Institutionalization of North Indian and South Indian Music in the Age of Globalization

Introduction

There is no doubt that North Indian music flourished majorly under Muslim patronage. Fond of arts, music and culture, Muslim rulers and emperors ensured that music, arts and dance develop as a cultural institution, as is argued by Daniel M. Neuman (1985). However, these contributions that are attributed to Muslims are majorly shown to be towards the development of North Indian music. Carnatic or South Indian music, as is argued by many in the subcontinent, has mostly remained untouched and at a distance from Muslim ideas. This is a conventional way of thinking about the history of the said music and it has little to no relation with reality, as per Neuman (1985). Although it is argued that Carnatic music has its own features, standards and protocols, the reality is that the very distinction between Carnatic and North Indian classical music is said to have originated after the Muslims adopted the latter in the late 13th to 14th centuries (Subramanian, 1999).

Thus, the matter of fact is that Carnatic music is also greatly, if not equally, inspired by Muslim traditions and philosophical thought. There is also plenty of musical evidence that shows that Muslim rulers welcomed music from the South as well. For instance, argues Subramanian (1999), in quarter 15th century (1428), Sultan Malika Sahi arranged a musical convention and invited musicians from everywhere to translate and compile the Sangita Siromani (Crest Jewel of Music) to serve as the standard book of music for this region. With these musicians from different parts across the subcontinent and beyond meeting, exchanging and sharing, it can be said that it was the social and cultural borrowing that resulted in both kinds of music being affected and influenced. Moreover, Neuman (1985) contends that both the Southern and Northern versions of Indian music adopted the Makam system inspired by Turkish and Persian modals. Today, the Indian Ragas share quite some resemblance to the Maqam system.

It is, however, interesting to see too much focus on North Indian music compared to Carnatic music. From my anecdotal experience, I was never taught much about Carnatic music other than the concept of Kritis and Shrutis.

Therefore, the question that arises is that if both kinds of music were influenced by the Persian and Turkish (majorly Muslim) traditions, why is there a significant gap in a newbie music student’s overall experience? Why is a new student more aware of North Indian music than Carnatic music? There could be multiple reasons for this. Many argue that Carnatic music tends to be more rigid than North Indian music. Many are of the belief that learning Carnatic music is difficult — compared to North Indian music — because it uses compositions as a baseline method for teaching and learning purposes. The other reason is also the stronghold and prevalence of each genre in its respective region. Carnatic music is more prevalent and listened to more in the Southern part of India and North Indian music is more listened to in the Northern part of India. However, it is bewildering and shocking to see how a certain type or genre of music of the same country managed to stay at one place and not become mainstream and grow widespread that too in the age of globalization.

To examine this notion further, this paper hypothesizes that perhaps it is inadequate institutionalization that could be held responsible for this gap between Carnatic and North Indian music. Mark Katz (2012), in his paper on institutional communalism in Indian music, argues that the modern institutions of Indian classical music have been proven as ideological apparatuses that have the capability to shape its social landscape for the last one hundred years. Thus, music schools play a pivotal role despite people’s reservations and acceptance towards them. Apart from the discussion on the status of Carnatic music vis-a-vis North Indian music with an institutional lens, this paper shall also discuss how institutionalization creates more listeners and dig deeper into finding out what reasons led the new Indian generations to go for something as difficult and time-consuming as learning classical music when when they also had avenues to learn western music right at their disposal.

Discussion

On the listeners of North Indian and Carnatic music

It is not untrue that any kind of music (either classical or contemporary) cannot and does not sustain with singers, instrumentalists and composers alone. Listeners play an equally pivotal role in the continuation of a musical tradition. The greatest of the listeners are known as connoisseurs or Rasikas in North Indian music. Most of the Indian music is transmitted through oral tradition which involves a unique pedagogical approach in which a Guru (teacher) takes a Shishya (student) under his supervision and teaches him everything that he knows about music (Upadhyay & Dalal, 2017). Indian music, for centuries, has held tightly onto the tradition of Guru-Shishya.

However, since the end of the 19th century, it started seeing a switch in music education. Various modern-day schools, colleges and educational institutes have grappled to integrate the traditional ways of learning into the modern ways of teaching (Alter, 2000). While the exact replication of the traditional practices, as is the case with Guru-Shishya relationship, may not have been possible in a contemporary setting, the idea of music centers inside the premises of educational institutes became widespread and commonplace. This fusion of classical music with present-day training room has been very well documented in the context of North Indian music.

Daniel Neuman (1980) has discussed the philosophy of North Indian music listeners in his seminal work The Life of Music in North India. Moreover, the likes of Brian Silver (1984) and Clayton and Leante (2015) have spent quite some time and understood the performance dynamics, dug into and analyzed the listeners’ behavior frame by frame by using performance footage. Music ethnographers and researchers have even looked into the change in listeners’ behaviors with respect to the rapid technological advancement in music. Thus, this shows that North Indian music listeners make up a good chunk of the overall population associated with classical music, resulting in researchers studying the subject focusing on the intricacies of the music.

On the other hand, however, there is not much literature available when it comes to studies regarding Carnatic music listeners’ behaviors. Carnatic music’s journey — from being called Hindustani classical music to having a separate identity midway — has been written on by various scholars and ethnographers. In a behavioral study that examined the emotions evoked by each Raga in South Indian classical music, researchers Koduri and Indurkhya (2010). Does this mean that Carnatic music has few listeners? Does it insinuate that Carnatic music lacks modern appeal? These questions bring us to the next subsection of the essay.

Institutionalization of North Indian music vs. Carnatic music

It is believed that institutionalization of music may not necessarily create extraordinary musicians but it can create good music listeners in great numbers. By now it has been established that Carnatic music listeners are not as widespread as North Indian music listeners. An article published in India Times in 2017 wrote that the places where Carnatic music used to be played are no longer found in India. The overall listener behavior has grown jaded over time. The article suggested that it is the monopoly of established and well-known Carnatic musicians and that there is a “single institution holding sway over quality”. This has had its ramifications.

Carnatic youth, music creators and listeners have been deprived of the sense of competition and there is a sheer lack of excitement that one gets to experience when they see their favorite classical Carnatic musician shine through. While there are youngsters who are learning this very genre, they are very few in number and by and large, it is the elderly and the experienced musicians who are renowned. Moreover, the experts from the Southern region are of the view that it is also the lack of invention in Carnatic music that is not able to attract many youngsters. They suggest that a more creatively curated musical experience which is also something different from the conventional concert experience should be focused on to grab the attention of the young generation.

Another reason behind Carnatic music not being as widespread as its counterpart is that it has been reduced to an elite preoccupation. The audience for Carnatic music as of recent times, attributing to its early caste-based organization in the medieval times, is still largely South Indian, Brahim and elderly (Ganesh, 2018). Another interesting finding about the music’s lack of popularity is the way it is sung. For centuries, Carnatic music has focused on preaching and worshiping Hindu Gods. It is essentially known as religious and devotional music.

Compared to South Indian or Carnatic music, North Indian music provides a variety of sub-genres that one can choose to master. The versatility and diversity of North Indian music and that fact that it has branched out to Filmi, Bollywood, and devotional music show that North Indian music has had different avenues to be a part of and presented at. The fusion of western and classical and the inclusion of Urdu and Hindi lyrics taken from North Indian music show that this range is perhaps missing from Carnatic music.

All these reasons hint at the notion that Carnatic music has been kept in a silo and has not traveled beyond the Southern part of India as much. One of the reasons for this is found in the works of historian V Sriram (2009) who writes that up until the 1930s, traveling by the sea was considered an evil and involved some sort of punishment in the Southern part. Thus, Carnatic musicians usually traveled by land. As mentioned, Carnatic music is still majorly dominated by old Brahmins who may still hold on to such beliefs. This shows that rapid institutionalization of classical music as it occurred in the case of North Indian music could perhaps never properly be executed in the case of Carnatic music. Moreover, even if institutionalization did occur, it did not occur at a large scale level. Thus, this brings us to the third and last sub-sections of this essay.

What did North Indian music do differently to South Indian music?

It is truly intriguing to see North Indian classical music taking the lead in overall popularity and diversity in the musical landscape. Authors Prasad and Roy (2018) who examined the interdisciplinary futures of Indian classical music, write that the “ethnomusicology of India is founded upon a generational/disciplinary departure from the Western classical music tradition” and this is also something that sets it apart from other music genres. However, it is quite extraordinary to think that despite western music — which comparatively requires less effort learning — being at the disposal of the younger generations, many choose to learn the demanding and challenging Indian classical music.

As was mentioned in the previous subsection of this essay, there are various reasons that Carnatic classical music could not reach that apex in terms of becoming mainstream, gaining popularity and growing widespread compared to its counterpart. One of the main reasons why North Indian classical music turned out to be a common field as a career to be chosen by the newer generations is the radical shift it went through. Eriko Kobayashi (2003) in his book on Hindustani classical music reform movement writes that classical music was once considered a taboo in India as it was a common view that respectable people belonging to respectable families should not learn classical music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the radical reform movement transformed the prevalent sentiment. This transformation was brought about by making music accessible to the general public by organizing public concerts, establishing music schools, and publishing textbooks.

As a result, over time, Hindustani classical music got knitted in the Indian social fabric. People did not feel shame in teaching their children North Indian classical music. Learning North Indian music was normalized to an extent that parents urged their daughters to learn North Indian classical music so they could brag about their children knowing how to play a certain North Indian instrument or sing (Neuman, 1980). As an observer and student of classical music, I suspect that this reform can be termed as the biggest reason why North Indian music was institutionalized. This is also what North Indian music did differently and perhaps the reason why South Indian music did not catch up the speed at which North Indian music became normalized and gained popularity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this essay is an attempt at figuring out why a common or newbie learner of Indian classical music learns about North Indian music first and South Indian music later. Apart from choice, as a student of Indian music’s history, I suspected that there may be structural reasons behind this phenomenon. One of the factors why I wrote this essay is because my own anecdotal experience showed me that there is a certain gap when one attempts to learn more about Carnatic music. North Indian music is easily at the top of the hierarchy and accessible. Thus, this essay tried to learn more about this gap by using the institutional lens.

By connecting institutionalization with the creation of listeners of a certain type of music, this essay discusses the opportunities provided to North Indian and Carnatic music learners. From the radical reform movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the diversity found in North Indian music and lacking in Carnatic music, this essay reached a conclusion that North Indian music broke off the shackles of elitism and pushed the music out of the king’s court by making it accessible for the commoners. In the case of Carnatic music, however, it is still by and large controlled by the elderly Brahmins who have a monopoly over the music.

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