Indian Music-

Origin of music, in India, according to legend, is traced to the shabdha brahma, Om. Indian music has strong connections with religious traditions and faiths. Innumerable compositions extolling the wonders and beautitude of the Supreme. Being have been sung in Purandara Dasa padas, Tyagaraja kritis, Sadashiva Brahmendra tatva padams, Sufi recitations and Christian carols. In tribal societies, from birth to death, songs, dances and musical instruments are used to mark every occasion. The origins of classical music are also traced back to tribal tunes and songs.

There are two systems of classical music in India, the Carnatic and the Hindustani. Indian classical music is complex and rich with direct emotional appeal. Carnatic music is kriti based and saahitya (lyric) oriented, while Hindustani music emphasises the musical structure and the possibilities in it. For the not-so-hard-core classical music fan, Indian music provides the ghazals and thumris as light classical music. These are supplemented by folk music, bhajans and kirtans. Indian classical music is used for dance-dramas also.

Hindustani classical music in its present day form is the result of a long process of integrating many, diverse cultural influences in India. The impact of Mughal rulers on classical music was primarily through the introduction of Turko-Persian musical elements that distinguishes Hindustani classical music from its predecessor, Carnatic classical music. Carnatic classical music is more common in southern India. Historical roots of both Hindustani and Carnatic classical music traditions stem from Bharata's Naatyashaastra (4th Century B.C.). The two traditions started to diverge only around 14th Century A.D.

Indian musicians, whether from north or south, essentially regard their music as a means of spiritual exploration, a path of realisation, in addition to deriving aesthetic enjoyment. The music is not preconceived but pre-written. While the underlying notes are pre-written, within the framework of the rules governing the raaga, the musician has complete freedom to exercise full imagination and creativity. As the famous Hindustani Sarod artist Ustad Amjad Ali Khan puts it succintly, "Freedom within discipline." The composer's intent is written, but the conception of the music from it is left to the performer.

Be it Carnatic or Hindustani classical music, Indian classical music reflects Indian life, having no predetermined beginning or end, but flowing uninterrupted through the composer-performer. The purpose of Indian classical music is to refine one's soul, discipline one's body, to make one aware of the infinite with one to unite one's breath with that of space and one's vibrations with that of the cosmos.