A revival in Indian music took place towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20thcentury. Rabindranath Tagore composed unique songs which go under the name of ‘Rabindra Sangeet’. Furthermore, the patriotic fervor of the early 20th century drew many musicians into the freedom struggle. Ex: Kazi Nazrul Islam, Vishnu Digamabar Paluskar, Subramania Bharati.
Some of the important developments during this are:
- In 1901, Vishnu Digamabar Paluskar setup Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore to dilute the stranglehold that gharanas had over classical music and to expand the base of the art.
- Marris college of Music was setup in Lucknow in 1926 by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhandeto revive the art of music
- An All-India music academy was established in 1919 for research, study and for better understanding of the art of music in India
- In 1928, the Madras Music academy to revive the interest in Carnatic music
- Modernism in Indian music:
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- The traditions of Indian music was also influenced by the modernism that the world experienced in various art forms
- Modernism can be defined as a period of diverse reactions in challenging and reinterpreting older categories of music, innovations that led to new ways of organizing and approaching harmonic, melodic, sonic, and rhythmic aspects of music
- Such an artistic current led to new genres of music such as- Jazz, pop-music, freestyle, alternative R&B etc
- There were cross-cultural collaborations between India artists and artists across the world. This led to intermingling of Indian classical music tradition with that of the new art forms. Ex: In the early 1960s Jazz pioneers such as John Coltrane and George Harrison collaborated with Indian instrumentalists and started to use Indian instruments such as sitar in their songs; In the late 1970s and early 1980s, rock and roll fusions with Indian music were well known throughout Europe and North America etc
Impact of western Music on Indian musical traditions
Globalization and the rise of technology coupled with the increasing adoption of western way is creating both opportunities and threats for the survival of Indian musical traditions.
Positives:
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- Wider acknowledgement of Indian classical music traditions. This can be evidenced in the growth and respect that artists such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, AR Rehman have gained at the global stage
- Revival of Indian classical music traditions due to interest expressed by global artists. Ex: Shankar Tucker, a famous western exponent of clarinet in the world
- Increased livelihood opportunities for traditional artists in the country
- Enrichment of Indian musical traditions. Ex: Indie-pop
Negatives
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- Many students are preferring to take up western music due to the economic growth it provides
- Western music is becoming the preferred taste amongst the common people.
- Inability of the traditional artists to cope up with modern methods of composing and marketing their products when compared to western artists, since the latter have access to greater resources
- Increasing westernization even in the rural areas of the country is a threat to the livelihood of the local artists
- Popular cinema across all languages have been showcasing a dangerous trend to prefer western forms of music over the Indian musical forms in recent times.