Music

Indians have been described as a musical people. Our earliest scripture, the Rig- Veda, was originally a collection of hymns sung by sages on the banks of Ganga. Sama- Veda is exclusively in musical form. History tells us that ancient India was full of wandering minstrels and singing saints. Music was a highly developed art in ancient India. One of the greatest treasures on the arts that have come down to us is Bharat Munis Natyasastra which deals with Indian music, dance and drama, in meticulously scientific way.

Ancient India produced an amazing number of classical style and instruments. The impact of music on Indians is universal. Even the most illiterate people of India have their own fascinating folk music. Humming a tune comes naturally to an Indian. Boatmen at the oar, peasant women in the fields, dock-workers heaving a beam or girder, shepherds tending their flock, workers breaking stones on the roadside, men pulling carts laden with merchandise, and priests performing their ceremonies- all sing as they work.

There are two main schools of Indian music: the Hindustani school of North and the Karnataka (Carnataka) school of South India. Although these two schools of music have a few things in common, they do not use the same instruments. Karnataka music is said to be the purer of the two, but Hindustani music is richer in variety. The sitar, sarod, shehnai and tabla are best known Hindustani musical instruments; the veena, violin and the mridangam are the most important instruments played in Karnataka music. Each school has a long history of its own and each school has its brilliant exponent. Both school of music have a strong religious orientation.

India has a rich musical heritage. Even the lives of the people have been deeply affected by folk songs that deal with episodes in the great Indian epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. To be indifferent to our musical heritage is to remain culturally and emotionally impoverished. Among the things that Indians love most, music ranks first.

[Source: The Path Divine, Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas, Dharmakshetra, Mumbai]