Indian music and its development
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Development of Indian Music has been a slow and steady process down the ages. There can be discerned an element of continuity between the ancient and modern periods. In fact it has been seen that even now, there is hardly a book written on India music which does not reiterate the divine origins of music and the details of melodic theory given in Bharata's Natyasastra, written sometime between the second century B.C. and the sixth century A.D.13.
Since the second millennium B.C., when a group of related tribes known as the Aryans began to settle among the original Dravidian peoples and other indigenous tribes on the then sparsely settled land, the subcontinent has been populated by Aryan and Dravidian ethnic offshoots. These agricultural and pastoral groups moved constantly, searching for land, security, and riches. As the various groups settled down, India began to resemble a giant ethnic patchwork quilt, for it housed an incredible variety of local and regional cultures. The Aryan influence gradually became the dominant one; even the Dravidian peoples, who were pushed south by the more aggressive Aryans, adopted elements of the Indo-European culture and language. Sanskritisation was seen in almost the entire sub-continent, and this provided a kind of homogenous environment for the spread of philosophy and culture. In Aryan India (1500-500 B.C.), music played a rather important role. It was employed during sacrificial rites and rituals when recitations and songs were sung. In the earliest times, it seems that the main singers were women, and they were usually the wives of the Sama Vedic priests. Later, this task came to be performed by the Udgatrs or the male priests. The women in the religious sphere now functioned as singers and dancers, especially in the 9th century when temples became cultural centres. Even in the royal courts and homes the performing arts were encouraged and fostered. In the plays of Kalidasa, one of the greatest writers of ancient India there is found mention of a music school in which the most erudite teachers imparted education in the arts, music, dancing, acting and painting to the pupils from the royal household.
Music continued to grow and flourish with the encouragement being given to the performing arts. Three hundred years later, sometime in the 8th century AD, Dandin, another one of India's great literary figures, wrote about urban and elite life in Ujjain. Utmost patronage was extended to the arts and the lifestyle was one of luxury and splendour. One of the most popular forms of entertainment among the people was the goshtis or clubs which were concerned with artistic and academic accomplishments. These were convened in public halls or the residences of artists or even in the residence of a courtesan and attended by members of the same age, wealth, learning and temperament. The two arts of music and dance were so closely inter-twined that both these terms were included in the Sanskrit word sangita- the arts of singing, playing musical instruments, and dancing. This conception of the performing arts continued through the centuries and is maintained even today. For instance, the National Academy of the Performing arts is referred to by two descriptive words only- Sangit Natak Akademi.
The twelfth and thirteenth centuries witnessed a mighty change in the life of the sub continent due to the Muslim invasion. In all, there were three Islamic invasions in the subcontinent. With the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in AD 1206, the presence of Islam in the sub-continent became a permanent feature. They established a stronghold in the Northern parts of the country, till with coming in of Babur, the whole of North India and a considerable portion of the Deccan was affected and unified. South of the Deccan the Hindu Kingdoms continued to flourish whereas in the north Muslim power dominated.
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