It is virtually impossible to accurately trace the genealogy of what is today commonly known as Indian classical music – a hybrid entity that it is neither monolithic nor coherent. There is no written history to go by, only sculpture, paintings, crumbling manuscripts and a host of anecdotal references that are coloured by different biases and personal histories. Even the stories surrounding gharanas (schools of music) and ragas have an element of fantasy surrounding them, whether it is the legendary tale of Tansen singing Raga Megh to bring on the rain to his parched kingdom, or the story of how Alladiya Khan created the Jaipur gharana after he lost his voice. For this writer, an understanding of Hindustani classical music came from reading about it, but also from the colourful stories that my teacher, Dhondutai Kulkarni, told over the years about herself and her teachers, the great Kesarbai Kerkar and the Alladiya Khan family of Kolhapur, creators of the Jaipur gharana.
Like so many other monuments and myths, the narrative changes based on who is telling the story. For example, a scholar-musician who has spent the last twenty years trying to compile an encyclopaedia of Indian music (which has finally been published this year, by Sangit Mahabharati) was confounded by the absence of factual information. Was the sitar invented by the Persian poet Amir Khusro or does it have roots in the Subcontinent? What is the origin of the word aalaap, which refers to the slow cadences with which a musician lays out the raga? Some Muslim artistes insist that it comes from 'Allah aap' (Allah, you respected one). Hindus, on the other hand, trace its roots to the Dhrupad Dhamar tradition, a form of classical music believed to have evolved in the 15th century, under Raja Mansingh Tomar in Gwalior. And did a particular raga come from what was then Persia – given that the same melodic framework seems to exist in the Subcontinent, though under a different name? So often, one listens to a recital by, say, an Iranian musician, and finds stunning similarities in Hindustani music.
The truth is, no one quite knows the precise history of this great tradition. Like a tumultuous river, Indian classical music has gathered different influences along the way, and seamlessly merged them into its flow. Most musicologists agree that the basic swara, or note, originated in ancient Hindu Vedic chanting. The chants developed into organised groups of notes, which eventually became ragas. Just as in the West, organised music emerged as a medium to praise divinity, initially sung in places of worship. The compositions praised god; the audience comprised the devotees. Gradually, between the 12th and 14th centuries, the music moved to the royal courts and developed into a sombre, stately style called dhrupad, accompanied by a baritone pakhwaj drum. Around this time, the texts of the compositions also started to change. For instance, the music sung in the temples was about the gods, while that sung before the king would praise him or describe worldly subjects such as marriage and love.
Firmly syncretic
The music of the Subcontinent started to transform quite dramatically around the 14th century, when the Mughal dynasty from Central Asia established itself in the region and held sway for the next three or four centuries. Inevitably, the cultural landscape began to change, as elements from Islam inspired the architectural aesthetic, dress habits, food and, of course, music, irrevocably altering its rendition. The musician and mystic poet Amir Khusrau, started to meld Islamic motifs into the local music. He inspired many new ragas, drawing from Persian melodies and ideologies. He also created new genres within the Dhrupad style, replacing traditional Indian compositions with Persian verses and couplets. Both Hindus and Muslims regard him as a saint-singer.