"The Journey of Indian Music Beyond Northern Borders" is basically an analytical study of the factors and influencing elements which carried the Hindustani Music to far off regions of South, the epicenter of which is Karnataka state. This state, which is the Mother of Carnatik Classical Music has begun to be identified as an "Abode of Hindustani Musicians" since the last century. The prime highlights of the book are the info about the musical background of this region, the contributions of the Royal Mysore State, the popularization of Natya Sangeet, the Vachan and Dasarpada compositions especially composed in Hindustani tunes, the struggles, triumphs and contributions of the Kannadiga followers of Hindustani Music, the analytical study of their gayaki, the rising status as well as future assumptions about Hindustani music in the neighboring regions etc. Flip through to know more about this odyssey.
Dr. Monika Soni is a Hindustani Classical vocalist and a disciple of Pt. Mani Prasadji and Dr. Chetna Banawatji of Kirana Gharana. She is an M.A., PhD in Music from Banasthali University, Rajasthan. She has been a scholar of Dr. Gangubai Hangal Gurukul in Karnataka and is presently working as an Assistant Professor at P.G. Govt. College for Girls Sec.11 Chandigarh. Monika has toured nationwide for her performances, grabbing several awards and appreciations from the eminent personalities of Hindustani Music.
India’s peculiarity lies in having a unique culture for every particular state or region. But going off the way, Karnataka, the mother of Carnatik music, nurtured the Hindustani music in such a marvelous way that its northern part is now known as the ‘abode of Hindustani musicians’. During the Four-year stay at Dr. Gangubai Hangal Gurukul in Hubli (Karnataka), I got the privilege to be under the tutelage of legendary personalities of Hindustani Music like Pt. Mani Prasadji, Dr. N. Rajam, Pt. Ganpati Bhatt, Pt. Kaivalya Kumar Gurav, Vidushi Vijaya Jadhav Gatlewar and Pt. Babanrao Haldankar. They told me about the background of the classical music of this region. While attending the programs and concerts also, I got to know about the hardships which the people of this region faced only because they were from a Non- Hindustani music tradition. I too, being a North Indian, stood no exception to it and had to tackle the language problem in the beginning. Looking back towards the musical trends of last half of the falling century, the only thing that was known about the musicians of Karnataka was——Bhimsen Joshi from Karnataka got Bharat Ratna, Gangubai Hangal from Karnataka got Padma Vibhushan, Mallikarjun Mansoor was awarded the Padma Vibhushan and so on. But the journey behind this Bharat Ratna or Padma Vibhushan was full of struggles and ups and downs and is worthy to be brought forth as a live example of dedication as well as determination. Along with the story of this journey, the other factors like Natya geet, Dasarpada, Vachan, the story of Royal Mysore State—all seemed too significant to be brought to light so that the world must know their contribution in propagating the Hindustani Music in this far off region.
North Karnataka is the birthplace of some of the greatest names of Indian classical music. To name a few—Sawai Gandharva, Ganpatrao Gurav, Sangameshwar Gurav, Pt. Panchakshari Gawai, Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal, K.G. Ginde, Dinkar Kainkani, Kumar Gandharva, Shobha Gurtu, Basavraj Rajguru, Puttaraj Gawai, Shripati Padegar, Madhav Gudi, Mallikarjun Mansoor, Venkatesh Kumar, Ganpati Bhatt Hasangi, Jayateerth Mevundi, Kaivalya Kumar Gurav et al, all hail from North Karnataka.
Before independence, the Mysore state which was under the rule of Wodeyar dynasty spearheaded the popularization of music among the Kannadigas (the natives of Karnataka). They patronized Hindustani as well as Carnatik musicians as their Court Musicians which paved a way towards the development of scopes and opportunities for both streams of classical music.
Musicians travelling to and from Mysore to North India would cross through the northern belt of Karnataka—Belgaum, Hubli-Dharwad, Davangere etc. Gradually they started making halts at these places; the few rasikas of Hindustani music who came to know about these halts began to organize their baithaks which later became a regular practice.
Districts of Northern Karnataka laying adjacent to the Maharashtrian musical hubs i.e. Kolhapur, Miraj, Satara, Pune etc. took the influence from these neighboring regions. Marathi Natyas, the religio-spiritual literature of Haridasas; Vachans of Shiv Sharanas also began to be composed in Hindustani bhajan style which made Hindustani music a stream being practiced at every house. Excellence in the field of tabla and harmonium accompaniment also sensed a hike.
There were hindrances too, which tried to come in the way of these simple Kannadigas. These legendary artists, better called the divine souls, adopted this art even on terms of going penniless for years, worshipped it like devotees without expecting anything in return. They also contributed their unforgettable part by popularizing it among the common people, by preserving it through written matter and by passing it on in the safe hands of their hard working disciples to conserve it.
Hence, to bring forth the extreme penance of the vocalists of North Karnataka, to survey out the other factors which helped them in popularizing Hindustani music in the North Karnataka and the present trend of classical music in this area is the main objective of this book. So I am presenting this book to the Music World as humble attempt to express my gratitude and pay tributes to the great Indian Musicians.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
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