© Bhangra is a form of dance-oriented folk music that has now evolved into a pop sensation, It is the folk dance of the agriculturist class of Punjab. Traditionally this dance is associated with the harvesting season £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music and was performed on a full moon day. People sing Boliyaan (lyrics or couplets) in the Punjabi language. Dhol is an integral part of Bhangra. Bhangra has eventually become a part of social occasions including weddings Gidda Dance ‘© Gidda isa female counterpart of the Bhangra, performed by women and girls. Langvir Dance ‘+ Langvir nritya is a folk dance form of Uttarakhand. The acrobatic dance movements are performed only by males.Dancer climbs a pole and balance himself on his navel on the top of. the pole. To the accompaniment of drum beats and music, he balances skilfully and rotates on his belly, performing several acrobatic stunts. Padayani ‘+ This dance is performed in Southern Kerala and is associated with the festival of certain temples, called Padayani or Paddeni. One can easily identify this dance by the size of the huge mask (Kolams) used by the performers. The dance is performed traditionally in Bhagvati temples. Such temples are in Alleppey, Quilon, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts. Dollu Kunitha ‘+ This folk dance is performed in Karnataka state. Large drums are adorned with colored clothes and hang around the necks of men. The songs used in this dance usually have religious and battle fervour. The main emph: and light movement of the feet and legs. The Dollu Kunitha dance forms a part of the ritualistic dances of the Dodavas of Karnataka, Dhimsa «This dance is popular among the tribes inhabiting the Araku Valley region of Vishakhapatam, in Andhra Pradesh, Garba and Ras, ‘* Dandiya is a form of dance-oriented folk music that originated in Brindavan and became popular in western India. These songs sung in honor of Hindu goddesses and gods during Navratri, It is sung in the honour of god Krishna, hanuman, ram ete. This dance form is cht between Goddess Durga and Mahishasura, the mighty ‘on quick actually the staging of a mock- demon-king. Difference between Garba and Ras ‘+The main difference between Garba and Raas is that Raas is played with Dandiyas (pair of colourfully decorated sticks), while Garba consists of various hand and feet movements. Sometimes instead of sticks, people also use “Swords”. The circular movements of Dandiya Ras are much more complex than that of Garba. The Dandiya Raas dance originated as devotional Garba dances, which were performed in Goddess Durga’s honor. This dance is £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 27| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music also nicknamed ‘The Sword Dance’. The sticks of the dance represent the sword of Goddess Durga. Ghoomar Dance ‘© Ghoomar is a folk dance of Rajasthan and is characteristic dance of the Bhils. It is a community dance performed by groups of women on auspicious occasions. The name is derived from the word ghoomna (pirouetting).. Kalbelia Dance ‘+ Kalbelia dance is performed by the womenfolk hailing from the Kalbelia (Snake charmers) community in Rajasthan. They pursue the centuries-old profession of catching snakes and trading snake venom. The resemblance to the slithery creatures. Kalbelia dance has been included in UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. Bhavai Dance ‘« In Rajasthan, this spectacular dance form consists of veiled women dancers balancing nearly lance movements and the costumes have an uncanny seven or nine brass pitchers as they dance dexterously, pirouetting and swaying with the soles of their feet perched on top ofa glass or on the edge of a sword. Khayal Dance ‘+ It is amongst the most famous dances of Rajasthan. The themes for the dance are derived from the great Hindu epics ie. the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These dances are performed by the Bhawai caste. Thought to have been originated from the Jats, these Bhawai castes perform the Khayal dance on heredity basis. They enact these dance-dramas and have ‘numerous ballets; some of which are humorous and depict the comic characters of ‘baniyas’, barbers and moneylenders with bitterest satires. Women do not participate in Bhawal dances, Rasdhari Dance: ‘+ It occupies an artistic middle ground between Rasalila and Khyal dances of Rajasthan. It is closer to the latter with its combination of entertaining dance, song, and dialogue. It started as a community activity expressing devotional joy and later the troupes became professional and the performances started serving as their livelihood. EEE SE Origin of Theatre Bharata’s Natyashastra was the earliest and most elaborate treatise on dramaturgy written anywhere in the world, India has a longest and richest tradition in theatre going back to at least 5000 years. The origin of Indian theatre is closely related to ancient rituals and seasonal festivities of the country, Hindu theorists from the earliest days conceived of plays in terms of two types of production: £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘+ Lokadharmi (realistic), which involved the reproduction of human behaviour on the stage and the natural presentation of objects ‘+ Natyadharmi (conventional), which is the presentation of a play through the use of stylized gestures and symbolism and was considered more artistic than realistic ‘Theatre in India has encompassed all the other forms of literature and fine arts into its physical presentation: literature, mime, music, dance, movement, painting, sculpture and architecture - all mixed into one and being called 'Natya’ or Theatre in English. Important Theatrical Forms of India Bhand Pather: Jammu & Kashmir «This is a traditional satirical theatre form of Kashmir with unique combination of dance, ‘music and acting. Biting satire, wit and parody characterize the form. ‘+The actors of Bhand Pather are mainly from the farming community and the impact of their way of living, ideals and sensitivity in the drama is discernible. ‘wang : Rajasthan, Haryana, UP and Malwa ‘+ Swang is a folk dance drama of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, It incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry accompanied by song and dialogue. It is dialogue-oriented rather than movement-oriented, ‘+ Religious stories and folk tales are enacted by a group of ten or twelve persons in an open area or an open air theatre surrounded by the audience. The themes draw variously from themes of morality, folk tales, lives of inspiring personalities, stories from Indian mythology and in recent times, more current themes like health and hygiene, literacy, ete. ‘+The two important styles of Swang are from Rohtak and Haathras. In the style belonging to Rohtak, the language used is Haryanvi (Bangru) and in Haathras, itis Brajbhasha. Nautanki: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab etc. «In entire north India, it was the most popular entertainment art before arrival of Cinema. ‘The most popular centres of this traditional theatre form are Kanpur, Lucknow and Haathras. This popular art from has now dwindled and its existence is in threat. In contemporary times, the street plays resemble to the Nautankis. ‘© Generally, there is an intense melodic exchange between two or three performer is also used sometimes. The Storyline of traditional Nautankis range from mythological and chorus folk tales to stories of contemporary heroes. Raasleela : Uttar Pradesh ‘+ Rasleela is a theatre form of Uttar Pradesh. It is based exclusively on Lord Krishna legends. It is believed that Nand Das wrote the initial plays based on the life of Krishna. The dialogues in prose combined lly with songs and scenes from Krishna's pranks. bea £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 29| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Maach, Madhya Pradesh ‘+ Maach isa traditional theatre form of Madhya Pradesh. The term Maach is used for the stage itself as also for the play. In this theatre form songs are given prominence in between the dialogues. The term for dialogue in this form is bol and rhyme in narration is termed vanag. The tunes of this theatre form are known as rangat. Ramman, Uttarakhand Ramman is a folk theatre of Uttarakhand, It is a multiform cultural event combining theatre, music, historical reconstructions, and traditional oral and written tales. It is celebrated every year in Baisakh month (april) in the courtyard of the temple of Bhumiyal Devta situated in Chamoli Uttarakhand.Mask dance performed exclusively by the Bhandaris (Ksatriya caste), Ramman has been also included in the UNESCO Representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Jatra, Bengal Jatra refers to the musical plays performed at fairs in honour of gods, or religious rituals and ceremonies. This dance-drama born and flourished in Bengal. Krishna Jatra became popular due to Chaitanya's influence. Later, however, worldly love stories too, found a place in Jatra. The earlier form of Jatra has been musical. Dialogues were added at later stage.The actors themselves describe the change of scene, the place of action, etc. Bhaona Bhaona is a traditional form of musical theatre with religious messages. It is performed in Assam and one can see the glimpses of culture of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan in this folk dance drama. In this form, the narrator called Sutradhar begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese. The actors are called Bhaoriya, ‘Ankiya Nat It is a single act drama, in which several characters get involved giving active role to only one of the performers. This dance is a classic mixture of music & words, which were interspersed by small dialogues and descriptive matter by a sutradhara for each time. The Sutradhara of an Ankiya Nat plays an important role, since he recites slokas, sings dances and explains every act of the play in prose. istrict, Bhavai is partly entertainment and partly a ritual offering made to Goddess Amba, In the courtyard of the Ambaji temple near Mount Abu the Navratri festival is celebrated with Bhavai performances. Amba is the presiding deity of Bhavai Tamasha ‘Tamasha is a traditional folk theatre form of Maharashtra, It has evolved from the folk forms such as Gondhal, Jagran and Kirtan. Unlike other theatre forms, in Tamaasha the female actress is the £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 30| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music chief exponent of dance movements in the play. She is known as Murki. Classical music, footwork at lightning-speed, and vivid gestures make it possible to portray all the emotions through dance. ‘The themes of Tamasha have been used in some Marathi films also, Dashavatar, Goa and Konkan Dashavatar Is a popular theatre form of the Konkan and Goa regions. The performers personify the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu-the god of preservation and creativity. Apart from stylized make- up, the Dashavatar performers wear masks of wood and papier mache, Krishnattam, Kerala Krishanattam is the folk theatre of Kerala, It came Into existence in 17th century under the patronage of King Manavada of Calicut. Krishnattam is a cycle of eight plays performed for eight consecutive days, presenting the story of lord Krishna. The plays are Avataram, Kaliamandana, Rasa krida, kamasavadha, Swayamvaram, Bana Yudham, Vivida Vadham, and Swargarohana. Mudiyettu Mudiyettu is a traditional ritual theatre and folk dance drama from Kerala that enacts the mythological tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika, The ritual is a part of the Bhagavathi or bhadrakali cult. It is performed in Kerala's Bhagvati Kavus, the temples of the Mother Goddess, between February and May after the harvesting season. In 2010 Mudiyettu was inscribed in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, becoming the second art form from Kerala after Koodiyattam, The seven characters in Mudiyettu: Shiva, Narada, Darika, Danavendra, Bhadrakali, Kooli and Koimbidar (Nandikeshvara) are all heavily made-up. Theyyam ‘Theyyam is a traditional and extremely popular folk theatre form of Kerala. The word "Theyyam' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Daivam’ meaning God. Hence it is called God's dance, Theyyam is performed by various castes to appease and worship spirits of ancestors, folk heroes. One of the distinguishing features of Theyyam is the colourful costume and awe-inspiring headgears (mudi) nearly 5 to 6 feet high made of arecanut splices, bamboos, leaf sheaths of arecanut and wooden planks and dyed into different strong colours using turmeric, wax and arac. Koodiyaattam/ Kuttiyaattam Koodiyattam is one of the oldest traditional theatre forms of Kerala and is based on Sanskrit theatre traditions. The characters of this theatre form are: Chakyaar or actor, Naambiyaar, the instrumentalists and Naangyaar, those taking on women's roles. The Sutradhar or narrator and the Vidushak or Jesters are the protagonists. It is the Vidushak alone who delivers the dialogues. Emphasis on hand gestures and eye movements makes this dance and theatre form unique. It was UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 31] Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music Yakshagaana Yakshagana is the traditional theatre form of Karnataka. It is based on mythological stories and Puranas. The most popular episodes are from the Mahabharata i.e. Draupadi swayamvar, Subhadra vivah, Abhimanyu vadh, Karna- Arjun yuddh and from Ramayana te. Raajyaabhishek, Lav-kush Yuddh, Baall- Sugreeva yuddha and Panchavati Therukoothu Theukoothu, literally meaning street play, is the most popular form of folk drama of Tamil Nadu. It is mostly performed at the time of annual temple festivals of Mariamman (Rain goddess) to achieve rich harvest. At the core of the extensive repertoire of Therukoothu there is a cycle of eight plays based on the life of Draupadi. Kattiakaran, the Sutradhara of the Therukoothu performance, gives the gist of the play to the audience and Kamali entertains the audience with his buffoonery. \Veedhi Natakam In Telugu, ‘Veedhi’ means ‘street or an open place’. Since the plays on Bhagavan were performed in an open place, therefore, they were called Veedhi Natakam. The plays were performed by Bhagathas, who were devotees of Bhagwan, so they were sometimes also referred as Veedhi Bhagavathams. It is the most popular folk theatre form of Andhra Pradesh. Burrakatha/ Harikatha Harikatha is a storytelling play used in villages of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The term “burra’ is used for tambura, a musical string instrument with a hollow shell and *katha’ means story. It is a narrative entertainment that consists of prayers, solo drama, dance, songs, poems and jokes, Burrakatha tellers are called as budagajangalu, The topic will be either « Hindu mythological story or a contemporary social problem. It played an effective role in conveying message to people and awakening them during Indian Independence Movement, atte assets Hats as asi CMMWME 2 aeas PUNO MPS au:e test Hat HasHistciat Hittite ‘This section includes inpats from hitp://ccrtindiaasov.in In Puppet Theatre various forms, known as puppets, are used to illustrate the narratives. In India, the roots of the puppet theatre lie in a dancer's mask. Excavations at several Harappan sites have revealed a number of toys whose body parts can be manipulated with strings. ‘There are basic four kinds of puppets used in India as follows: ‘+ String Puppets - This includes Kathputli of Rajasthan, Kundhei of Odisha, Gombeyetta of Karnataka and Bomallattam art of Tamil Nadu. ‘+ Shadow Puppets - This includes the Togalu Gombeyatta of Karnataka, Tholu Bommalata of Andhra Pradesh, Ravanachhaya of Odisha ‘+ Rod Puppets - This includes Putul Nautch of West Bengal and Yampuri of Bihar ‘+ Glove Puppets - Important form is Pavakoothu of Kerala £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 32| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘The puppeteer narrates his story in verse or prose, while the puppets provide the visual treat. Stories adapted from puranic literature, local myths and legends usually form the content of traditional puppet theatre in India which, in turn, imbibes elements of all creative expressions like painting, sculpture, music, dance, drama, ete. The presentation of puppet programmes involves the creative efforts of many people working together. String Puppets String puppets are also called as marionettes. Marionettes having jointed limbs controlled by strings allow far greater flexibility and are, therefore, the most articulate of the puppets. Rajasthan, Orissa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are some of the regions where this form of puppetry has flourished. Kathputli, Rajasthan Carved from a single piece of wood, these puppets are like large dolls that are colourfully dressed. ‘The Kathputli is accompanied by a highly dramatised version of the regional music, Oval faces, large eyes, arched eyebrows and large lips are some of the di legs. Puppeteers manipulate them with two to five strings which are normally inct facial features. These puppets wear long trailing skirts and do not have tied to their fingers and not to a prop or a support. Kundhei, Odisha Made of light wood, the Kundhei puppets of Odisha have no legs but wear long flowing La kirts. They have more joints and are, therefore, more versatile, articulate and easy to manipulate, The puppeteers often hold a wooden prop, triangular in shape, to which strings are attached for manipulation. The costumes of Kundhei resemble those worn by actors of the Jatra traditional theatre. The music is drawn from the popular tunes of the region and is sometimes influenced by the music of Odissi dance. = Gombeyatta, Kamataka Gombeyatta is a puppetry art of Karnataka. The puppets are styled and designed like the characters of Yakshagana theatre form of the region. The Gombeyatta puppet figures are highly stylized and have joints at the legs, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. These puppets are manipulated by five to seven strings tied to a prop. Some of the more complicated movements of the puppet are manipulated by two to three puppeteers at a time. Episodes enacted in Gombeyatta are usually based on Prasangas of the is dram ‘Yakshagana plays. The music that accompa and beautifully blends folk and classical elements. Bommalattam, Tamil Nadu Bommalattam combine the techniques of both rod and string puppets. They are made of wood and the strings for manipulation are tied to an iron ring which the puppeteer wears like a crown on his head .A few puppets have jointed arms and hands, which are manipulated by rods. The Bommalattam puppets are the largest, heaviest and the most articulate of all traditional Indian £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 33] Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music marionettes. A puppet may be as big as 45 feet in height weighing about ten kilograms. Bommalattam theatre has elaborate preliminaries which are divided into four parts - Vinayak Puja, Komal, Amanattam and Pusenkanattam, Shadow Puppets Shadow puppets are flat figures, cut out of leather, which has been treated to make it translucent. Shadow puppets are pressed against the screen with strong source of light behind it. The manipulation between the light and the screen make silhouettes or colourful shadows for the viewers who sit in front of the screen. This tradition of shadow puppets survives in Odisha Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Togalu Gombeyatta, Karnataka These puppets are mostly small in size. The puppets however differ in size according to their social status, for instance, large size for kings and religious characters and smaller size for common people or servants. Tholu Bommalata, Andhra Pradesh ‘The puppets are large in size and have jointed waist, shoulders, elbows and knees. They are coloured on both sides. Hence, these puppets throw coloured shadows on the screen. The music is dominantly influenced by the classical music of the region and the theme of the puppet plays are drawn from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. Ravanachhaya, Odisha ‘The puppets are in one piece and have no joints. Hence the manipulation requires great dexterity. They are not coloured, hence throw opaque shadows on the screen. The puppets are made of deer skin and are conceived in bold dramatic | poses, Apart from human and animal characters, many props such as trees, mountains, chariots te. are also used, Although, Ravanachhaya puppets are smaller in size-the largest not more than two feet have no jointed limbs, they create very sensitive and lyrical shadows. Rod Puppets Rod puppets are an extension of glove-puppets, but often much larger and supported and manipulated by rods from below. This form of puppetry now is found mostly in West Bengal and Orissa. Putul Nautch, West Bengal The Puppets are carved from wood and follow the various artistic styles of particular region. The Bengal rod-puppets are about 3 to 4 feet in height and are costumed like the actors of Jatra theatre form. These puppets have mostly three joints. The heads, supported by the main rod, is joined at the neck and both hands attached to rods are joined at the shoulders. ‘A bamboo-made hub is tied firmly to the waist of the puppeteer on which the rod holding the puppet is placed. The puppeteers each holding one puppet, stand behind a head-high curtain and £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 34| Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music while manipul puppets. While the puppeteers themselves sing and deliver the stylized prose dialogues, a group of musicians, usually three to four in numbers, sitting at the side of the stage provide the accompanying music with a drum, harmonium and cymbals. Yampuri, Bihar ‘These puppets are made of wood. Unlike the traditional Rod puppets of West Bengal, these puppets are in one piece and have no joints. As these puppets have no joints, the manipulation is different from other Rod puppets and requires greater dexterity. ing the rods also move and dance imparting corresponding movements to the Glove Puppets Glove puppets are also known as sleeve, hand or palm puppets. The head is made of Papier mache, cloth or wood, with two hands emerging from just below the neck. The rest of the figure consists of a long flowing skirt. The manipulation technique is simple. The movements are controlled by the human hand with the first finger inserted in the head and the middle finger and the thumb are the two arms of the puppet. The tradition of glove puppets in India is popular in Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala Pavakoothu, Kerala It came into existence during the 18th century due to the influence of Kathakali. In Pavakoothu, the height of a puppet varies from one foot to two feet. The head and the arms are carved of wood and joined together with thick cloth, cut and stitched into a small bag, The face of the puppet {s decorated with paints, small and thin pieces of gilded tin, the feathers of the peacock, etc. The musical instruments used during the performance are Chenda, Chengiloa, llathalam and Shankha. The theme for Glove puppet plays in Kerala is based on the episodes from either the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. Evolution of Veena through different stages Veena fs the most authentic of all Indian instruments and its origin can be traced to India’s Vedic period. This Indian instrument went through a very extensive period of evolution. The whole evolution process can be categorized in seven main stages. ‘+The first stage is called the Harp stage. In this stage, Veena was nothing but a musical bow with strings of different lengths tied to it which when plucked produced different sounds and became the Harp. But unlike the Western harp, the Indian one had no front pillar. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 35] Page‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music ‘+ The second stage of evolution saw the harp with a resonator where a gourd was fixed to the bow to amplify the sound. In the third stage came the tuning pegs in which the strings were tied to the pegs on one end and to the bow on the other end that made it possible for the player to increase or decrease the tension of the strings by turning the pegs. Then the idea of pressing the string at v It was only in the 8th century that the first vena with two large gourds emerged and this was the fourth stage of its evolution. These can be seen in pait evolutionary process was the discovery of Nissari veenas which consisted of plain fingerboard without frets and was played with a bow or by plucking. These can be seen in paintings in Ajanta caves. The Saari Veenas were discovered in the sixth stage. This new form veena had frets for the left half of the fingerboard, Paintings of these veenas can be seen in South India’s Halebid and Belur sculptures. In the seventh stage came the modern veena . This is the veena with 24 fixed frets and a Meru, Modern Veena is widely used in today’s contemporary world. An area of life-long learning, Veena-playing is an area of life-long learning and may be this is the reason due to which this art is facing challenges in a world of increasing pace. 51 ox) us places to produce different sound came and the Lute emerged. ‘ngs of Ellora caves. The next stage of the Adherence to rules in Folk music versus classical mu India is a multifarious country of different types of people with different languages, cultures, beliefs, habits, religions, traditions and rituals. Folk music is also diversified because of India's vast cultural diversity. ‘+ Due to its rural connections, folk music has its own importance in the contemporary India. Folk music is a rustic reflection of the larger Indian society. It is genuine and it may not have strict rules and is part of the basic human society. ‘+ Folk music is very different from classical music. Unlike classical Indian music which is bound by certain laws and restrictions having a definite standard and scales, the folk music {is not bound by laws or any set pattern. With flexibility in its expressions, it has different forms depending on the region it belongs to. Folk music has its peculiar expressions and emotions and has established a tradition of its own. ‘+ Classical music can be effective only if the musician renders the raga in its various stages and ‘moods. The emotions in classical music are expressed through a particular raga, though the lyric or composition has its own importance, However, this is not the case with folk music. In folk music, the musical notes have less value and the poetic content has greater impact and rhythm plays a very important rule, Folk music is borne out of the heart of the common ‘man which does not lay down any rules: (@34wor) Musical stone pillars in temples Indian temples are very famous for their musical stone pillars. These beautiful pillars emit musical notes ‘when tapped, which makes these temple pillars unique and exceptional. These gracefully carved and highly decorated stone pillars are considered to be audio marvels. They ate found in the courtyards within £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in‘General Studies Manual for UPSC and Stale Public Servioe Examinations Indian Culture-6: Musie, Dance, Drama and Folk Music the temple campus and there is generally a single pillar is separated into columns or smaller, slender pillars, These musical pillars are four types: Sruthisthamba (used during Puja along with “shangu and Yeakalum”), Ganasthamb, Layasthamba and Pradharasana sthamba (used to knew the ragas, each pillar sounds different). These pillars are mainly found in South Indian temples. Historians believe that the original pillars were prepared during the Vijayanagar era and Hampi, the ancient capital of the Vijayanagar dynasty, was the place where earliest musical stone pillars were made. The Sthapathis or sculptors of this era were exemplary eraftsmen, They were well versed in the science of building acoustics. They thoroughly search for stones with different resonance and worked with these stones in order to create fascinating musical stone pillars. They experimented with these rare stones and therefore they had to carve upon them with reat agility and skill to produce such unique marvels, Apart from their music producing quality, these stone pillars are also praised for their beautiful carvings and sculptures. Modern trends in Indian classical music Classical music is definitely not the preferential form of music amongst the general populace today still there are countless Indian classical musicians and singers who are well respected and heard even in contemporary times. The classical music managed to survive despite the fact that it requires rigorous practice and devotion. Some believe that the reason solely responsible for this survival is the Indian guru- shishva tradition in which a teacher or guru is given the utmost form of respect and student or shishya in which a adhere to his teachings. Some other reasons for its survival are @ highly scientific structure wit musician could operate with total freedom, the aesthetic appeal of the music, the melodies and the ‘unmistakable spiritual aspect of the music. the Indian classical music. There After Indian Independence, several attempts were made to re was a movement to re-popularize music with the entire population. However, with time the modern society gradually began to take over newer forms of media. The Indian government has made consistent efforts to revive the classical arts but the present trend completely turned the face of Indian music around. There is a very popular perception that Indian classical music is ‘too cerebral’ or 'too heavy’, Nevertheless, recent times have seen a resurging interest in the field, An increase in the number of artists indulging in fusion and a growing number of organizations dedicated to spreading the richness of the tradition has helped revive interest in classical music. ‘The Indian classical music tradition is still there, having survived so many adversities. £2013 Sues on A RightsReserved [Ema sareshogtaday in 37| Page