Sambhav-2023

Answer 1

Approach:

• Start your answer by giving a brief about the Hindustani Style of Music and the Carnatic Style.
• Compare the Hindustani Style of Music and the Carnatic Style.
• Conclude suitably.

Introduction

Hindustani music is practised in the northern parts of India and Carnatic music is practised in the southern parts of India. While the historical roots of both the music types belong to the Bharata’s Natyasastra, they diverged in the 14^th century. The Hindustani branch of music focuses more on the musical structure and the possibilities of improvisation in it. The Hindustani branch adopted a scale of Shudha Swara Saptaka or the ‘Octave of Natural notes.

The Carnatic branch creates music that is played in the traditional octave. The music is kriti based and focuses more on the saahitya or the lyric quality of the musical piece. The Kriti is a highly evolved musical song set to a certain raga and fixed tala or rhythmic cycle.

Body

Comparison Between Hindustani Music and Carnatic Music

Points of Difference	Hindustani Music	Carnatic Music
Influence	Arab, Persian and Afghan	Indigenous
Freedom	Scope for artists to improvise. Hence scope for variations	No freedom to improvise
Sub-styles	There are several sub-styles which lead to emergence of Gharanas	Only one particular prescribed style of singing
Need for Instruments	Instruments equally important as vocals	More emphasis on vocal music
Ragas	6 major ragas	72 ragas
Time	Adheres to time	Doesn’t adhere to any time
Major Instruments used	Tabla, Sarangi, Sitar and Santoor	Veena, Mrindangum and Mandolin
Association to Parts of India	North India	Usually, South India
Commonality between the two	Flute and Violin	Flute and Violin

Conclusion

At the present time there are many types of music prevalent in the Indian subcontinent that belongs to different categories. Some are closer to the classical bent and some are experimenting with the global music. Recently, there has been a trend to create a fusion of the classical heritage with newer musical strands like pop, jazz, etc. and this is garnering attention of the masse and classical music losing its popularity among the masses.

Answer 2

Approach:

• Start your answer by giving a brief about Mohiniyattam Dance.
• Discuss the features of the Mohiniyattam Dance.
• Conclude suitably.

Introduction

Mohiniyattam or the Dance of an Enchantress (‘Mohini’ meaning beautiful woman and ‘attam’ means dance), is essentially a solo dance performance by women that was further developed by Vadivelu in the 19th century and gained prominence under the rulers of Travancore in the present state of Kerala. The patronage of Swathi Thirunal the Travancore ruler in 19th century is notable. After it had fallen to obscurity, the famous Malayali poet V. N. Menon revied it along with Kalyani Amma.

Body

Some of the features of the Mohiniyattam dance are as under:

• Mohiniyattam combines the grace and elegance of Bharatnatyam with the vigour of Kathakali.
• There is a marked absence of thumping of footsteps and the footwork is gentle.
• Mohiniyattam generally narrates the story of the feminine dance of Vishnu.
• It has its own Nritta and Nritya aspects like that of other classical dances.
• The Lasya aspect (beauty, grace) of dance is dominant in a Mohiniyattam recital. Hence, it is mainly performed by female dancers.
• The dance is accompanied by music and songs.
• Costume is of special importance in Mohiniyattam, with white and off-white being the principal colours and the presence of gold coloured brocade designs. There is no elaborate facial makeup. The dancer wears a leather strap with bells (Ghungroo) on her ankles.
• The element of air is symbolised through a Mohiniyattam performance.
• ‘Atavakul or Atavus’ is the collection of fourty basic dance movements.
• Musical instruments used are: cymbals, veena, drums, flute, etc.

Conclusion

In Mohiniyattam, only females may dance. It is also milder than Kathakali, which is a more forceful dance. The movement is a great representation of female grace. The shringara tradition has notable images of divine love. The dance can now be performed in a group setting even though it was traditionally only performed by one person.