Question

Essay on the composition of Indian music

Answer 1

Indian music serves as the best accompaniment to classical dances and dramas of India. Dance combines in itself action, song, mime and rhythm. A classical dance, like Indian classical music is dominated by the tala concept. Hence, the importance of music in dancing is great.

Indian music is based on melody. It is built on raga and tala concepts. In spirit it is individualistic. The content of the phrases is largely devotional. There are two major systems of classical music, the Hindustani system and the Carnatak system. The differences between them are more in practice than their theoretical foundation. The most famous are Bharata’s Natya Shastra and Sarangdeva’s Sangeet. Both systems have shown great assimilative power. They have also mutually influenced each other. The Hindustani system is prevalent over the whole of north and east of India while the upper half of Deccan has been more exposed to Persian influence.