Classical Carnatic Music

Classical Carnatic Music has a very rich heritage and cultural background and its existence can be traced down to centuries now. It is a system of music mostly associated with the southern states of India; Karnataka, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Unlike Hindustani music, Carnatic music mainly focuses on the "Sahithya" aspect that is, the meaning and the words used to convey that meaning in a "Kriti." A kriti is a format in which a musical composition is made. A kriti can be split into three parts Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam.
                          Pallavi (equivalent to refrain in western music) is the thematic line of the song, that is, it is the first few main lines of the song. It is generally four short lines, but is repeated twice in order for the percussionists(people who support that vocalist with instruments) to get an idea of the "taalam" (rhythmic patter in which a composition is set, meter in western music) that is chosen and also for the audience to familiarize themselves with the song that's being sung. Anupallavi comes after the Pallavi and is usually the second section of any composition. It is optional and is followed by two or more Charanams.Charanam which means foot is the last part of a composition and is sung after the anupallavi.There may be multiple charanams to a composition which make up different stanzas, but in compositions that do not have an anupallavi, there exists a Samsthi Charanam which combines both the anupallavi and charanam of the composition which follows the pallavi. Some kritis also contain what is called the Mukthayi Swaram or Chitte Swaram which is a  combination of Swaram (the basic elements of music as a whole, Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni) placed after an anupallavi to enhance the beauty of the composition. This blending of different swaram is done by placing swaram that give a nice sound next to one another and sounds good when heard.     

The whole range of music available today can be broadly categorised into Classical music and Western music. Indian Classical Music is one of the oldest musical traditions in the world. In India, Classical music is well acknowledged than Western music, however,  the latter is gaining popularity from the past three to four decades. Classical music is further classified into Carnatic and Hindustani music forms. Carnatic music is widely practised in Southern parts of India and Hindustani music in Northern parts.
                           

A JOURNEY IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC

Music is an art which infuses happiness in every soul. It is an universal art form which retains its popularity from generations, surpassing the changes in every stage of its journey till today. It is regarded and acclaimed throughout the world since time immemorial. 
                       Although it has been influenced by the cultural and religious forces, it has retained its originality and appeals to all strata of society.  People listen to music, with the objective of deriving solace and enjoyment at the same time. Music gives a deviation from the normal, mundane work and for some it heals mind when they are in a disturbed state of anxiety, anger and frustration. The fact that it is an universally well accepted art and everyone relates to it in one form or the other becomes the reason for me to choose "MUSIC" as my theme as I make attempt to start a blog of my own.