Classical Music – Detailed Capsule for Railway Exams
1. Introduction
- Indian Classical Music is broadly divided into Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) styles.
- Both systems share the concepts of Raga (melodic framework) and Tala (rhythmic cycle).
- Sangeet Ratnakar (13th C.) by Sharngadeva is the earliest comprehensive treatise on Indian music.
2. Hindustani vs Carnatic – Head-to-Head
| Feature |
Hindustani |
Carnatic |
| Geographical spread |
North India |
South India |
| Main ragas |
Yaman, Bhairav, Todi |
Kalyani, Bhairavi, Todi |
| Main talas |
Teentaal, Jhaptaal, Ektaal |
Adi, Rupaka, Misra Chapu |
| Instrumental lead |
Tabla, Sarod, Sitar, Harmonium |
Mridangam, Violin, Veena, Ghatam |
| Improvisation |
Alap, Jor, Jhala—extensive |
Kalpana-swaras—structured |
| Trinity |
None officially |
Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama Sastri |
| Major festival |
Sawai Gandharva (Pune, 1953–) |
Madras Music Season (1927–) |
3. Chronology of Landmark Events
| Year |
Event |
| 1901 |
First gramophone disc of Indian classical music – Gauhar Jan (Calcutta) |
| 1924 |
All India Radio (AIR) founded; classical music gets national reach |
| 1927 |
Madras Music Academy established; birth of December Music Season |
| 1952 |
Sangeet Natak Akademi constituted |
| 1953 |
First Sawai Gandharva Festival (Pune) |
| 1963 |
Pt. Ravi Shankar wins Grammy for “West Meets East” |
| 1971 |
First Asian to perform at Woodstock – Pt. Ravi Shankar |
| 1999 |
L. Subramaniam nominated for Grammy (Global Fusion) |
| 2004 |
MS Subbulakshmi appears on ₹100 commemorative coin |
| 2019 |
Pandit Arvind Parikh awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship |
4. Great Composers & Their Speciality
| Personality |
School |
Instrument / Contribution |
| Amir Khusrau |
Hindustani |
Invented Tabla & Tarana; introduced Persian elements |
| Tansen |
Hindustani |
Dhrupad; court of Akbar (9 Ratnas) |
| Tyagaraja |
Carnatic |
24,000 kritis (≈700 survive); Pancharatna Kritis |
| Muthuswami Dikshitar |
Carnatic |
Kritis in Sanskrit; introduced Western violin |
| Syama Sastri |
Carnatic |
Swarajati form; Goddess Kamakshi kritis |
| Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar |
Hindustani |
Set up 1st music school (Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, 1901) |
| Pt. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande |
Hindustani |
Created 10 Thaat system; modern notation |
| Ustad Allauddin Khan |
Hindustani |
Maihar Gharuna; Guru of Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan |
| MS Subbulakshmi |
Carnatic |
1st musician to win Bharat Ratna (1998) |
| Pt. Ravi Shankar |
Hindustani |
Popularised sitar globally; 3 Grammys |
5. Instruments & Their Types
| String |
Wind |
Percussion |
| Sitar, Sarod, Veena, Violin, Tanpura |
Bansuri, Shehnai, Nadaswaram, Harmonium |
Tabla, Pakhawaj, Mridangam, Ghatam, Kanjira |
6. Gharanas of Hindustani Music (Vocal & Instrumental)
| Gharana |
Founder / Centre |
Speciality |
| Gwalior |
Nathan Khan / Gwalior |
Simple taans, clear diction |
| Kirana |
Abdul Karim Khan / Kirana |
Slow, meditative alap; shruti emphasis |
| Agra |
Ghagge Khuda Baksh |
Nom-tom alap; powerful voice |
| Jaipur-Atrauli |
Alladiya Khan |
Complex jod-ragas |
| Patiala |
Ali Baksh & Kale Khan |
Tappa & fast taans |
| Maihar |
Allauddin Khan |
Blend of dhrupad & khayal |
7. Awards & Honours Quick List
| Award |
Field |
1st Recipient (Classical) |
| Bharat Ratna |
Music |
MS Subbulakshmi (1998) |
| Padma Vibhushan |
Music |
Ravi Shankar (1968) |
| Sangeet Natak Akademi |
Lifetime |
1953 – Pt. Omkarnath Thakur (Hindustani vocal) |
| Grammy |
Indian classical |
Ravi Shankar (1968) |
8. One-liner Rapid-Fire Facts (Memory Hooks)
- Tansen – 9 jewels (Navratnas) in Akbar’s court; born Ramtanu Pandey.
- Amir Khusrau – “Tuti-e-Hind” (Parrot of India); father of Qawwali.
- Tyagaraja’s 5 gems – Pancharatna Kritis sung at Tiruvaiyaru every year.
- Sangeet Ratnakar – 13th C. Sanskrit encyclopedia; 7 chapters on music.
- Bhatkhande – 10 Thaat system; birth of modern Hindustani syllabus.
- MS Subbulakshmi – 1st musician to address UN General Assembly (1966).
- Pt. Bhimsen Joshi – Bharat Ratna 2009; iconic Mile Sur Mera Tumhara.
- Lata Mangeshkar – trained in Gwalior gharana; father Dinanath Mangeshkar.
- Zakir Hussain – youngest Padma Shri (19 yrs) in tabla.
- Carnatic violin – introduced by Baluswami Dikshitar (brother of Muthuswami).
- Sawai Gandharva – started by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi in memory of Sawai Gandharva (guru).
- Allauddin Khan – taught Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Annapurna Devi.
- Dhrupad – oldest vocal form; Dagar family keeps it alive.
- Tappa – romantic Punjabi folk style; popularised by Shori Miyan.
- Nadaswaram – loudest acoustic instrument; played in Tamil Nadu temples.
Quick Reference Tables
Table-1: Bharat Ratna Musicians
| Name |
Year |
Domain |
| MS Subbulakshmi |
1998 |
Carnatic vocal |
| Pt. Ravi Shankar |
1999 |
Sitar |
| Lata Mangeshkar |
2001 |
Playback (classical base) |
| Ustad Bismillah Khan |
2001 |
Shehnai |
| Pt. Bhimsen Joshi |
2009 |
Hindustani vocal |
Table-2: 10 Thaats (Bhatkhande)
| Thaat |
对应的Raga示例 |
| Bilawal |
Alhaiya Bilawal |
| Kalyan |
Yaman |
| Khamaj |
Des |
| Bhairav |
Bhairav |
| Kafi |
Kafi |
| Asavari |
Asavari |
| Bhairavi |
Bhairavi |
| Marwa |
Marwa |
| Poorvi |
Poorvi |
| Todi |
Todi |
Practice MCQs (Railway Pattern)
1. Who among the following is known as the ‘Father of Khayal’? (A) Amir Khusrau (B) Tansen (C) Swami Haridas (D) Baiju Bawra
**Answer: (A) Amir Khusrau**
He is credited with formalising the Khayal style along with the invention of Tabla & Tarana.
2. The ‘Pancharatna Kritis’ are composed in praise of (A) Lord Vishnu (B) Lord Rama (C) Lord Shiva (D) Goddess Saraswati
**Answer: (B) Lord Rama**
3. Which of the following pairs is incorrectly matched? (A) Gwalior gharana – Nathan Khan (B) Kirana gharana – Abdul Karim Khan (C) Maihar gharana – Alladiya Khan (D) Agra gharana – Faiyaz Khan
**Answer: (C) Maihar gharana – Alladiya Khan**
Maihar was founded by Allauddin Khan; Alladiya Khan founded Jaipur-Atrauli.
4. First Indian musician to win a Grammy Award? (A) Zakir Hussain (B) Lata Mangeshkar (C) Pt. Ravi Shankar (D) Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
**Answer: (C) Pt. Ravi Shankar (1968)**
5. The instrument ‘Nadaswaram’ is indigenous to which state? (A) Kerala (B) Tamil Nadu (C) Karnataka (D) Andhra Pradesh
**Answer: (B) Tamil Nadu**
6. Who among the following introduced Violin into Carnatic music? (A) Tyagaraja (B) Muthuswami Dikshitar (C) Baluswami Dikshitar (D) Syama Sastri
**Answer: (C) Baluswami Dikshitar**
7. ‘Sangeet Ratnakar’ was written by (A) Pandit Bharata (B) Sharngadeva (C) Matanga (D) Abhinavagupta
**Answer: (B) Sharngadeva (13th century)**
8. Which tala has 12 matras in Hindustani music? (A) Teentaal (B) Jhaptaal (C) Ektaal (D) Dadra
**Answer: (C) Ektaal (12 matras)**
9. The ‘Maihar gharana’ is associated with which instrumentalist? (A) Pt. Shivkumar Sharma (B) Pt. Ravi Shankar (C) Ustad Vilayat Khan (D) Pt. Nikhil Banerjee
**Answer: (B) Pt. Ravi Shankar**
10. Who was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001 for Shehnai? (A) Ustad Bismillah Khan (B) Ustad Zakir Hussain (C) Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (D) Pt. Shivkumar Sharma
**Answer: (A) Ustad Bismillah Khan**
11. The oldest form of Hindustani vocal music is (A) Thumri (B) Dhrupad (C) Tarana (D) Tappa
**Answer: (B) Dhrupad**
12. Which composer is famous for the composition ‘Bhaja Govindam’? (A) Tyagaraja (B) Muthuswami Dikshitar (C) Adi Shankaracharya (D) Swati Tirunal
**Answer: (C) Adi Shankaracharya** (Not Carnatic Trinity, but often asked)
13. ‘Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav’ is held annually in (A) Mumbai (B) Pune (C) Delhi (D) Kolkata
**Answer: (B) Pune**
14. The 10-thaat system was propounded by (A) Pt. Paluskar (B) Pt. Bhatkhande (C) Pt. Omkarnath Thakur (D) Pt. Faiyaz Khan
**Answer: (B) Pt. Bhatkhande**
15. First woman to receive the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship? (A) MS Subbulakshmi (B) Siddheshwari Devi (C) Gangubai Hangal (D) Kishori Amonkar
**Answer: (A) MS Subbulakshmi (1974)**
Last-Minute Cheat Sheet (Print & Paste)
- Tansen – Akbar – 1500s – Dhrupad – Gwalior
- Tyagaraja – 1767-1847 – 5 Pancharatna – Tiruvaiyaru
- Bhatkhande – 1860-1936 – 10 Thaat – Hindustani notation
- Ravi Shankar – Grammy 1968 – Woodstock 1971 – Bharat Ratna 1999
- MS Subbulakshmi – UN 1966 – Bharat Ratna 1998 – ₹100 coin 2004
- AIR – 1924 – Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan – 1954
- Sangeet Natak Akademi – 1953 – highest body for performing arts
**Revise > Re-read > Rejoice in the exam hall!
BETA
