Topic 7: Indian Music

Music (sangeet) in India is a spiritual discipline as much as an art — traced to the chanting of the Samaveda and codified in Bharata's Natyashastra. The exam tests it as a web of system–form–exponent–instrument links. This book-depth file covers the grammar of music (raga, tala, swara, shruti), the two great classical systems — Hindustani (Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri; gharanas) and Carnatic (the Trinity, kriti) — their comparison, the four-fold classification of instruments (Tata, Sushira, Avanaddha, Ghana), and folk music — with tables, diagrams and PYQs with model answers.

UPSC Prelims · Mains GS-I Hindustani · Carnatic ~34 min read Raga · Tala · Instruments High Weight

1.Overview & Two Streams
2.Grammar of Music — Raga, Tala, Swara
3.Hindustani Classical Music
4.Carnatic Classical Music
5.Hindustani vs Carnatic
6.Classification of Instruments
7.Gharanas & Lineage
8.Folk & Devotional Music
9.Institutions & Current Relevance
10.Prelims PYQs
11.Mains PYQs + Model Answers
★15-Minute Revision Box

Conceptual Clarity — How UPSC Frames Indian Music

Music is tested as system–form–exponent–instrument matching ("which pair is correctly matched?") plus a few discrimination traps (Hindustani vs Carnatic, which instrument is a tata vadya). The productive skill is holding accurate chains rather than isolated names. Sort your prep:

Static/terminology — raga/tala/swara vocabulary; forms and their system (Dhrupad/Khayal = Hindustani, Kriti/Varnam = Carnatic); the Carnatic Trinity; instrument categories (Sitar = tata, Bansuri = sushira, Tabla = avanaddha, Ghatam = ghana). High recall.
Discrimination — Hindustani vs Carnatic features; melody (raga) vs rhythm (tala); string vs wind vs membrane vs solid instruments; classical vs folk. Feature-to-system mapping.
Analytical (GS-I) — music as syncretic heritage (Hindu–Persian fusion in Hindustani), the guru–shishya and gharana system, and threats to intangible traditions. Needs idea + example + judgement.

Note: The two classical systems share a single ancient root (Samaveda → Natyashastra → medieval treatises) and split only after the 13th century, when the North absorbed Persian–Central Asian influences while the South stayed closer to the older Sanskritic tradition.

1. Overview & Two Streams

Indian music is among the oldest continuous musical traditions in the world. Its distinctiveness lies in being melody-based and modal (built on the raga) rather than harmony-based, and in treating music as nada-brahma — sound as a path to the divine. Understanding it begins with its shared origin and its later split into two systems.

Stage	Source / Text	Contribution
Vedic origin	Samaveda	Earliest musical chanting; melodic recitation of hymns — the fount of Indian music
Classical codification	Bharata's Natyashastra (c. 2nd BCE–2nd CE)	First systematic treatment of swara, jati (proto-raga), and grama (scale)
Medieval theory	Sarangadeva's Sangita Ratnakara (13th c.)	Landmark treatise; last text common to both systems before the split
The split	13th c. onward	North (Hindustani) absorbs Persian influence; South (Carnatic) retains older Sanskritic form

Marga vs Desi: ancient theory distinguished marga (classical, codified, pan-Indian, "of the gods") from desi (regional, folk) music — the ancestor of the classical–folk divide.
Melody over harmony: the whole edifice rests on the raga (melodic framework) and tala (rhythmic cycle), unfolded solo or in small ensembles, not in Western-style harmony.
Two classical systems: Hindustani (North, incl. Pakistan & Bangladesh) and Carnatic (South) — one tradition, two dialects.
Amir Khusrau (13th–14th c.): a key figure of fusion — credited (by tradition) with the sitar and tabla and with forms like the qawwali and khayal, embodying the Hindu–Persian synthesis of the North.

One-line frame: Indian classical music is one river from a single Vedic source that forked into a Persianised Hindustani channel in the North and a conservative Carnatic channel in the South.

2. Grammar of Music — Raga, Tala, Swara

Before comparing systems, one must grasp the shared vocabulary — the "grammar" both traditions use. Two axes organise all Indian music: melody (swara → raga) and rhythm (matra → tala).

Shruti: the smallest perceptible interval of pitch; the octave is divided into 22 shrutis, from which the usable notes are drawn.
Swara: the seven basic notes — Shadja (Sa), Rishabh (Re), Gandhar (Ga), Madhyam (Ma), Pancham (Pa), Dhaivat (Dha), Nishad (Ni). Sa and Pa are fixed (achala); the rest can be flat/sharp (komal/tivra).
Saptak (octave): three registers — Mandra (low), Madhya (middle), Taar (high).
Raga: a melodic framework — a set of ascending (aroha) and descending (avaroha) notes with rules, characteristic phrases and mood. A raga is not a fixed tune but a grammar for improvisation. Many are associated with a time of day / season (e.g. Bhairav = dawn, Megh/Malhar = monsoon).
Tala: the rhythmic cycle measured in beats (matra) grouped into sections (vibhaga); the emphatic first beat is sam, stressed beats are tali, and the empty beat is khali. Teental (16 beats) is the commonest Hindustani tala; Adi tala (8 beats) is the Carnatic staple.
Alankar & Gamaka: ornamentation — oscillations, glides and grace-notes that give the raga its life; gamaka (the oscillating touch) is especially central to Carnatic music.

Prelims trap: A raga defines the melody; a tala defines the rhythm. "Alaap" — the slow, un-metred opening that introduces a raga — is performed without a tala (no percussion).

3. Hindustani Classical Music

Hindustani music is the North Indian system that evolved after the 13th century by fusing the older Indian tradition with Persian and Central Asian elements introduced under the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals. It is more improvisatory and open than its Southern cousin, and is organised through gharanas (stylistic lineages) and thaats (parent scales).

Form	Nature	Note
Dhrupad	Oldest, austere, devotional; slow and grand	Revived by Dagar family; sung to pakhawaj
Dhamar	Related to Dhrupad; themes of Holi/Krishna	Set to Dhamar tala (14 beats)
Khayal	Dominant modern form; imaginative & ornamented	“Khayal” = imagination (Persian); flexible, romantic
Thumri	Semi-classical, romantic/devotional (love of Radha–Krishna)	Associated with Lucknow & Banaras
Tarana	Fast, syllable-based (nonsense syllables)	Attributed to Amir Khusrau
Ghazal	Urdu/Persian poetic form set to music	Semi-classical; wide popular reach

Thaat system: Pt. V.N. Bhatkhande classified Hindustani ragas under 10 thaats (parent scales, e.g. Bilawal, Kalyan, Bhairav) — a key modern systematisation.
Persian imprint: instruments (sitar, sarod, tabla), forms (khayal, tarana, ghazal, qawwali) and vocabulary reflect the Hindu–Muslim synthesis; Tansen, one of Akbar's navaratnas, is the towering figure of this tradition.
Emphasis: greater scope for improvisation, longer alaap, and the performer's personal creativity within the raga; a single raga can fill an entire concert.
Key exponents: Tansen, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Kishori Amonkar, Kumar Gandharva (vocal); the tradition is carried through gharanas (Section 7).

GS-I hook: Hindustani music is a living emblem of India's syncretic Ganga–Jamuni culture — Hindu ragas and Persian forms fused into a shared idiom sung by Hindu and Muslim maestros alike.

4. Carnatic Classical Music

Carnatic music is the South Indian system, more composition-centred and devotional than Hindustani, and closer to the ancient Sanskritic tradition. Its repertoire is dominated by fixed compositions (kritis) rather than open improvisation, and it is deeply woven into temple and bhakti culture.

Element	Detail
Founder of tradition	Purandara Dasa — "Pitamaha (grandfather) of Carnatic music"; systematised early lessons & exercises
The Trinity (18th–19th c.)	Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama Sastri — the three great composers
Scale system	72 Melakarta (parent) ragas — systematised by Venkatamakhin
Core form	Kriti / Kirtana — devotional composition in three parts (pallavi, anupallavi, charanam)
Other forms	Varnam (opener), Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi (improvisatory), Thillana (fast, dance-like), Javali

The Carnatic Trinity: Tyagaraja (prolific composer of kritis to Lord Rama, created new ragas), Muthuswami Dikshitar (Sanskrit compositions, temple deities), and Syama Sastri (compositions to Goddess) — the three defined the mature tradition.
Melakarta: the 72 parent (janaka) ragas, each generating derived (janya) ragas — a rigorous, near-mathematical scale system unique to Carnatic.
Gamaka-rich: heavy oscillation and ornamentation; notes are rarely "plain", giving Carnatic its dense, weighty texture.
Devotional core: the repertoire is overwhelmingly composed (kritis), and rooted in bhakti — the Kutcheri (concert) and the Thyagaraja Aradhana festival keep it alive.
Key exponents: the Trinity, plus M.S. Subbulakshmi, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Balamuralikrishna, and (violin) Lalgudi Jayaraman.

Prelims trap: Purandara Dasa is the Pitamaha (grandfather/father) of Carnatic music, distinct from the later Trinity (Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri). Annamacharya (15th c.) is earlier than the Trinity — not their contemporary.

5. Hindustani vs Carnatic

The single highest-yield comparison in this topic. Both descend from one root but diverge in emphasis: Hindustani leans to improvisation and mood, Carnatic to composition and devotion. The table isolates the discriminating features UPSC likes to test.

Feature	Hindustani (North)	Carnatic (South)
External influence	Persian / Central Asian (Mughal)	Largely indigenous, Sanskritic
Emphasis	Improvisation; the raga is explored at length	Composition (kriti); the fixed piece is central
Scale system	10 Thaats (Bhatkhande)	72 Melakarta ragas
Main forms	Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri, Tarana	Kriti, Varnam, RTP, Thillana
Organisation	Gharanas (stylistic schools)	No gharana system; composer-lineage
Ornamentation	Comparatively restrained; longer plain notes	Gamaka-heavy; oscillating notes throughout
Main accompaniment	Tabla (rhythm), Tanpura (drone)	Mridangam (rhythm), Tanpura, Violin
Iconic instrument	Sitar, Sarod, Sarangi, Bansuri	Veena, Mridangam, Ghatam, Nadaswaram
Ethos	Aesthetic mood (romantic, seasonal, time-of-day)	Devotional (bhakti-centred)

Shared foundation: both use swara, raga and tala, both are melodic/modal, both use the tanpura drone — the split is one of style, not structure.
Improvisation vs composition: a Hindustani concert may dwell on one raga for an hour; a Carnatic Kutcheri moves through many composed kritis.
Time association: ragas tied to time-of-day/season are prominent in Hindustani; Carnatic gives this far less emphasis.

Highest-frequency exam idea: Persian influence + gharana + thaat = Hindustani; Trinity + kriti + melakarta + gamaka = Carnatic. Both share the raga–tala grammar and the tanpura drone.

6. Classification of Instruments

Indian instruments are classified by the Natyashastra into four ancient categories based on how sound is produced. This four-fold scheme is a perennial prelims favourite — the trick is mapping each instrument to the right category.

Category	Sound produced by	Examples
Tata Vadya	Vibrating strings (chordophone)	Sitar, Sarod, Veena, Sarangi, Tanpura, Santoor, Ektara
Sushira Vadya	Vibrating air column (aerophone)	Bansuri (flute), Shehnai, Nadaswaram, Pungi, Algoza
Avanaddha Vadya	Stretched membrane (drums)	Tabla, Mridangam, Pakhawaj, Dholak, Khol, Nagara
Ghana Vadya	Solid body, struck (no membrane, no tuning)	Ghatam, Manjira, Jaltarang, Morsing, Kartal

Tata (string): plucked (sitar, veena), bowed (sarangi), or struck (santoor). The Sarangi is a bowed drone-rich instrument; the Rudra Veena is the ancient dhrupad instrument.
Sushira (wind): the Shehnai (Bismillah Khan) and its Southern cousin Nadaswaram are auspicious ceremonial reeds; the Bansuri (Hariprasad Chaurasia) is the bamboo flute.
Avanaddha (membrane): Tabla (Hindustani) vs Mridangam (Carnatic) is the classic North–South percussion pair; the Pakhawaj accompanies dhrupad.
Ghana (solid/idiophone): the oldest category — struck solids needing no tuning; the Ghatam (clay pot) and Jaltarang (water-filled bowls) are the marquee examples.

Prelims trap: Ghatam and Jaltarang are Ghana (solid), NOT drums — drums (membrane) are Avanaddha. Santoor is a struck-string Tata, not percussion. Nadaswaram is a wind (Sushira) instrument.

7. Gharanas & Lineage

A gharana is a stylistic school of Hindustani music — a lineage transmitted through the guru–shishya parampara, each with a distinctive technique, aesthetic and repertoire. Gharanas are unique to the Hindustani system; Carnatic transmits through composer-lineages instead.

Gharana	Known for
Gwalior	Oldest khayal gharana; foundational, balanced style
Kirana	Emphasis on slow elaboration & pure notes (Abdul Karim Khan, Bhimsen Joshi)
Agra	Forceful, dhrupad-influenced khayal
Jaipur-Atrauli	Complex ragas & intricate phrasing (Kishori Amonkar)
Patiala	Ornate, thumri-rich (Bade Ghulam Ali Khan)

Guru–shishya parampara: knowledge passes orally from master to disciple over years of apprenticeship — the human transmission chain that keeps a gharana alive.
Instrumental gharanas exist too: e.g. Maihar gharana (Allauddin Khan → Ravi Shankar on sitar, Ali Akbar Khan on sarod).
Why it matters: the gharana is an intangible cultural institution — its decline (fewer disciples, commercialisation, loss of patronage) is a live GS-I concern about preserving traditional knowledge.

GS-I hook: The gharana–guru–shishya system is India's indigenous "conservatory" — a living, oral mode of preserving intangible heritage that formal institutions can support but never fully replace.

8. Folk & Devotional Music

Beyond the two classical systems lies a vast desi world of folk and devotional music — region-rooted, community-owned, and tied to festivals, work and worship. UPSC tests these as form–region pairs and as vehicles of syncretism.

Tradition	Region	Character
Baul	Bengal	Wandering mystic minstrels; syncretic (UNESCO ICH)
Bhavageet / Lavani	Karnataka / Maharashtra	Expressive lyric / vigorous rhythmic folk
Bihu	Assam	Spring/harvest festival songs & dance
Pandavani	Chhattisgarh	Ballad-narration of the Mahabharata
Maand	Rajasthan	Semi-classical desert folk (Manganiyar/Langas)
Powada	Maharashtra	Heroic ballads (Shivaji)

Devotional streams: Bhajan (Hindu devotional), Kirtan (call-and-response, esp. Bengal/Vaishnav), Qawwali (Sufi devotional, Amir Khusrau; Nizamuddin Dargah) — the bhakti–sufi soundtrack of syncretism.
Abhang & Ovi (Maharashtra), Shabad (Sikh Gurbani kirtan): saint-poetry set to music — music as the vehicle of the Bhakti movement.
Baul of Bengal is inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage — a syncretic mystic tradition blending Hindu, Buddhist and Sufi ideas.
Function: folk music marks the agrarian calendar (sowing/harvest), rites of passage (birth/marriage), and community memory — oral, participatory and evolving.

Prelims trap: Baul (Bengal) is a genuine UNESCO ICH element. Qawwali is Sufi devotional linked to Amir Khusrau and the Chishti order, not a classical concert form.

9. Institutions & Current Relevance

Music policy in India runs through Akademis, festivals and honours that both preserve and popularise the traditions — and the intangible, oral nature of music makes its safeguarding a recurring analytical theme.

Sangeet Natak Akademi (1953): India's national academy for music, dance and drama — confers the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Fellowship (Ratna Sadasya), the highest state recognition for performing artists.
ICH & global recognition: traditions like Vedic chanting, Ramlila, Baul and (music-linked) Kutiyattam feature on UNESCO's intangible heritage lists — anchoring music to the heritage-safeguarding debate.
Living festivals: the Thyagaraja Aradhana (Thiruvaiyaru), the Madras Music Season (December Kutcheris), the Tansen Samaroh (Gwalior) and Dover Lane / Sawai Gandharva concerts sustain the classical audience.
Honours: Padma awards and Bharat Ratna (M.S. Subbulakshmi, Ravi Shankar, Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan) have gone to musicians — markers of music's national standing.
Challenges: shrinking patronage, the pull of popular/film music, erosion of the guru–shishya system, and the difficulty of transmitting an oral art — the core of any "safeguarding intangible heritage" answer.

One-line frame: Indian music survives not in archives but in living transmission — the guru, the concert and the festival — so state support must protect the practice, not merely record the product. check for latest update or data

10. Prelims PYQs

A genuine dated UPSC PYQ plus concept-practice MCQs on Indian music, built on genuine UPSC themes. Each carries a worked rationale.

UPSC Prelims 2018

Q: With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following statements:
1. Most of the Tyagaraja Kritis are devotional songs addressed to Lord Rama.
2. Tyagaraja created several new ragas.
3. Annamacharya and Tyagaraja are contemporaries.
4. Thillana is a musical form in the Carnatic music.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 4. Tyagaraja's kritis are largely addressed to Lord Rama and he did create new ragas; Thillana is a Carnatic form. Statement 3 is wrong — Annamacharya (15th c.) long preceded Tyagaraja (18th–19th c.), so they were not contemporaries.

Concept practice

Q: The four-fold classification of Indian musical instruments in the Natyashastra places drums (like the Tabla and Mridangam) in which category?

(a) Tata Vadya
(b) Sushira Vadya
(c) Avanaddha Vadya
(d) Ghana Vadya

Answer: (c) Avanaddha Vadya — membrane-covered (drum) instruments. Tata = strings, Sushira = wind, Ghana = solid struck (Ghatam, Jaltarang).

Concept practice

Q: Which of the following is a feature of Carnatic, but NOT of Hindustani, classical music?

(a) The gharana system of stylistic lineages
(b) The 72 Melakarta parent-raga scheme
(c) Use of the tanpura as a drone
(d) The raga–tala framework

Answer: (b). The 72 Melakarta system is distinctly Carnatic; gharanas belong to Hindustani; the tanpura drone and the raga–tala grammar are common to both.

Concept practice

Q: Consider the following pairs of musical form and tradition:
1. Khayal — Hindustani
2. Kriti — Carnatic
3. Thumri — Carnatic
Which of the pairs are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a). Khayal is Hindustani and Kriti is Carnatic (correct). Thumri is a semi-classical Hindustani form (Lucknow/Banaras), not Carnatic — so pair 3 is wrong.

Concept practice

Q: Which one of the following is regarded as the "Pitamaha" (grandfather) of Carnatic music?

(a) Tyagaraja
(b) Purandara Dasa
(c) Muthuswami Dikshitar
(d) Syama Sastri

Answer: (b) Purandara Dasa, who systematised the early lessons and exercises. The other three are (with Tyagaraja) part of the later Carnatic Trinity — except Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, who with Tyagaraja form the Trinity.

Concept practice

Q: Which one of the following instruments is a Sushira Vadya (wind instrument)?

(a) Santoor
(b) Ghatam
(c) Nadaswaram
(d) Pakhawaj

Answer: (c) Nadaswaram — a South Indian double-reed wind instrument. Santoor is a struck-string (Tata), Ghatam is a solid idiophone (Ghana), and Pakhawaj is a drum (Avanaddha).

Prelims — anticipated themes

Likely: Hindustani vs Carnatic features; instrument classification (Ghatam/Jaltarang = Ghana; Santoor = string); form–system pairs (Dhrupad/Khayal/Thumri vs Kriti/Varnam/Thillana); the Carnatic Trinity & Purandara Dasa; thaat vs melakarta; Baul (UNESCO ICH); Amir Khusrau & syncretic forms. check for latest update or data

11. Mains PYQs + Model Answers

Model GS-I questions on Indian music. Each carries a full skeleton — Introduction → body → Conclusion.

Model question — GS-I 15 marks · 250 words

Q: "Hindustani classical music is a living symbol of India's syncretic culture." Examine.

Model Answer

Introduction: Hindustani music emerged after the 13th century by fusing the indigenous raga tradition with Persian–Central Asian elements — making it a sonic embodiment of India's composite (Ganga–Jamuni) culture.
Fusion of forms & instruments: khayal, tarana, ghazal and qawwali carry Persian idiom, while sitar, sarod and tabla arose from cross-cultural exchange (traditionally linked to Amir Khusrau).
Shared practitioners (the core): the tradition is sung and taught across religious lines — Tansen at Akbar's court, and later Hindu and Muslim maestros within the same gharanas — a genuinely shared cultural space.
Persistence of the Indian base: despite Persian overlays, the raga–tala grammar, swara system and devotional Dhrupad root remain thoroughly Indian — synthesis, not replacement.
Critical edge: the syncretism is real but fragile — communal readings of culture, shrinking patronage and the decline of the oral gharana system threaten this shared heritage.
Conclusion: Hindustani music shows that India's greatest cultural achievements are collaborative; protecting it is protecting the idea of a plural, composite India.

Model question — GS-I 15 marks · 250 words

Q: Compare and contrast the Hindustani and Carnatic systems of classical music, and account for their divergence.

Model Answer

Introduction: Both systems descend from a single Vedic–Sanskritic root and shared theory until the 13th century, after which they diverged into the North's Hindustani and the South's Carnatic traditions.
Common foundation: both rest on swara, raga and tala, are melodic/modal, and use the tanpura drone — the shared grammar of Indian music.
Points of contrast (the core): Hindustani stresses improvisation, uses 10 thaats and the gharana system, and leans on Persian-influenced forms; Carnatic stresses composition (kriti), uses 72 melakarta ragas, is gamaka-heavy and devotional (the Trinity).
Reasons for divergence: the North's prolonged contact with Persian–Islamic culture (Sultanate, Mughals) reshaped its music, while the South, insulated from this, stayed closer to the older temple-and-bhakti tradition.
Critical reflection: the divide is stylistic, not structural — and modern fusion (jugalbandi, film music) is once again blurring the boundary.
Conclusion: the two systems are dialects of one language — their divergence maps the differing historical experience of North and South, yet their unity of grammar reflects India's underlying cultural continuity.

Model question — GS-I 10 marks · 150 words

Q: Discuss the role of the guru–shishya parampara and the gharana system in preserving Indian classical music.

Model Answer

Introduction: Indian classical music is an oral, improvisatory art transmitted not by notation but by living apprenticeship — the guru–shishya parampara, organised in Hindustani music as gharanas.
Transmission: years of direct study pass technique, repertoire and aesthetic sensibility that cannot be captured in writing.
The gharana as institution (the core): each gharana (Gwalior, Kirana, Jaipur-Atrauli) preserves a distinctive style, giving the tradition both continuity and diversity.
Value: this system is India's indigenous "conservatory" and a form of intangible cultural heritage — a repository of tacit knowledge.
Critical edge: it is under strain — fewer long-term disciples, commercialisation, loss of patronage; formal institutions (Akademis, universities) can support but not replace it.
Conclusion: safeguarding classical music means safeguarding this human chain of transmission, not merely recording performances.

Model question — GS-I 10 marks · 150 words

Q: Bring out the significance of folk and devotional music in India's cultural life.

Model Answer

Introduction: Beside the two classical systems lies a vast desi world of folk and devotional music that is the everyday soundtrack of Indian life — rooted in region, community and worship.
Cultural anchor: folk forms (Bihu, Lavani, Pandavani, Maand) mark the agrarian calendar, rites of passage and community memory, keeping regional identity alive.
Vehicle of devotion & syncretism (the core): bhajan, kirtan, abhang and qawwali carried the Bhakti–Sufi message to the masses; the Baul of Bengal (UNESCO ICH) fuses Hindu, Buddhist and Sufi strands.
Inclusivity: unlike the elite classical concert, folk music is participatory and open — a democratic cultural form.
Critical edge: migration, media and neglect threaten many oral folk traditions, demanding documentation and livelihood support for practitioners.
Conclusion: folk and devotional music are the living, popular base of India's musical culture — preserving them preserves the plural, grassroots memory of the nation.

Mains GS-I — anticipated themes

Likely: Hindustani music & syncretic culture; Hindustani vs Carnatic comparison; guru–shishya/gharana & intangible heritage; folk/devotional music & the Bhakti movement; safeguarding oral musical traditions; contribution of a named exponent (Tansen, the Trinity). check for latest update or data

15-Minute Revision Box

Must-Remember Facts — Indian Music

Origins & Grammar

Root: Samaveda → Natyashastra → Sangita Ratnakara (Sarangadeva, last common text)
Raga = melody framework; Tala = rhythm cycle; 7 swaras, 22 shrutis
Alaap = slow, un-metred raga intro (no tala)

Hindustani vs Carnatic

Hindustani = Persian influence, 10 thaats, gharanas, improvisation
Carnatic = 72 melakarta, kriti, gamaka-heavy, devotional
Trinity = Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri; Purandara Dasa = Pitamaha

Instrument Categories

Tata = strings (Sitar, Veena, Sarangi, Santoor)
Sushira = wind (Bansuri, Shehnai, Nadaswaram)
Avanaddha = drums (Tabla, Mridangam, Pakhawaj); Ghana = solid (Ghatam, Jaltarang)

Forms & Folk

Hindustani forms: Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri, Tarana
Carnatic forms: Kriti, Varnam, RTP, Thillana
Baul (Bengal) = UNESCO ICH; Qawwali = Sufi (Amir Khusrau)

Highest-frequency themes: Hindustani vs Carnatic features · instrument classification (Ghatam/Jaltarang = Ghana; drums = Avanaddha) · form–system pairs · Carnatic Trinity & Purandara Dasa · thaat vs melakarta · Baul (ICH). One root (Samaveda), two dialects.

Feature	H	C
Scales	10 thaat	72 mela
Core form	Khayal	Kriti
Percussion	Tabla	Mridangam

Sitar / Veena	Tata
Bansuri / Shehnai	Sushira
Tabla / Mridangam	Avanaddha
Ghatam / Jaltarang	Ghana

Topic 7: Indian Music

On this page

Conceptual Clarity — How UPSC Frames Indian Music

1. Overview & Two Streams

2. Grammar of Music — Raga, Tala, Swara

3. Hindustani Classical Music

4. Carnatic Classical Music

5. Hindustani vs Carnatic

6. Classification of Instruments

7. Gharanas & Lineage

8. Folk & Devotional Music

9. Institutions & Current Relevance

10. Prelims PYQs

11. Mains PYQs + Model Answers

Model Answer

Model Answer

Model Answer

Model Answer

15-Minute Revision Box

Must-Remember Facts — Indian Music

Origins & Grammar

Hindustani vs Carnatic

Instrument Categories

Forms & Folk