Music of India
Outline
- Pop Music
- Alisha Chinai
- “Isha”
- “Made In India”
- “Cannte”
- Rock and Metal Music
- Indus
Creed
- “Pretty Child”
- “Rock N Roll
Renegade”
- “Trapped”
- Folk Music
- Bauls
- Bauls of North Bengal
(Bangladesh)
- KolkataMusing
- Classical Music
- Sudha Raghunathan
- Carnatic
(South Indian) Vocal Recital
- Official Website
Pop Music
Filmi,
songs from Indian musical films, is the biggest form of Indian pop music. Independent pop acts include Alisha Chinai,
Shaan, Sonu Nigram, KK, Kunal Ganjawala, and Sunidhi Chauhan. Alisha Chinai was born on March 18, 1972 and
is an Indian popular singer. She is one
of the pioneers of pop music in India. Her real name is Sujata, though she has gone
by Alisha Chinai. She is also known as
the “Indian Madonna” and is most famous for her 1996 single and album, titled
“Made in India”. Below are some of her music videos from the
album.
Rock and Metal Music
Rock bands like Indus Creed, Indian Ocean,
and Euphoria exist and have gained mass appeal with the advent of cable music
television. The rock music scene in India is
extremely small when compared to filmi but has recently come into its own,
achieving a cult status of sorts. Rock
music in India has its origins in 1960’s and 70’s when international stars such
as The Beatles visited India and brought their music with them. The artists’ collaboration with Indian
musicians such as Ravi Shunkar and Zakir Hussain has led to the development of
Raga Rock. Around late 1980’s, the rock
band Indus Creed, formerly known as The Rock Machine, got itself noticed on the
international stage with hits like “Rock N Roll Renegade”. After getting a new drummer, Indus Creed
decided to radically alter their sound by incorporating Indian instruments into
their music. They hold the distinction
of being India’s
premier rock band. Below are some of
Indus Creed’s music videos.
“Pretty Child”
“Rock N Roll Renegade”
“Trapped”
Folk Music
The
arrival of films and pop music weakened folk music’s popularity but cheaply
recordable music has made it easer to find and help revive the traditions. Folk music, desi, has been influential on
classical music, which is viewed as a higher art form. Instruments and styles have had an effect on
classical ragas. It is also not uncommon
for major writers, saints, and poets to have a large musical libraries and traditions
to their name, often sung in thumri, semi-classical, style. Bauls are a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal. They
constitute both a syncretic religious sect and a musical tradition used as a
vehicle to express Baul thought. The
distinctive clothes and musical instruments, like the ektara,
can often identify the group. In 2005,
the Baul tradition was included in the list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.
Below are some videos of Bauls’ performances.
Bauls
of North Bengal (Bangladesh)
KolkataMusing
Classical Music
The two main traditions of classical music have been Carnatic music, found
predominantly in the peninsular regions and Hindustani music, found in the
northern and central parts. While both
traditions claim Vedic origin, history indicates that the two traditions
diverged from a common musical root since the 13th century. Sudha Ragunathan is a singer in the Carnatic
musical tradition of southern India. She pursued music as a career and became one
of Dr. M. L. Vasanthakumari’s prominent successors. Below are some examples of her music.
Carnatic (South Indian) Vocal
Recital
Official Website
Submitted by Tyler Rozeboom and Sarah Wilson on April 26, 2007.