Here is one more special report from Dawn :-
http://www.dawn.com/events/millennium/29.htm
The tradition lives on…
By Shaikh Aziz
The political and social upheaval in the subcontinent could not break the basic structure and indigenous identity of South Asian music
The musical heritage of the subcontinent spans more than 5000 years during which it came to be exposed to a host of influences, both positive and negative. With every political, religious and sociological change brought on by countless military invasions the music of the subcontinent also underwent radical changes. Even so it always succeeded in retaining most of its basic structure and indigenous identity.
The Vedic music of earlier centuries changed under Turko-Arab-Persian influence lasting for over a thousand years. In the thirteenth century the subcontinent’s music was divided into two distinctive schools - the northern Indian music and South Indian or the Karnatica music. Before the advent of the Muslims, music was mostly confined to ritual forms of Chhand, Durband and Dhurpad. Muslims added Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Tappa and Ghazal. These forms added a new flair to the musical heritage.
During the twentieth century, music in this part of the world came under western influence. The British in an effort to impose their culture on the subcontinent, introduced orchestration. They brought in alien instruments such as harmonium, clarinet, trumpet and violin. Many organizations of symphony and orchestration were formed and attempts were made to write Indian music in western staff notations. But it goes to the intrinsic strength and superiority of the indigenous music that it soon adapted these instruments to its own requirements. Today the harmonium is a basic instrument of accompaniment.
In the latter half of the century, the music of the subcontinent came to be confronted with new challenges. On the positive note, the advent of electronics added a new dimension to the quality of music, as it brought music to the average listener, specially the classical music which was till then confined to the royal courts. And on the not-so-positive note, the rising influence of jazz, rock and pop in all their various facets threatened the indigenous classical genre. But the sound foundations on which music in South Asia was built enabled great masters like Pundit Vishnu Digambar, Bhatkhande and others to survive the onslaught with only minor bruises.
Music in the first half of the century was particularly very productive. Big names like Allah Diya Khan, Allauddin Khan, Abdul Aziz Khan, Digambar, Bhaskar Rao, Ashiq Ali Khan, Abdul Waheed Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, dominated the scene and music came to be identified with Gharanas - Kirana, Tilwandi, Patiala, Agra, Gwaliar, Mewati, etc.
After independence, a lot changed but the tradition of music remained largely intact. Bundu Khan, Nathoo Khan, Akhtar Hussain Khan, Amanat, Fateh, Nazakat and Salamat came to Pakistan. Later, they were joined by** Bare Ghulam Ali Khan but due to the apathy of the government he spent some miserable days and went back to India where he was accorded Padma Bhooshan and died honourably.** In India, great masters like Abdul Wahid Khan, V. D. Pulskar, Amir Khan, Rajab Ali Khan, Mushtaq Hussain Khan, Begum Akhtar, Hirabai Barodekar, Fayaz Khan, Omkarnath Thakur, Girija Devi, Kumar Gandharwa, Gangoo Bai Hangal etc gave new life to classical music. Among the present-day generation a new liking for the classical music has drawn a number of highly educated literate artistes, some of them even abandoned their professions in microbiology and engineering and adopted music as their living. **At present over 5,000 artistes are engaged in the pursuit of music, among them are masters like Pundit Jasraj, Pundit Bhimsen Joshi, Dr Prabha Atre, Kishwari Amonkar, Malini Rajorkar, Perveen Sultana, Nirmala Devi and Ganpatti Bhat. **
India has also produced a number of great instrumentalists. A few of them are Allah Diya Khan, Bismillah Khan, Vilayat Khan, Allah Rakha, Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Panalal Ghosh, Amjad Ali Khan, Shivkumar Sharma and Dr M. Rajam.
At the time of independence, Pakistan had a galaxy of artistes Some of them were Roshan Ara Begum, Mubarak Ali Khan, Sardar Khan, Bhailal Chhela, Barkat Ali Khan, Bundoo Khan, Umeed Ali Khan, Habib Ali Khan Beenkar and Allah Ditta Khan.** But owing to bureaucratic indifference and lack of public support, they all faded with the passage of time. Whenever, a maestro died, there was no one around to succeed him and carry on the tradition, and classical music suffered heavily.** At present Hamid Ali Fateh Ali, Amjad Amanat, Ghulam Hussain Shagan, Suraiya Multanikar, Ashraf Sharif, Saleem Khan, Rustam Fateh Ali, Badruzamman Qamaruzamman, Akhtar Ali Zakir Ali, Sharafat Ali comprise the total legacy of classical music we are left with. With the exception of Mehdi Hassan, Malka Pukhraj, Iqbal Banu, Farida Khanum and Tahira Syed, the** Ghazal or Thumri gaikee, too, is on the way out in Pakistan. **
Film music
Besides classical music, folk, film and fusion music are the other areas in which music has undergone visible changes in the subcontinent. In the pre-independence period, film music drew its existence from the theatre music which later changed in content and form. While in India, music directors such as Master Ghulam Haider, Naushad, Anil Biswas, Khemchand Parkash, Master Sajjad and O.P. Nayar produced some of the memorable tunes; in Pakistan Khurshid Anwar, Baba Chishti, A. Hameed, Tasadduq Hussain, Robin Ghosh, Sohail Raana and Nisar Bazmi made outstanding contribution in the field of film music. Some of their compositions were even copied by Indian musicians. And of course, the melody queen, Noorjahan dominated the scene for decades.
The western influence on film has been overly visible on film music in both India and Pakistan. During the 1950s, rock-n-roll, African and Latin American music was evident in compositions. Film directors used to make a conscious effort to create a situation wherein they could add at least one club song or dance for accommodating western tunes. This fusion tendency found instant popularity which continued for quite some years till in the 1980s it was overshadowed by another western influence - the pop.
Modern music
Today’s pop is quite different from the earlier one. In the beginning, the western pop was directly copied along with its chords, but the present generation of modern singers took cue from folk music. Sohail Raana’s efforts need special mention in this regard. Indian musicians made a fuller use of modern influences and folk music and created a number of new compositions.
An example of the folk influence on film music is the popular Indian song ‘Chhanyaan Chhanyaan’ which has been copied from Pakistan’s Seraiki kafi ‘Thayaan Thayaan’ sung by Faqir Abdul Ghafoor, thirty years ago. One name that cannot be overlooked is that of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who has left an indelible mark on modern folk singing in the subcontinent.
In India, composers such as A.R. Rehman, Bally Sagu, Gulshan Kumar, Jatin-Latlit and Anu Malik continue with their efforts. Singers like Daler Mehndi, Sukhbir, Ila Arun mix western music with the Indian folk. In Pakistan, pop singers Alamgir, Mohammad Ali Shehki and Nazia/Zohaib founded the modern music of Pakistan in the mid-1980s. New singers such as Sajjad Ali, Ali Haider, Shahzad and groups like Junoon, Vital Signs and Aawaaz have created some scintillating compositions which reflect the modern influence.
Folk music
Pakistan and India are two countries where folk music has survived over the centuries. This is the true cultural heritage that has thrived with popular support and acclaim.
In Pakistan, the institution of folk music is as alive today as it ever was. The Punjabi, Seraiki, Sindhi, Baloch, Pashto, Balti, Chitrali, Sheeni, Kashmiri, Pothohari, Sohni are the main strains. Zahirok, Durgaee, Nimkai, of Baloch music, Mahya, Dhola, Bhangra, Kikli of Punjab, Kohiyari, Rano, Sorath of Sindh, Chaarbita of Pushto music, Sortha and Teej of Rajasthan are some of the rich compositions that have been preserved for ages by the people. Some of our modern composers have used this heritage and reset the tunes in modern compositions. Faiz Mohammad, Reshmaan, Mai Bhagi, Pathane Khan, Alam Lohar sang some of the traditional folk songs which became instantly popular among the urban population.
The 20th century could be said to be the confluence of several influences. This century saw successive changes in the form and content of the music of the subcontinent. Perhaps, no other century brought about such dynamic changes in the realm of music - be it classical, folk or film. Technology also played a great role in this. The transistor, television, loudspeakers and now the audio cassettes and cds not only revolutionized communication they also made music more accessible to the masses.