Geet, sangeet, song or music with time we understood that Is timeless. Picture this - the pressure cookers whistle nas just tizzled out and suddenly, the soulur voice o MD. RAFI fills the room with 'yaad hai mujhko tune kaha tha...'. Your father, with a proud smile on his face, turns up the volume and reminisces about the good old days of classic melodies. But wait, music is not just about the morning or evening tea, it's a part of our everyday lives, from household chores to long bus journeys, from truck horns on the highway to tears shed in the corner, from joyous parties to sombre funerals. Music is everywhere and anywhere like a selfless companion, just unknowingly.
Music is a rhythm, a repetitive set of beats. So, is the drilling transpiring next door, a piece of music? Haha! not. Because our mind relates a lot to the emotional arrangement of phrases and expressions dressed up on musical notes. Be it a Vicco Bajradanti or Idea's Hello Honey Bunny advertisement songs, we remember it by heart, just unknowingly. Isn't that amusing?
Get ready to relive those cherished memories as we take a journey through this musical article. We'll explore different stations of this musical journey and experience the evolution of music through time. So, sit back, relax, and let's get lost in the world of music!
Indian musical heritage is an incredibly rich and ancient one that stretches back thousands of years. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, contains hymns and chants that were believed to be sung in ancient religious rituals.
Natyashastra, a treatise on performing arts, also provides insights into early musical practices. Later in medieval
times, we saw the development of classical music forms such as Hindustani and Carnatic music.
Hindustani music, which is known for its intricate rhythmic patterns, deep connections to spirituality and religious practices, and the use of ragas and talas, became popular during the medieval times. Tansen is considered the founder and his style and innovations have inspired many many modern gharanas. Shubha Mudgal, Bhimsen Joshi, Sultan Khan and Rashid Khan are some popular names. It has emerged as a distinct form of music due to Islamic and Persian influences. This style of music is synthesized with Islamic traditions, Vedic chants, and Persian Musiqu-e-Assil. Carnatic music, on the other hand, is characterized by its distinct and impulsive use of ragas and talas. it tends to be more structured and formulaic, relying on a fixed pattern of melody and rhythm.
Some of the most famous Carnatic musicians include M. S Subbulakshmi, Kishori Amonkar, T.N. Krishnan, Balamuralikrishna, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Arya Shankar, and D.K.Pattammal. Most Carnatic compositions in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit.
Although there are stylistic differences, the basic elements of sruti (the relative musical pitch), svara (the melodic sound of a single note), rãga (the mode or melodic formula), and tala (the rhythmic cycles) form the foundation of improvisation and composition in both Carnatic and Hindustani music.
Transcending social barriers saints like Tulsidas, Chaitanya, Surdas, Mirabai, Nanak and Kabir composed bhajans, devotional songs that continue to be popular even today and have even been used in modern music, such as in A.R. Rahman's Heera (Highway) or Kabir dohas in Debashish Das Gupta's Kabir Vani. Some phrases like 'Tu Mun Shudi' or 'Sakal Ban' taken from Amir Khusrau's Farsi couplets and some prose from Bulleh Shah's poetry are also seen in today's music. They are considered
spintual guides and mentors who tred to strp on the word s es through their creative and sarcastic songs, and thought love in is best sense, which are relevant ever today just like Shakespeare's play which talks about ego, power, integrity, love and purity infused in an everchanging but static world!
In the colonial era, Parsi theatre influenced early film songs and dramatic musicals. The rise of gramophone and recording technology facilitated the recording and wide dissemination of music. The British brought their musical styles and instruments like the piano, violin, and clarinet. This led to the creation of fusion genres. But overall, it was a period of preservation and adaptation where traditional forms endured, while new influences led to interesting developments that continue to shape Indian music today. The mid-20th century saw the golden age of filmy music from the 1940s to the 1970s. The blending of classical ragas with catchy tunes and poetic lyrics created a phenomenon that became a national sensation, like raag Bhimpilasi; 'Khoya Khoya Chand", Dil Ke Tukade Tukkade' raag Bhairavi; 'Mera juta hai japani' or 'Pyaar Hua ikraar hua' and 'Gulabeen Aakhien, "Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko' or 'Raat kali ek khwab me aai. Legendary music composers like S.D Burman, R.D. Burman, Shankar-Jalkishan, and Halyaraaja shaped this era, with the melodious voices of Aishore numar, Lata Mangeshkar, Monammed hall, Asha Bhonsle, A.u. resudas, Mukesh, Mann Dey producing some of the most memorable songs that continue to be loved by millions even today.
Fun fact, India's first ever recorded song was Raga - Jogia by Gauhar Jaan in 1902, which came before the first sound film Alam Ara in 1931 by Ardeshir Irani. While talking about recording the songs I remember when I was a kid I used to believe actors themselves sang the song and indeed that was true until the concept of playback singing came into the picture. In the old days song recording used to take place live or actors needed to have basic singing skills and to keep noise at a minimum level, shootings were done at night. And it sounds funny that singers used to climb trees or hide behind thick bushes, and had to record the whole song again if the singer made even the slightest of mistakes. All this hard work for one song and such melodies are today classics, loved and cherished beyond time. It appeals vehemence to even today's generations with amazing tyres touching neart and soul.
The Indian music industry has been blessed with many talented lyricists who have penned down some of the most beautiful and soul-stirring songs, filled with different human emotions; love, loss, pain, celebration, pleasure, desire or festival. Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Sameer Anjaan, Anand Bakshi, Kaifi Azmi, and Shailendra have left an indelible mark with their poetic and meaningful lyrics. In the present era, we have the privilege of witnessing the genius of artists like Irshad Kamil, Varun Grover, Swanand Kirkire, Piyush Mishra, and Amitabh Bhattacharya, who continue to weave magic with their soulful lyrics. Lyrics hit hard with some hard patches in our lives, like Jagjit Singh and his Gazals are evergreen, timeless. Lyrics tune the emotional allure of any song. Indian songs encompass a variety of languages and with a variety of festivals, religions and regional specialities. Be it for 'Lohri, 'Holi, 'Bihu' or 'Urs' Indian music pictures a salad bowl society of India into a melting pot. Music is a chariot in a country like India with multi-culturalism and pluralism. And language or the meaning it conveys through lyrics plays a very crucial role.
Lyrics in the age of black and white movies filled colour and effect into the frame, it created and enhanced the ambience of the storytelling. After colour TV came into the market, glamour and energy added new texture to frames, and lyrics now became a bit more assertive or aggressive. With changing audience preferences lyrics evolved and will evolve more and we will always remember and hum our favourite lines.
I remember 'lakdi ki kathi, my aunt used to sing while giving me a horse ride or singing 'Choti si pyari si nanhis and ' Baar baar din ye aaye' they all sing for my birthdays even today. Music is like a diary, when you recall a song it reminds you of your fondest and deepest memories. You get lost between the lines of lyrics and do mini hook steps as I used to for hud hud dabbang', imitating Salman Khan with my school uniform's belt. Nostalgic!? But who knew a time would come when those small dance amusements done secretly in front of the mirror would one day be a one-minute Insta-reel or YouTube short performance in front of our mobile cameras?
You are right I'm talking about this new culture that emerged of quick dopamine shots, where we also see a beautiful blend of our country music and global dance hook steps like, 'Chaiyya Chaiyya', 'Oh Oh Jaane Jaana' or 'Kaala Chashma'. Dancing groups like 'Quick Style' have multiplied the magnitude of entertainment and it's truly a testament to the fact that music can encompass cultural, social and global divides in this world of technology and globalisation. Talking of which I remember dancing to 'Indhana Winva' by Falguni Pathak or 'Nakka Mukka' or 'Bolo tara ra ra' or 'Kesariya Balam' of which I did not even know the meanings but danced full heart out in events like Ganpati visarjan or weddings. We can say that dance music perforates more boundaries than any other music type which suggests that regional or folk music is now not restricted like before. New folk singers like Neha Bhasin; 'Chitta Kukkad" or 'Jutti meri', are everyone's favourite. Some folks like 'Ghoomar", 'Dholida', 'Bumbro', 'Dilbaro' or 'Genda Phool'
are part of mainstream Bollywood music. A name worth mentioning here would be a marvellous music composer and singer Sneha Khanwalkar known for her score for the film, "Oye Lucky! Lucky oye!' and 'Gangs of Wasseypur'. She brings out the real voices of land like she did for 'Taar bijli se patle hamare piya' or 'Moora'. Such kind of music gives sunlight to a hidden sense of humour, peculiarity and authenticity to the forefront giving the audience insight into more real India and also adding value to the
context or ine movie.
Bands like Sanam are known for their renditions of old classic Indian Bollywood songs as well as their original music. They blend different musical influences, leaning towards a pop-rock sound, which is loved by younger generations. Old melodies had a slower pace, evident in many songs by Kishore da which today innovatively changed into loud and faster pace songs. We saw a gradual transformation of the content of the songs in terms of a consumerist culture of society, which really become popular in less time. This is quite evident in most of highly popular punjabi songs. In an interview a known singer & actor 'Diljit Doshanj said he earlier made senstive songs but it didn't do well. Which suggests audience like light songs, grovy music or fancy words but in parlance don't appreciate sensitive song much. Which is okay but it really tells about the culture we want to keep alive. Some new and peculiar ways of music like remixes of old songs like 'Pardesia', "Mera dil ye pukare', 'Dum maro dum', 'Yaad piya ki aane lagi', 'Kaliyo ka chaman' or 'Humma', which are generally criticised by our older generation for its loud basses. But it turns out that these are the same songs they hook upon to dance at the weddings of their nephews, nieces, granddaughters or grandsons. Funny! yeah, which suggests music somewhere plays a dual role in out lives now, when taken seriously it's a meditation but can also be just a source of entertainment. Over time, music has grown beyond its meditative (sadhana) sense which was important in previous decades, especially with the tradition of gurus, gharanas or dance forms like Bharatnatyam, Kathak etc. Recently music has branched itself into many new vanenes being more particular about entertainment and tess purpose onented tre before father we snould say is components nowadays are busy renecting new language or lingo or slang, shorter time duration catching attention and evolved sense of women representation prominiently.
'Choli k peeche kya hai was released in 1993 (Khalnayak and sparked controversies for its double meaning, well it's remixed in the movie crew (<024). It's one of the
'item songs'. I'm quoting some lines from a research paper, "Mainstream Indian cinema has restricted itself to defining sketches of womanhood dominated by patriarchy.
But the real depiction of Indian women of different shades is yet to achieve the agenda for this 100-year-old industry. Therefore, it is important to understand what are the notions or Inalan women and now are they represented in Inalan Cinema. Many movies have nem songs in the name or entertainment. According to barrett Grant (<000,
'an item number or an item song, in Indian cinema, is a musical performance that holds little or no relevance at all to the film in which it features. It appears in a film to present beautiful dancing women in revealing and exposing clothes. ' On one hand, some consider these songs as objectionable as they commodify women and sell their bodies for money making. That Is why there Is a gradual Increase in numbers for lem songs in thalan tims. On the other hand, there are those who belleve tem songs as freedom of expression where a woman dances to her own will. Whether Item Songs are objectionable or have they just become an easy target, is the central point of inquiry of the paper.": Representation Of Women In Indian Cinema: Analysis Of Item Songs by Pallavi Jha, Tata Institute of Social Science, India. (2014)
But, why are we talking about this here!?
Because music is the simplest, ageless and timeless medium for tunes, ideas, words, emotions, costumes, hook steps and especially a culture to travel and develop beyond music iser, that is the power or music. Music nas the potential to stay longer than our ves and leaves is mark over generations. Ineretore, it pecomes untery important to give attention to what we are inculcating within our lives subconsciously and in our culture through music. By quoting an excerpt from the research paper above I'm trying to appeal to the understanding being on the front we are required to appreciate freedom for artistic expression and a balance for diverse and evolving societal standards. It's sensitive to some while aspirational the for some, it hits differently to different sections of mass. Both art and changes in society evolve in the effect of each other and with affecting each other.
Cinema or Music is a mirror to society. It reflects what exists. Such 'Item songs' are written by the same amazing lyricists like 'Anand Bakshi' or 'Gulzar'. As an artist, they create art keeping in mind the context of the given story. Like obscenity in 'Bandit Queen'(1994) movie better explains the story and is considered fair in the context of the movie, the Supreme Court after numerous judgments came to that conclusion. But this idea and its implications are not absolute but rather more perforating to different perceptions that exist like for example of different ages where education is also a factor (As these songs or some piece of story travels independently). A very important observation to add is the 'Commercialisation of Art'. Somewhere art in this changing world is losing its place and to engage to masses it takes a route of what's relevant today. It somewhere connects both backend and frontends of art, where they are trying to serve what is asked. With changing preferences, it's important to ask What are we asking for - a mere entertainment? And why such things are entertainment in the first place?' And I think 'Cinema or Music is a mirror to society. It reflects what exists can be a possible answer to that question.
Changes are inevitable, it's the only thing constant. With the advent of the digital revolution and genre explosion from the 1990s onwards, music consumption and creation were transformed. Bollywood music embraced electronic and international influences, and independent artists explored diverse genres such as indie pop, hip-hop, and electronica. Today, the Indian music scene is a vibrant mix of tradition, innovation, and global trends. Some of the most prominent music or songs that gave new directions to Indian music include Pandit Ravi Shankar's Sitar recitals, Lata Mangeshkar's soulful voice, A.R. Rahman's fusion music, and more recently, the indie-pop sounds of Prateek Kuhad and Ritviz. Nucleya is a popular Indian electronic music producer. These artists have pushed the boundaries of Indian music and have created new directions for future generations to explore.
Technology has revolutionized the music industry and has become a game changer, especially for independent artists. With the advent of digital storage and preservation, Indian music has ensured longevity. Digital audio workstations (DAW) like FL Studio and Ableton Live have allowed artists to experiment with their music, record, edit, arrange and mix their music with virtual instruments and effect plugins. The processors and plugins have opened up a universe of manipulation, allowing artists to refine their sounds and achieve professional polish…
With the help of mobile creation apps, musicians can now create basic beats and mix tracks on the go. Collaborative tools like cloud-based platforms have enabled remote collaboration among musicians, allowing them to share ideas, work on projects together, and get real-time feedback, regardless of their location. The beat production tools have revolutionized the recording industry, while drum machines and samples have become essentials for electronica and hip-hop. Recording interfaces and microphones have helped in high-quality audio captures, which is crucial for any artist.
All these technological advancements have created a more democratic music sense, bypassing traditional gatekeepers, and enabling artists to record, distribute and promote their music directly to fans.
Just like now telephones, cars, robots, and computers have evoived, musical Instruments and their recording techniques have also evoived. we came tar trom struggling climb a tree and sing while hiding from the camera to click, copy, and paste a beat or a slice of voices and create beautiful songs of different genres.
Talking about the genre, owing to thala's vastness and diversity, halan music encompasses numerous genres in muttiple vanetles and torms which include classical musl folk, rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several geo-locations spanning the sub-continent.
It's fascinating to learn about amerent genres of music and their origins. Pop music, for instance, emerged in the mid-zuth century and is known for its calchy melodies and
danceable rhythms. Similarly, rock music, which originated in the United States, has influenced several Indian bands, including Mohiner Ghoraguli, 'Indus Creed
'Parikrama" and 'Indian Ocean'. Indian Ocean is widely recognised as the pioneer of the fusion rock genre in India. 'Man Kasturi", 'Bandeh' or 'Kandisa' are some of their popular songs.
Hip-hop or rap, with its roots in inner-city African-American and Latino communities, has evolved into a diverse and vibrant music scene today. Some famous Indian rappers are Divine, Naezy, and Emiway Bantai. Many rap artists use their powerful lyrics to comment on social injustice and raise awareness about important issues. After the movie 'Gully Boy, the rap genre came to be known by more people. Regional hip-hop, such as Marathi, Tamil, and Punjabi gully rap, is also gaining popularity. R&B or rhythm and blues, country music, and protest songs are other popular genres that have their unique charm and appeal.
Protest songs have been used throughout history as a potent tool to voice grievances and dissent towards social or political issues. They are a powerful way of expressing disappointment, frustration, and even anger towards the unjust or oppressive systems that exist in society. Protest songs can serve as a catalyst for change as they raise awareness about critical issues and initiate conversations that lead to meaningful social, cultural, or political transformations. Some of the most iconic protest songs of al time include Vande Mataram, a patriotic song that has become a symbol of Indian nationalism, Hum Dekhenge by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a stirring Urdu poem that speaks to th resilience of the human spirit, and Seedhe Maut, a Hindi rap song that highlights the struggles of the working class and the marginalised communities in India.
All of these genres have touched the hearts of millions of people across the world and have helped them express their deepest emotions.
So, Music is not just music, it's much beyond what it seems. It's amusing to realise music travelled a million miles and took different turns where a bhajan 'Atma Rama Anand Ramana' is a piece in rap song created by Brodha V, It is beautiful to see such a creative blend which is a new stamp of time on art. And we are daily witnessing such stamps around us. music transcends is presence into our ves smootnly ike a breeze. Musical movies in themselves are a lovely comolnation or music - story - and characters like Jagga Jasoos or La La Land. We talked about how music evolved since its inception and how it plays a role in understanding of dynamics of our society at different levels. We learnt how technology brought big changes to the recording and dissemination of music. We saw genre explosion and also recognised some hidden music around us like protest songs. Music is a therapy, it's amazing how humans express themselves and can rest unbothered while listening to music. A tiring day feels less heavy with our favourite songs. Be it in any language, once we grove together with our friends on some music we hook it in our playlists and enjoy our heart out. Life becomes easy with music, isn’t it?
- Sheetal Pise
(UPSC Aspirant)
Comments