Question

‘Medieval period is considered a period of significant changes in Indian music'. Examine the validity of this statement.

Answer 1

Instructions:

• Influence of Persian music on Indian music
• Patronage from kings and emperors​
• Famous ragas, musical instruments and musicians from this period​

Solution:

• The medieval rulers were patrons of music due to which many new styles of ragas and experiments with music occurred during this​
• Carnatic music, which was the music style of the south India, was popularised by Gopal Nayak.​
• Various techniques of Persian music were experimented with and incorporated into the Indian style music
• Simultaneously, musical works of Sanskrit were translated into Persian during this period. ​
• Singing styles like khayal and thumri gained popularity during this period. Many musical instruments like sitar, sarangi and table became popular too.​
• Emperor Akbar was a great lover of music and patronised 36 musicians. The most famous of them was Tansen.​
• One of the most important contributions of Tansen was Durbar raga, which greatly enriched Hindustani music. ​
• The work Sangeeta Ratnakaram authored by Sarngadevan of the 13th century was an important contribution of medieval India to music.