Hindustani Music - Ragas

To continue with elements of Hindustani classical music lets talk about different vocal forms. Khayal is considered as one of the most important elements of classical music. It has also managed to replace the traditional style of singing Dhrupad. Compared to dhrupad, khayal is more of a free form style and it is also more flexible. Dhrupad is associated by pakhawaj and tanpura and performed by men. It is very traditional in nature and the lyrics used in dhrupad often consist of gallant themes. Medieval form of hindi is used in dhrupad lyrics and if you listen to it you will find these lyrics are dedicated to deity.

Tarana style of singing is very enjoyable and coveys feelings of happiness. Often perfomed at the end of a concert, tarana is a sheer delight. Dhamar is quite decorative in nature and one of the basic styles of singing. Khayal originated during the rule of Sharqui dynasty in 15th century. Hussain Shah Sharqui is credited to give shape and form to this classical singing style. The further popularity of khayal is ascribed to Mohammed Shah who ruled in 18th century. Usually, 4-8 lines of lyrics are used in khayal. These lines are set up with tunes. Khayal encourages improvisation and that’s why the performer uses few base lines for the purpose of improvisation. A more adorned form is called dhamar. The place of dhrupad has been taken by somewhat less austere and more free-form khayal. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah also known as the Nawab of Oudh is credited to encourage thumri which is basically an informal vocal form. There are several great vocalists in hindutani classical music the likes of which include, Bhimsen Joshi, Ajoy Chakraborty, Nagraj Havaldar, Mashkoor Ali Khan, Kishori Amonkar, Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Jasraj, Prabakar Karekar, Rashid Khan, Aslam Khan, Shruti Sadolikar, and Chandrasekhar Swami etc.

Hindustani Music - Origin

Hindustani classical music is a wonderful facet of Indian classical music tradition. Hindustani music belongs to North India. Originated during the period of 13th and 14th, this form of classical music is a fascinating combination of ancient Hindu musical traditions and Persian music. It is most popular Indian classical music. Vedic philosophy has also played a great role in shaping Hindustani music. South Indian classical music or also known as Carnatic music is truly Indian in sense of origin. But Hindustani music allowed other forms of music to influence and integrate in the main stream.

Hindustani classical music is based upon vocals. Raga system plays the primary role in this form of music. Music terms like dhrupad, tarana, khayal, dhammar, ghazal, thumri etc belong to Hindustani music. Ghazal is definitely the one with Persian influence. Ghazal also symbolizes the beautiful amalgamation of Hindustani and Persian music. In classical Hindustani music, raga is also referred to melodic scale. It has seven basic notes. Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni are the major notes. These notes play a crucial part in assigning characters to different ragas. Other crucial factor is ascent and descent of the notes that is very crucial in determining the form of the raga. It is not necessary for the notes to be in linear form. All the vocal forms of Hindustani music have different characters and singing style. They are unique in terms of notes, performance and singing styles.