South Asia

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South Asia

• India (North South)
• Bangladesh

2
South Asia Map
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Background Preparation

• 1.4 billion people
• Ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity
• Strong British colonial influence

Indias famed Taj Mahal
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India

• Site 1 Hindustani Raga
• Site 2 Bhajan Devotional Song
• Site 3 Carnatic Classical Song (Kriti)

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Arrival North India

• Major Cities
• Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Lucknow
• Independent from British in 1947
• Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)
• Worlds Largest Democracy
• Caste System
• Disparity of wealth
• Religious pluralism

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
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Site 1 Hindustani Raga

• First Impressions
• Dreamy aura
• Boing drums
• Aural Analysis
• Melody Sarod
• Rhythm Tabla
• Drone Tambura

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Tambura

• Fretless plucked lute
• Four strings
• Pillar pitch tuning
• Aural incense
• Played by shishyaor vocalist

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Sarod

• Fretless plucked lute
• 3 sets of strings
• Melodic
• Drone (Jhala)
• Sympathetic
• Calfskinresonator face

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Sympathetic Strings (on Sitar)
Passing beneath the metal curved frets, the s
ympathetic strings vibrate involuntarily duri
ng performance.
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Raga Performance

• Tuning system - 22 pitches
• Raga (or rag) - atmosphere
• Mode Framework forimprovisation and
  composition
  
• Scale, ornamentations, melodic patterns,
  hierarchy of pitches, etc.
  
• Rasa (mood), time of day, magic

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Raga Melodic Form

• Alap
• Free rhythm, all improvised
• Ascending melodic range
• Increasing rhythmic density
• Jor - Jhala
• Gat
• Metered composition with improvisation
• Drum enters
• Similar rising range and increasing density

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Tabla

• Pair of hand drums
• Smaller drum - tabla
• Tuned to central pitch
• Larger drum - baya
• Bols - drum language
• Theka - rhythmic patterns

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Tala

• Rhythmic cycle
• Drummer and Audience Keep the tal
• Drummer stretches the beat with improvisation

A sixteen beat cycle called tintal
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Cultural Considerations

• Oral Tradition
• Guru - Shishya
• Rasa Mood as it relates to the arts
• Ragamala
• Star artists
• Ravi Shankar
• Flexible Time

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Site 2 Bhajan Devotional Song

• First Impressions
• Congregational worship
• Aural Analysis
• Harmonium
• Tabla, kartal
• Antiphonal vocals
• Duple meter

A harmonium
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Cultural Considerations

• Devotional Hindu songs
• Sai Baba Temples

Sri Sai Baba (d. 1918)
Worshippers at aSai Baba temple
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Arrival South India

• Major cities
• Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madras
• Carnatic culturemore ancient and pure
• Predominantly Hindu

A snake charmer plays the punjii
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Site 3 Carnatic Classical Song
Note the sruti box to the vocalists left.

• First Impressions
• Aural incense
• Melismatic vocalist with imitating fiddle

• Aural Analysis
• Melody Vocal
• Imitation Violin
• Rhythm Mridangam
• Drone Sruti Box

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Carnatic Instruments

• Violin

• Mridangam

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Kriti

• Hindu devotional poetry set to music
• Composed skeletal melody
• Increased ornamentation
• Raga and Tala systems more complex
• Some 36,000 possible raga
• 175 variations of tala

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Cultural Considerations

• Sri Tyagaraja(1767 - 1847)
• Devotee of Hindu god, Rama
• Prolific composer
• Aradhana Festivals

A portrait of Sri Tyagaraja
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Bangladesh

• Site 4 Baul Song

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Arrival Bangladesh

• Formerly eastern Pakistan
• Became independent in 1971
• Predominantly Muslim
• Frequent Flooding
• Most of country near sea level

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Site 4 Baul Song

• First Impressions
• Jingly sleigh-bell
• Assertive vocal
• Bouncing melody instrument

• Aural Analysis
• Gopiyantro (Ektara)
• Ghunur

A Baul musician plays a gopiyantro
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Cultural Considerations

• Bauls constitute a cultural group
• Itinerant musicians
• Non-mainstream spirituality
• Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
• Indias most famous poet

Rabindranath Tagor (1861-1941)