Divine Music of India (Photostat)

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Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like Marg Sangeet and Shastriya Sangeet. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as Hindustani and the South Indian expression known as Carnatic. These traditions were not distinct until about the 15th century. During the period of Mughal rule of the Indian subcontinent, the traditions separated and evolved into distinct forms. Hindustani music emphasizes improvisation and exploration of all aspects of a raga, while Carnatic performances tend to be short composition-based. However, the two systems continue to have more common features than differences. Another unique classical music tradition from the Eastern part of India, i.e., Odissi music has evolved since two thousand years ago.

The roots of the classical music of India are found in the Vedic literature of Hinduism and the ancient Natyashastra, the classic Sanskrit text on performing arts by Bharata Muni. The 13th-century Sanskrit text Sangeeta-Ratnakara of Sarangadeva is regarded as the definitive text by both the Hindustani music and the Carnatic music traditions.

I owe an apology for placing this brochure before my friends and those who are interested in the great question of communal feeling, which is now rampant in India, particularly here in Bengal. My excuse must be that the present is a crisis in the annals of the province-the land of my birth-which one and all should deplore. Before British Rule was established in India, the injustice and tyranny of the former rulers were sometimes avenged by successful revolts of the people. The people of Bengal still remember, with sorrowful heart and with tears in their eyes, what occurred in Bengal under the tyrannical viceroyalty of the dreadful Siraj-ud-Dowlah. The effectual remedy to end this tyrannous oppression, which was committed under the sun, was the force of British bayonets. Britain alone beheld the tears of India, for she had otherwise no Comforter. On the side of her oppressors there was power exercised only by way of subjugation and domination. It was British states manship which brought India to such a state of happiness, by the will of God; the whole Country has now become a glorious Indian Empire from the wide shores washed by the Indian Ocean to the far distant snowy range of the mighty Himalayas.