India > Culture > Dance and Music

Indian Dance and Music

Indian regional and classical music gradually decreases its popularity due to the increase of Indian commercial film music. Today film music is India's most popular form and more over seventy percent of total musical business depends on this music form.

As like traditional music Indian traditional dance also lost its popularity due to the increase of filmy dances and today's media make it more popular with several reality shows. Indian film music and dance is now the most accepted entertainment in India.

Indian Music

Music has always taken an essential aspect in the thinking of Indians. The term raga is most vital for Indian classical music. In the 13th century, the theorist Sarngadeva has written the large Sangitaratnakara with 264 ragas. In the courts of the Mughal emperors musician Tansen was one of the jewels of King Akbar's court.

Before sixteenth century, Indian music songs had usually been composed in Sânskrit, but after this period, they were being composed the songs in the various dialects of Hindi Bráj Bhasa and Bhojpuri. In the 18th century music would have been performed in temples, courts, residences of noblemen and other patrons, and in small gatherings of music fans.

Ravi Shankar the Master of sitar has reached the contemporary classical Indian music in a new phase. Satyajit Ray, the first Indian director has brought classical Indian music in films to the interest of Westerners, for the music of some of his early films was composed by Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan. Today in India, music is most commonly connected with the filmy music. Popular Indian films, whether in Hindi, Tamil, or any of the other Indian regional languages.

Some vital Indian Music Forms

Classical music : Indian traditional music mainly based on classical and folk music form. Some important music forms of this type are the Carnatic classical music, Hindustani music and Light classical music. Hindustani classical music was begun from Vedic times and it developed during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Carnatic classical music is one of the oldest musical forms in India which basically derived its form during fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Light classical music basically formed with several music form like thumri, dadra, ghazal, chaiti, kajri and tappa musical form.

Folk music : Indian folk music formed with several regional or local music forms. It is basically performed in various festivals of different parts of India. Some important music forms of this type are Bihu music of Assam, Bhangra music mainly in the Punjab, Dandiya dance music mainly in the Punjab Gujrat, Uttarakhandi Music of Uttarakhand, Lavani music of Maharashtra, Rabindra Sangeet of West Bengal.

Popular music : Today Film music, rock, hip-hop, Indy-pop music and non-Indian music or western music is most popular in India. There have some link to Indian popular musical websites to online music listening or download mp3 music.

Indian Dance Forms

Indian Dance has a continuous custom of over two thousands years and it embedded with Indian tradition and culture from the prehistoric period. Classical Dance forms of modern India mainly have came from ancient dance discipline. Another dance form of India is Folk and tribal dances. Classical Dance has a great cultural value in India. It has different type of forms in different states of India. Important among them are Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchipudi and Odissi.

Bharatnatyam although it derives its family from Tamilnadu, has urbanized into all India form. Kathakali is a dance form the state of Kerala. Kathak is a classical dance form of Mughal power on Indian culture. Manipuri has contributed to a delicate, lyrical style of dance called Manipuri, while Kuchipudi is a dance form owing its origin to Andhra Pradesh. Odissi from Orissa, once practiced as a temple dance, is today widely exhibited by artists across country.

Besides, the Classical dances of India, Folk and tribal dances, such as the Bhangra dance of Punjab, the Dandiya of Gujarat, the Bihu dance of Assam, etc, which develop the cultural tradition of their regions, are famous throughout the nation and some outer country. These folk dances are performed by people to express their excitement on every potential event or occasion, such as the appearance of seasons, the birth of a child, weddings, festivals, etc.