MUSICAL TRADITIONS OF KARNATAKA

MUSICAL TRADITIONS OF KARNATAKA

Karnataka has a confluence of three distinct musical traditions which have flourished for centuries. They are Hindusthani Sangita, Karnataka Sangita and folk music. (janapada sangIta) The geographical position of Karnataka and the fact that North Karnataka had close contacts with the royal dynasties of the North are the reasons for this healthy situation. The history of musical traditions can be traced only through the treatises on music written from time to time as also stray references in other literary and scholarly texts. Musical instruments could be seen in ancient sculptures and paintings also. The musical practices that are in vogue currently, contain strains of earlier situations. It is possible to make only a brief survey of the relevant musical traditions in this note.

The earliest reference to music in Karnataka occurs in the tALagunda inscription of Kakusthavarma, the Kadamba monarch (approximately 450 A.D.) ‘Silapadikaram’ the famous Tamil epic says that ‘karunATar’ the singers and dancers from Karnataka performed in the presence of senguTTavan the Chera king. ‘Brihaddeshi’ of Matanga and ‘Vikramankabhyudaya’ a Sanskrit book make references to ‘prabandha’ (musical compositions) in Kannada and the upsurge of music in the royal courts of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Similarly terms like ‘Ekala’, yamaLa’ and ‘vrinda’ refer to solo, duet and chorus performances. Many musical instruments -percussion, wind and stringed- have found their way in to literary and other texts. Veena, flute, Mrdanga, huduka, kinnari, paTaha, BEri, karaDe, Avuja, vallaki, danDikA, dunDuBi, DinDima, Damaru are some of the instruments mentioned in these texts. Many musical compositions like ‘prabandha’, ‘kanda’, ‘vRutta’, ‘gAthaa’, shukasritA’ and ‘kaivaDa’ are also mentioned there, even though with little information. cattANa, bedanDe, melvAdu, Ovi, bAjanagabba, ‘melvAdu’, ‘dhavaLA’, ‘mangaLAcAra’ and ‘suvvi’ constitute yet another set of compositions with distinct Dravidian and Kannada flavour.

Some of the important treatises on music written in Karnataka in Kannada as well as Sanskrit are as follows:

1. ‘Abhilashitartha Chintamani’ By Someshvara-3, 1116-27 A.D.

2. ‘Sangita Chudamani’ By Jagadekamalla, 1138-50

3. ‘Sangita Ratnakara’ By Sarangadeva Suri, 12^th Century.

4. ’Sangita Suryodaya’ By Bandaru Lakshminarayana, 16^th Century

5. ‘Sangita sara’ By Vidyaranya

6. ‘Kalaanidhi’ By Chaturakallinatha

7. ‘Svaramelakalanidhi’ By Ramamatya, 16^th Century

8. ‘Shivatatva Ratnakara’ Immadi Basavappa Nayaka, 18^th Century

9. ‘Kitab I Nauras’ Ibrahim Adil Shah-2, 16^th century

10. ‘Sri Tatva Nidhi’ By Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, 1825 A.D.

11. ‘Sadraagachandroodaya’, ‘Raagamanjari’, ‘Raagamalaa’ and ‘nartana nirNaya’ By Pundarika Vittala, 16^th Century

12. ‘Chaturdandi Prakashikaa’ By Venkatamukhin, 17^th century

Of these writers, Venkatamukhin and Pundarika Vittala worked outside Karnataka even though they belonged to this state. These texts have contributed hugely to the development of Karnataka Sangita in Karnataka as well as other states. ‘Kitab I Nauras’ and some of the works by Pundarika Vittala have made singular contribution to Hindusthani music.

Any account of the development of Karnataka Sangita has to be dependent on the texts mentioned above. Two distinct traditions are based on ‘raaga-raagiNi’ classification and meLa-mELakarta wise classification respectively. There is also an attempt classify raagas as ‘puruSa’ raagas and ‘strI’. (Male and female)

Dr B.V.K. Shastry the well known musicologist of Karnataka delineates the early stage of Karnataka Sangita (up to 14^th century) as follows:

“During the first stage we find references to Marga, Desi, ancient jathis, Grama raagas and also the above classification. (Raaga and raagini) We also find references to the ancient 101 or 108 tALas and also sUDa tALas, from which the tALas in current usage were derived later. ... We also find another system called ‘Batheesa raga’ or a system of 32 ragas. This certainly belonged to a regional tradition because there is no mention of Batheesa ragas in music treatises in Sanskrit, where as many Kannada classics between 12^th and 17^th centuries mention the Batheesa ragas.” (‘Avalokana’, 1982, Directorate of Kannada and Culture, Bangalore)

The contribution of the Shivasharanas to the musical tradition of Karnataka is noteworthy. Poets such as Basavanna were never particular about the nuances of the classical music. However, their Vachanas were lyrical and musical. Many of them are adopted by the musicians of our times. Karnataka Sangita is usually associated with Purandaradasa the great poet-saint who is known as ‘Karnataka Sangita Pitamaha’. His songs are infused with bhakti and a whole gamut of emotions that are eminently suited to musical exposition. However, not much research has taken place about his precise contribution to the theoretical corpus of Karnataka Sangita. “Sulaadi’, ‘ugAbhOga’, suvvAli’ and kIrtane’ are the contributions of the Haridasa movement. The task of classifying the raagas in to 72 meLakarta raagas was consolidated by Venkatamukhi in his ‘Chaturdandi Prakashika’ after early spade work was done by Vidyaranya and Punadarika Vittala. Somantha developed this school further by introducing the idea of 22 ‘sruti’s. The Vijayanagara Empire had a crucial role in this evolution as it nourished many musicians and scholars.

In the Post-Vijayanagara period, the focus shifted to the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore and some other minor dynasties like KeLadi. Many ‘Yakshagana’s and ‘gEyapranbandha’s modelled after ‘GIta Govinda’ by Jayadeva were composed. This brings us to the end of seventeenth century. Even after that the rulers of Mysore encouraged both vocal and instrumental music belonging to Hindustani and Karnataka styles.

There was a gradual movement in North Karnataka towards Hindusthani music. Historically, Amir Khusru, Gopala Nayaka and Ibrahim Adil Shah have contributed hugely for the initiation and growth of Hindusthani music. The contact with Maharashtra and north India could have precipitated it. However, this activity was initiated only in the nineteenth century. Karnataka has had many doyens belonging to this genre in the 20^th century.

The folk music of Karnataka is very precious because it has retained many indigenous Dravidian elements. As a matter fact many of the musical genres and musical instruments mentioned in our ancient texts belong to the folklore. The folk epics of Karnataka have a rendering mode which is a combination of music and prose. Most of the tribes in Karnataka have their own styles and songs. ‘Tripadi’ is one of the important prosodic forms that are amenable to singing. Folk music is presented in both religious and secular contexts. Number of folk rituals such as ‘kontipooje’ have songs associated with them. There are songs for every occasion connected with rural routine whether it is agriculture or household work. Instruments used in folk music are varied and complex. Of course some classical tunes have percolated to the folk music also. Folk theatrical forms such as yakshagAna, saNNAATa and doDDATa have their own brand of music. Ethnic minorities of Karnataka such as people belonging to ‘tuLunADu’ and ‘koDagu’ as also a number of indigenous tribes have musical compositions unique to their languages.

The musical traditions of Karnataka are thus multiple and each one of them has its own unique characteristics and historical antecedents.