India is a nation with rich history, various languages, diverse cultures, and multiple religions, but how did this all come about in such a big country? In this essay I will analyze how the region of India, specifically North India, had integrated the Indo-Islamic Music system throughout Indian history. In addition, I will also discuss the transformation of Indian classical music.. Indian classical music dates back to ancient times,nearly four thousand years ago. The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas as Jon Ruckert noted, “But for musicians, it was the sound of the language, Sanskrit, which was Preeminent with specific emphasis on the independent syllables of that language. Especially important among these was the syllable om, sometimes spelled aum, which stands for the sound of the infinite and eternal cosmos itself”(Ruckert, 2004). Traditions, customs, and other societal norms control Indian classical music.
The basis of Indian Classical Music is focused on two distinct styles of music: Carnatic and Hindustani. Hindustani classical music has historically been regarded as an entertainment solely for the Indian feudal aristocrats, who provided patronage for the musicians. The Indian aristocracy nurtured classical music as their own, with the millions of people beyond that context not exposed to the music (Ruckert 2004). The culture surrounding the music was submerged in traditional structures, with the musicians having impactful social positions. Bonnie Wade notes in Published book Kyal in 1984, “The patronage of artists – musicians, dancers, poets – by the rulers was an enduring tradition, in both Hindu and Muslim courts”(Wade, 1984).
This is important as it reflects how the Indo-Islamic System spread so quickly throughout India. Throughout this era, musicians increasingly received patronage in the courts of the new rulers, who in their turn, began taking interest in local musical forms. While many initial generations may have been loyal to cultural traditions outside of India, many aspects from Hindu culture associated with their kingdom were gradually adopted. Therefore, the feudal tradition of India helped spur the fusion of Hindu and Muslim to bring forth an Indo-Inslamic musical system, and in turn brought about new forms of musical styles like qawwali and khyal. In turn, these new musical styles were widely accepted thus integrating the Indo-Islamic music system into North India further
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During the time of feudal India, traditional structures of classical music were very limited and regimented. The greater population had no access to the classical music of India. This severely limited the potential for competition and creativity. As Jon Barlow noted in a Economic & Politics Weekly article on May 2007, “Hindustani music, distinguished by the primacy of ragas, use of regional dialects, and by the integration of Indo-Islamic elements, mature under the Imperial mughal patronage” (Barlow, 2007).
The wide range and complex content of Indian music was not restricted merely to India. It was also influenced by countries like Persia and Afghanistan. The ‘Sufi’ influence in Hindustani music during the medieval period was fused with ideas from Persian music, particularly through the influence of Sufi composers like Amir Khusru and Tansen. However, Amir Khusru is erroneously referred to as the inventor of the sitar and tabla and numerous musical forms such as khayal and tarana. The Hindustani music that developed during the time of the Moghul period is based on the rich Indian tradition and its interaction with Moghul influences.During the rule of Moghul emperor Akbar, Hindustani music reached its zenith, mainly due to Mian Tansen , who was one of the nine jewels in Akbar’s court.
It was during this era that Hindustani music, like an everlasting river “the interconnectedness of musical practices was reflected in the organisation of musical profession”(Barlow, 2007), absorbed many streams of varied musical genres such as Dhrupad, Dhamar and Khayal. Many semi-classical music genres also came into vogue during the period of Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah Rangila. These were Thumri, Dadra, Hori, Sawan and Chaiti. The obliteration of the feudal structures and the modern day transformation to grant access to the greater population offer an immense potential for innovation within Hindustani classical music.
Unlike several other lands where the dominant human cultures tended to absorb or eliminate others, but throughout India the tendency has been to nurture diversity, which has been favoured by the diversity of the country’s ecological regimes. Powerful kingdoms and enumerable dynasties, contributed to the shaping of India’s cultural regions.Since the late medieval period India witnessed a creative synthesis of Hindu and Islamic civilizations and thus grew a composite tradition, a pluralistic synthesis of the Indo-Islamic tradition including inter-faith convergence. There are two interrelated dimensions of the Indo- Islamic tradition. On the one hand, it manifested itself in syncretistic traditions of music, art, literature and architecture, and on the other, it found expression in folklore, dress patterns, food habits, names and surnames. If we turn to the rural landscape we discover the distribution of material traits at the regional level indicating a certain complementarities in that it is marked by both local differentiation and interpenetration.
