Raga music can be traced back to its origin in nearly two thousand year old Sama Vedic hymns. Steeped in devotion and deriving its source from meditation, it flourished in the Hindu temples. Unlike western classical music, almost 90 percent of Indian music may be improvised, depending upon the aesthetic sense and creative imagination of the performer. Indian musical tradition is an oral one, taught directly to the disciple by his guru, rather than by the written notation system as practiced in the West. The culture of living and learning at the feet of the guru gives a deep insight into the mystic character of this music. 

The basic nature and culture of Indian music is very different from that of the Western. One note always follows the other as against three notes being played together in a chord form. Each melody, with its phrases, essentially rises and ebbs or arrives and departs. There is a certain amount of harmony which lies as a strong undercurrent beneath the melody. It refrains from being visible at a regular interval as seen in the Western music. 

The very soul of Indian music is the Raga: the precise, scientific melodic form with its own specific, subtle and aesthetic ascending and descending movements consisting of either a full seven-note scale, or a series of six or five notes. Based on this melodic form the artiste improvises and creates music during his performance. There are 72 basic thaats (melas) or parent scales, on which all ragas are based. The subtle difference in the order of notes, an omission of a dissonant note, an emphasis on a particular note and the use of micro tones (shrutis) and other effects, all differentiate and distinguish one raga from the other.

Navarasa:
Every raga characterises its own particular Rasa or principal mood. The traditional order of these nine sentiments or emotions is as follows: Romantic and Erotic; Humorous; Pathetic; Anger; Heroic; Fearful; Disgusting; Amazement; and Peaceful.

The uniqueness of Indian Ragas

Each raga, in addition to being associated with a particular mood, is also closely connected to a particular time of the day or a season of the year. Thus, through the rich melodies and rhythms of Indian music, every human emotion, every subtle feeling in man and nature, can be musically expressed and experienced. This particular quality of Music is absent in any other form of Global Music today.

In terms of aesthetics, a raga is the projection of the artist's inner spirit: a manifestation of his profound feelings and sensibilities. The musician is expected to breathe life into each raga as he unfolds and expands it so that each note shimmers and pulsates with life and the vibrant incandescent raga is revealed with its beauty. 

Taala:
Taala, or rhythmic cycle of a particular metre, forms an integral part of Raga music. There is a unique intricacy and rhythmic sophistication in Indian music. There are Taalas ranging from a three-beat cycle to 108 beats within a given cycle! The divisions of the beats and the stress on the first beat, called Sam (+) are the most important features within one cycle of a Taala.

Taalas with the same number of beats may have different names (e.g. Jhaptaal, Shooltaal etc.) due to accent on different beats (example: a bar of 10 beats may have divisions of 2/3/2/3 or 3/3/4 or 2/2/2/2/2 and 3/4/3). Within the framework of the fixed beats, the rhythm player can improvise to the same extent as the main artists. The most exciting moment for a seasoned listener is when both musicians, after their individual improvisations, come back together on the Sam. 

Although overtones are very much a part of Indian music, there are no deliberate modulations and harmonies as in Western music. The existing harmony is in its simplest form and is more inherent than preconceived. Ideally, the new listener in the West is invited to forget counterpoints, harmony and mixed color tones when he hears Indian music and made to relax while experiencing the rich melody and rhythm of this ancient art. With an open mind, he may find himself introduced to a whole world of sound, of tones and microtones never heard before. 

ON INDIAN INSTRUMENTS

Trinity of Guitars 

In the field of Raga music Sitar, Sarod, Veena, the Indian plucking instruments, are quite well known throughout the world though very little is known about the inventor of Sitar and Sarod and the exact date of their origin. Who cut the first record of such instruments is also unknown to us. Only a few old records of Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Ustad Allauddin Khan or Ustad Inayat Khan are available to give us an idea of the original tone and style of these instruments. 

Their next generation is represented by maestros like Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Asad Ali Khan. They have perfected the art of presentation, modulated the tone and reached the peak of the artistry along with their undaunted success in halls of fame all over the globe. 
During this period two new instruments with different tonal colour came in the arena of Raga music - Guitar and Santoor. Gradually they became synonymous with two legendary performers - Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. Today Santoor and Guitar have become the part of Indian Raga Music. 

After forty years of introduction of guitar Debashish Bhattacharya, disciple of Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra , has discovered and created a set of three guitars, each with its own identity (Chhavi), drawing of imagination (Kalpana) and structure of tones (Naada). And thus gave birth to a unique Trinity of Guitars . 

These three guitars, christened Chaturangi, Gandharvi and Anandi have different look, different acoustics and are being played in different styles to bring out the essence of mood of the raga to its full bloom.

Such a rare incident in the history of World Music has been observed and appreciated by John McLaughlin, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and none other than Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, the guru himself, and many others. 

The tabla is the two-piece percussion instrument of India. The right-hand drum (the tabla) is tuned to the tonic, dominant and sub-dominant, and is often re-tuned with a hammer during a performance. The left-hand drum (or Bayan) acts as the bass drum and is capable of producing many tones which can vary by degrees of pressure from the base of the left palm and tip of the fingers. 

The tambura or taanpura is a four-or-five stringed instrument which gives an essential drone background to all types of Indian music. It is tuned to the raga being preformed and emphasizes the tonic, dominant and the sub-dominant.

ABC OF THE CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL RECITAL

The improvisational nature of Indian music requires the artist to take into consideration the setting, time allowed for the particular concert, his own mood and the pulse of the audience before he begins to play. 

Since our music is spiritual in its origin, devotional fervor dominates its performance. The traditional recital begins with the Alaap section-the stately and serene exploration of the chosen raga. After this slow, introspective, emotive, sometimes sad beginning, the musician moves on to the Jor. In this part, rhythm enters and makes its presence felt through innumerable variations on the raga's basic theme being developed and elaborated. There is no drum accompaniment in either the alaap or the Jor. 

The alaap and the jor evolve into the Gat, the fixed composition highlighting the form of the raga. Here the tabla enters with the wonderful rhythmic structure of the Gat and its time cycle, the taala. A Gat can be in any taala, either in slow, medium or fast tempo. The musician improvises on a variety of taanas (musical phrases in different speeds) and todas ( a combination of plucked passages). The Gat (which can be anything between four to 16 bars of fixed composition) is the haven the artist must return to after his improvisational sojourn. While the Indian musician has complete freedom to improvise as he wishes, he may do so only as long as he does not depart form the format of the raga and taala. The step-by-step acceleration of the rhythm in the gat finally culminates in the Jhala: the final movement within the framework of the raga. With the Sawal-Jawab: the rapid melody-rhythm based musical exchange between the main instrument and the tabla, the music becomes more and more playful and exciting. The thrill of fastest possible rhythm brings the point of climax towards the end of the Jhala. 

Today, Indian classical music is a permanent part of Western culture. Many composers and musicians have been influenced by our music. The open-mindedness, willingness to learn and sincere enthusiasm of Western audiences are a continuing source of inspiration and delight for Indian musicians with substance.