India’s musical
diversity
ADITI SARAWAGI
Like many other aspects, music in India is also diverse because of its cultural diversity. Almost every Indian city has a
different genre of music specific to it. If you want to explore new styles of music, India is a hub of different styles and it’s a
heaven for music lovers.
Bengaluru
A young city, Bengaluru’s musical
journey is all rock and roll. It is
often touted as the “Rock Capital
of India,” and is well known for
its underground hip-hop music
scene. It has hosted a number
of stalwarts in rock music including Aerosmith and
Iron Maiden. Bengaluru has a thriving live music scene
and has given rise to a number of music bands.
West Bengal
Kolkata has its own breed of music
specific to West Bengal-Rabindra
Sangeet. The songs are written and
composed by Rabindranath Tagore
which is immensely popular and
many renditions of his music are
widely performed. Kolkata is home to one of the first rock
bands of India, Mohiner Ghoraguli along with several other
Bengali rock bands. Bengal is also known for a music form-
Bhatiali, sung by its fishermen. Nirmalendu Chowdhury
is one of the best exponents of this ancient musical form.
Tamil Nadu
South India is famous for Carnatic
music. Chennai regularly hosts
Carnatic music concerts and
recitals. A number of popular
singers have emerged from Chennai
like Aruna Sairam, Gayathri
Girish, and Vidya Subramanian. Bhavageete, Naatupura
Paadalgal, and Kummi Paatu are other beautiful streams
of music in Tamil Nadu, each with its own special tones.
Shillong
Shillong is a rock music hub in India
and is a shining star on the country’s
music map. The famous Lou Majaw,
known for his Bob Dylan renditions
is from Shillong. Many international
rock bands have performed in Shillong
like Petra, Eric Martin, MLTR, Scorpion, White Lion, and
Hoobastank amongst others. Soulmate, the blues band well
known across the country originates from Meghalaya as well.
its Hindustani classical music. The various compositions
were highly inspired by the poetry written by the famous
poets and literary figures from the town itself.
Assam
Assam is known for Bihugeet and
this form of folk music is performed
every year at the famous Bihu festival.
It is not only popular in Assam
but across North-eastern India. It
represents the joy of the Assamese
and these songs usually tell a story on various themes like
love, social messages and even entertaining stories.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhandi music usually convey
important social messages, stories
on nature, bravery and historical
characters. The people of the state
use their music to share their
cultural practices. They are well
known to use unique musical instruments like Masak
Baja, Daur, Thali, Ransingha, Damoun, and Bhankora.
Maharashtra
A popular form of music in
Maharashtra is Lavani which is
accompanied by a dance form of the
same name. It is an entertaining
form of music and uses its fun beats
to convey important social messages
about society and politics. There are different types of Lavani-
Nirguni, Shringari, Baithakichi, and Phadachi Lavani.
Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh
These states are known for Pandavani
which narrates the heroics of the
Mahabharata. It is an old form of folk
music but is being kept alive by ace
performers like Teejan Bai, Jhaduram
Devangan, Ritu Verma, Usha Barle and Shantibai Chelak.
India is a true music lover’s paradise and the
diversity in the various cultures of the states adds
to the beauty of music across the country.
Lucknow
Lucknow is known for one of
India’s biggest classical music
maestros-Begum Akhtar. She
is one of the epitomes of Ghazal
music. Lucknow is famous for
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