Popularization of Indian Classical Music
A commentary on the growth and rise of Indian music in popular domain
– By Samarth Nagarkar
Indian classical music, as is common knowledge, is a tradition that dates back several centuries. It has evolved from time to time and responded in a tenacious manner, to constantly changing social, political and economic dynamics. What is it that enabled a musical system that is so traditional in its core to survive and remain resolute in the wake of adversities such as cultural invasions, imperial colonization and an unprecedented extent of globalization? And more importantly, as practitioners of this art form, where do we stand in this journey?
It has been a long standing notion that Indian classical music was meant for a niche group of listeners who possess some degree of knowledge of the music and its various technical details. This opinion possibly had more to do with circumstance than with the essence of the music itself.
Until the early 20th century, Maharajas and land owners, known as Zamindaars, were the main patrons of musicians. Under their patronage and care musicians, their disciples and their families were well looked after. By the end of the 19th century, at the peak of the British Raj, the Indian Kingdoms and States collapsed. The isolation of classical music and musicians was among various social consequences of this collapse. With no patrons, their economic standing in society began to dwindle and consequently, so did their social status and respectability. Pursuit of music and arts came to be looked down upon in society. As a natural reaction of a society whose economic freedom and right to a motherland were being seized, art and music were placed on the backburner.
Two towering personalities, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande and Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, emerged in the early 20th century. They changed the course of this musical tradition forever. They gave contemporary music a theoretical basis, wrote treatises in Sanskrit as well as in popular languages and most importantly, initiated an institutional training methodology. Classical music came to be taught on a mass scale in schools and colleges. People from middle class families began to understand that this was not a forbidden art, but something that was sublime and that had the ability to enhance one’s intellect and spirit. Around the same time radio, gramophone companies, and other media brought classical music further into the domain of common society.
By the mid 60’s this was a widely appreciated form of music across independent India. The 70’s saw the advent of the first generation of ‘superstars’ in Indian classical music. It was then that the glamor of show business entered this music. Mainstream newspapers carried large front page articles on music events and musicians. In large numbers, musicians were exploring newer and greater avenues to travel abroad and take their art overseas. Collaborations with international musicians and groups took Indian classical music to wider global audiences.
By the 1980s, several Indian classical musicians had begun to relocate to different countries in the west, including the United States. They established schools. Very quickly, they built up a strong fan following as well as student base. This eventually led to universities and other formal educational institutions opening their doors for Indian music. The study of Indian music as a part of ethnomusicology became increasingly popular. Through this period, and for decades thereafter, the number of musicians traveling to the US and Europe for concert tours steadily increased. Serious music organizations came to thrive, giving music lovers in the US opportunities to listen to good Indian classical music throughout the year.
Over the last decade or so, a new crop of performing Indian classical musicians emerged in the US. These musicians were born and raised in this country. They trained under highly accomplished gurus who either traveled to the US every year or had migrated here. These musicians have a far better understanding of the social, professional and other factors in this country than an emigrant musician. Their networks and ability to relate to local society makes them more accessible to music listeners and students. This has opened up unlimited potential for Indian classical music to become popular in common households. This is indeed a curious situation that remains to be watched as it unfolds in the decades to come.
Through the past two centuries that were discussed in this article, the core of the music – the raga and the system of unfolding and exploring it – was never compromised. This is despite the fact that there was no dearth of innovators. But now, this threat looms large. In the quest for novelty, and with a perceived need for some sort of innovation, contemporary musicians are sometimes willing to risk crossing lines that may erode the very essence of this music. The great masters of Indian classical music attained legendary status with their creative innovations without relinquishing the soul of this music. They created new styles and techniques, brought in a fresh approach to their presentation and even added to the repertoire of ragas and compositions. And all through, one sees their strict adherence to parameters set within the tradition. It is crucial and imperative for every musician today to look within and ensure, with utmost sincerity, that the integrity of this music is guarded and not compromised under the pretext of popularization, out-reach, or innovation. Change and innovation notwithstanding, it must remain pristine.
regular irregularity… but natural?
Someone once said, “We are what we regularly and repeatedly do”. I regularly get bouts of blogging, and repeatedly go into days without anything to write about. I think a lot, but blog not so regularly. I am regularly irregular with blogging. what does that make me?
I used to write so much and used to enjoy the process of articulating my thoughts so much. I used to like it. It helped clear my head. So I started blogging everytime I had something to say, mostly for my own sake. if it was personal in nature I wouldnt put it up on the blog, but I’d write nevertheless. And then, suddenly, just as my blog was out there and people were beginning to respond to it (stats showed a single day hit count of 176 at one point, despite only about 5 -6 articles), something happened. The more those thoughts became clear they stopped translating into words. I see now that they were being directly – and more vigourously than ever – transformed into works or action. Karma or Kriya. And ever since, I realise, I dont feel that urge to write. The action takes it all away. It has all become so internal.
I feel more involved in whatever I do. I feel the action and the process of growth it generates itself gives me a high. There is a constant feeling of movement. I observed this pattern in myself years ago. I could feel this strongly during my years of learning as a disciple of two of the most distinguished gurus of Indian classical vocal music. I often saw there was a sort of ebb and flow in the movement. Suddenly i would find myself being on a high. Everything so intense and productive. Taleem (learning) sessions were intense as I felt I was able to absorb so much more than I did before, grasp so much more than I could before, the concentration of my energies was at a new level. Practice sessions were focussed and there was a definite perceivable gain in the efforts. Everything felt right. And as this went on.. suddenly one day I used to find that it was a long time since I felt that way. Everything was harder. Focus and concentration were ellusive. Growth was scant. Though all felt normal, “that” factor was missing. Couldn’t explain it, but I knew something was definitely amiss. I could do nothing about it, except keep going until invariable I used find that state again.
This cycle was clearly a regular feature in my life as a student, as a sadhaka. I wondered if this was normal. But when I try to figure the cause, it seems logical. In music, and probably in most arts and any form of sadhana, there is no such thing as achievment. There is only attainnment. One can attain a certain state or level or excellence. Why else would an enlightened soul such as a Buddha or Adi Shankara continue to maintain strict discipline in their lives. They had attained That. It cannot be achieved. And in this process, we probably grow one step at a time. We have questions, goals, targets. We work towards them. As we begin to find the answers, we feel great. We feel fulfilled for a while. but we canot but move forwards – either towards degeneration or towards further growth. Things change. And if you are lucky, if the Gurus’ grace is indeed by your side, you realise that this is the time of the ebb. We feel new questions forming, new goals and targets come in sight and once again the process to seek them starts.
We all probably go through this. My efforts have been to increase the frequency of feeling that high and staying that way while always keeping an eye on the road ahead. Never to let a feeling of comfort set in during those highs. It probably has helped in maintaining a solid frame of mind for extended periods of time.
For the first time in my life I have been outside of the physical presence of my gurus for six months at a stretch. Ever since my initiation into the first notes of music, I have practiced in the presence or under the watchful care, monitoring and guidance of my gurus. It might have been for a maximum of a month or two, during performing tours that there was a distance, but that was always different. This is new turf.
The last thing my guru said to me as i left Kolkata was “Remember, you have to ensure a certain frame of mind. Remember your most intense days of learning with Kaikini ji in Mumbai or here with me in Kolkata. Everytime you sing or practice, transport yourself into the heart of those days”. That’s the mantra?
aaee basant kee bahaar…
and suddenly everything around seems so beautiful. spring and sra have something going…
i look out of my window, and i see a carpet of pink, white and yellow flowers strewn on the ground.. the weather’s perfect. the light is perfect. birds chirping away… i mean..its almost picture perfect just now.
the lawns are full and lush. the best thing about all the trees around is the dual-colour. the fresh new leaves bear a brilliant pure green, so full of health and life. defining youth, as it were. and there is the older generation of dark green leaves on the same trees that are slowly withering away and making room for the fresh new ones. everyday the proportion of the lighter, brighter, happier green increases.
anyone who’s been to sra will at once recollect the drastic change in atmosphere just outside the gate and within. its like entering a magic box, insulated from the chaos and pandemonium of the street outside. It becomes completely peaceful and transforms your state of mind and being instantly. and then this beauty all around. i wont even begin to describe the flowers here. hats off to the malis. but other than that, even the natural flowers ad to the magic.
i must have seen at least 15 varieties of birds here. koyal, myna, doves and kites are common. but we also see night-herons, drongos, varieties of parrots, bulbul, the papeeha (hawk cuckoo), wood-peckers, babblers, the rare coucal or crow pheasant (bharadwaj) and of course a couple of white owls by night. i cant remember any more just now.. or i dont know some of their names. but they’re all there singing along to make real music at sra.
take a stroll around and u hear this beautiful orchestra of birds. u look around and the gardens and lawns invite you to join them in their pleasure of just being so pure and connected to mother nature. u look up and behold a sky of flames to the west and a cool blue sky with a shy moon lurking on the eastern horizon. and then of course, every few metres you go on, you hear a tanpura playing and a voice striving to merge with it just as everything around is, with nature. you hear a sarod relentlessly strumming away notes that go closer to perfection with every repetition.
i come back to my den and with a heart brimming with this joy and with gratitude towards the beauty around for letting me into its spirit, i sit with the tanpura and resume my own quest for that Perfection.
Today, i felt i should first share this before beginning my riaz. So here goes…
Slamdog Millionaire
The whole world has woken up to the fact that Indian Cinema is a force to contend with. However, is it right to give Slumdog Millionaire the credit of having achieved this for us? While it is quite right to say that this film has improved global perception of Indian cinema, this view is limited to the contribution of a few Indian individuals like the technician, Mr. Pookutty and the one-and-only Rehman. (It is a British film, for crying out loud!) These people have won their awards purely on the merit of their skill. It is heartening to see an Indian technician competing with the best in the world and receiving mighty accolades as this. It was even more heartening to hear him speak at the Oscars.
I watched the movie before any of the debates had begun. There was nothing I had heard about it to harbour any bias towards or against the film. Yet, as I walked out of the multiplex, though I could recognise the fact that it was indeed a well-made film, I felt a tremendous anger within. I would not go as far as to connect it with mighty and clichéd words like patriotism. But, yes, it was the Indian in me that revolted to any appreciation other than technical.
In the days and weeks that followed, one has witnessed, heard and even been a part of innumerable debates regarding the portrayal of the Indian nation. The Indian populace has become very liberal. They have become open enough to look at cinema purely as art, quite conveniently. They saw nothing wrong in the depiction of India. I wondered every time I spoke to these people, if they were actually being liberal or if they were just insensitive. I concluded, it was, in most cases, the latter.
Third world! A taboo word almost. And that’s what I would have perceived of India from watching this film, had I not been an Indian. Agreed we have slums. Agreed, we had fraudulent practices. Agreed, we have nasty underworld that uses slum children to beg and go as far as blinding them in horrendous beastly ways. By all means cinema has the right to portray these truths. These are real problems and India is not in denial. We acknowledge this situation. But is there all there is to show?
You go all out to show the filth, what with shit ponds and open sewer pipes. But why is there not a single scene in the film that shows Marine Drive or any of the thriving locales of Bombay. Mumbai is India’s financial capital! It’s an important hub in International finance and economy. Why then isn’t there a single mention of the development? Oh there is!!! The older brother of Jamal sits atop a building in construction and shows off to his little brother, the sprawling complexes and multi-storied towers and buildings standing tall, in the same area that once comprised of their slum. But guess what? He proudly tell Jamal that all of that belongs to the underworld. It’s the underworld who owns all of that, he says. So what is the message? Whatever development we hear of, is gratis the underworld? Nothing to do with India shining, India booming and what have you? After killing their tormentor and freeing the poor girl, they run to a hotel. The hotel is deserted! The doors of the rooms in the hotel have swipe slots. So presumably, it is not a cheap hotel, but a star hotel. With no light? No attendants? No reception? I wonder?!! I wonder?!!
The thriving BPO industry!? “Hello! Never trust the Indian BPO!” says the Slumdog Millionaire, “They let “chai-walas” answer calls, posing as technicians! They lie!”
Some people felt the film was very intellectual in subtly portraying important events in Mumbai’s history. They showed the emergence of Amitabh Big-B as a superstar. They showed the Hindu-Muslim riots during the Babri Masjid – Ram Janma Bhoomi tragedy. But wait. Why did they not show Hindus being attacked my Muslims in the riot? Why did they only show Hindu extremists attack the Muslim slums? In addition, wasn’t the “Mumbai Bomb blasts of 1992” a major tragedy in the history of Mumbai as well? Perpetrated by the underworld dons and Terrorists? (I refrain from the temptation to point out that the dons and the terrorists were Muslim.) Why then would this singular event be of such interest to the makers of the film? To show a little boy dressed as Ram holding the bow and arrow (he actually dressed so elaborately in the middle of a riot!) to provide the answer Jamal would one day need? Remarkable intellect, indeed!
A waiter at a restaurant comes in with an order for, among other things, a bottle of mineral water. And most casually, he fills tap water in a used bottle and seals it with glue. Most arguments to this have been, “Well, its true. It actually happens!” I cannot refute it. Viewed by itself, maybe seems a harmless take on cheap hotels. However, in the midst of this incessant India-bashing through out the film, this only re-iterates the depiction of India and all its industries as spurious. Who can give me an assurance that this is not done in Europe, London or in the US? If you cannot, then would you be able to point out one filmmaker from these countries who might have had the courage or heart to show this on camera? And even if you might manage that, show me one such film that might have been raised to the skies and even awarded an Oscar!!! For Christ’s Sake!!
In one of these discussions, when all defence against my criticisms failed, one said, “it is after all an adaptation of a book (Q & A)! So they’ve shown whatever is in the book!” now I have not read the book (and frankly don’t intend to). So I cannot comment on that either. Presuming they have stuck to what the book says, I wonder since when filmmakers became so loyal to the books. Haven’t filmmakers in the past edited screenplays to accommodate sensitive areas? To my knowledge, they always have. I have rarely come across a film that follows the book as it were a Bible.
This depiction of Indian society and Indian cities is sinister. It is a deliberate attempt to cast a slur on the global image that India has built for itself. Despicable, to say the least.
Two of the most incinerating lines in the film were the ridiculous “You wanted to see the real India? This is the real India.” And the response to this is an American woman flashing a Dollar note in charity to the boy saying, “Now I’ll show you the real America”.
The real America did honour this, indeed, by handing out several Oscars to Slumdog Millionaire.
My path…
Not my way of salvation, to surrender the world!
Rather for me the taste of Infinite Freedom
While yet I am bound by a thousand bonds to the wheel…
In each glory of sound and light and scent
I shall find Thy infinite joy abiding:
My passion shall burn as the flame of salvation,
The flower of my love shall become the ripe fruit of devotion.
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