Indian Music: Hindustani and Carnatic Traditions

India has two great classical music traditions. Hindustani music grew in the north. Carnatic music grew in the south. They share the same roots but sound very different today.

As you read, ask three things. Why did one music become two? What do both still share? And which names, forms and drums belong to which side?

1Why two traditions?

Picture one river that splits into two streams. Both carry the same water at the start. But each stream then flows through different land and changes on the way.

Indian music did the same. Until about the 13th century, there was one shared classical system. The last great book that both sides accept is the Sangita Ratnakara. Sarangadeva wrote it in the 13th century, at the Yadava court of Devagiri.

1.1What changed in the north?

The Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughals ruled the north. Their courts brought Persian and Central Asian music. Northern musicians mixed these sounds with the older Indian base. Over time this became Hindustani music.

1.2What happened in the south?

The south saw far less of this court influence. Its music stayed close to temple worship and devotional songs. Most songs were in Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. This became Carnatic music.

• Last shared text: Sangita Ratnakara, 13th century.
• North: Persian court influence → Hindustani.
• South: temple and devotional roots → Carnatic.

2What are raga and tala?

Both traditions stand on two pillars. Raga is the melody. Tala is the rhythm.

A raga is more than a scale. It sets which notes to use and how to move between them. Each raga also carries a mood, a season or a time of day. Raag Malhar, for example, is linked with the rains.

A tala is a cycle of beats that repeats. The most common Carnatic tala is Adi tala, with 8 beats. Hindustani music often uses teentaal, with 16 beats.

2.1How are ragas grouped?

Both sides sort ragas under parent scales. But they count them differently.

• Hindustani: 10 thaats, set out by V. N. Bhatkhande.
• Carnatic: 72 melakartas, set out by Venkatamakhin in the Chaturdandi Prakashika.
• Same notes, different names: Hindustani Bilawal matches Carnatic Dheera Shankarabharanam.

3How does Hindustani music work?

Hindustani singing has three main forms. They run from very serious to light and playful.

3.1What is Dhrupad?

Dhrupad is the oldest and most serious form. It opens with a long, slow alap with no words. The pakhawaj drum keeps time. Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior is credited with shaping and spreading it. The Dagar family keeps the style alive today.

3.2What are Khyal and Thumri?

Khyal came later. It is freer, with more flourish and room to improvise. It is the most common form in concerts today. The tabla keeps time.

Thumri is lighter still. Its songs are often about Krishna and Radha. It grew in Lucknow under Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who wrote thumris as “Akhtar Piya”.

3.3What is a gharana?

A gharana is a school of style, passed from teacher to student. It is usually named after a town. Trained listeners can tell gharanas apart by small details of style.

• Gwalior: the oldest khyal gharana.
• Kirana: founded by Abdul Karim Khan. Bhimsen Joshi sang in this style.
• Jaipur-Atrauli: founded by Alladiya Khan. Kishori Amonkar and Mallikarjun Mansur sang in this style.

3.4Who was Tansen?

Tansen was born Ramtanu. He trained under Swami Haridas. He first sang at the court of Raja Ramchandra of Rewa. Later he joined Akbar’s court as one of the “nine jewels”.

Here is a well-known trap. The title “Tansen” came from Raja Vikramjit of Gwalior, not from Akbar. Today the Madhya Pradesh government holds the Tansen music festival in Gwalior.

4Who built Carnatic music?

Two sets of people shaped Carnatic music. First came a teacher who built its lessons. Then came three great composers.

4.1Who was Purandara Dasa?

Purandara Dasa lived from 1484 to 1564, in the Vijayanagara Empire. He began life as a rich, miserly moneylender named Srinivasa Nayaka. Legend says a miracle linked to his wife’s nose-ring changed him. He gave away his wealth and became a wandering singer.

He built a step-by-step way to teach music. He made raga Mayamalavagowla the first raga for beginners. So he is called “Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha”, the father of Carnatic music.

4.2Who were the Trinity?

The Carnatic Trinity are Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. All three were born in Tiruvarur, near Thanjavur, in the 18th century.

• Tyagaraja: wrote mostly in Telugu. A festival at Thiruvaiyaru honours him every year.
• Muthuswami Dikshitar: wrote mostly in Sanskrit.
• Syama Sastri: the eldest of the three.

Their songs are kritis. A kriti has three parts: pallavi, anupallavi and charanam. Concerts still sing these 200-year-old songs today.

5Who modernised Hindustani music?

For centuries, you learned Hindustani music only inside a gharana family. Two reformers in the early 20th century opened the doors.

• Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande wrote ragas down in a clear notation. He sorted them into the 10 thaats.
• Vishnu Digambar Paluskar opened the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1901. Anyone with talent could now train, with no family link needed.

6Which drums keep time?

Each tradition has its own drums and melody instruments. Exams often ask you to match them.

A mridangam player often speaks the beats aloud before playing them. In Carnatic music, rhythm is learned almost like a spoken language.

7What changed recently?

7.1Who was Teejan Bai?

Pandavani singer Teejan Bai died on 5 July 2026 at AIIMS Raipur, aged 70. Pandavani is a folk ballad form of Chhattisgarh. One singer tells stories from the Mahabharata, holding a tambura.

• Two styles: Vedamati is sung seated. Kapalik is performed standing.
• Teejan Bai chose the standing Kapalik style, which women rarely took up.
• She held the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. (Source: Akashvani News)

7.2Who won Akademi honours?

The Sangeet Natak Akademi announced its Fellowships and Awards for 2024 and 2025 on 10 June 2026. It honoured 115 artists in all. They included sarod player Basant Kabra and veena player Jayanthi Kumaresh. (Source: PIB)

7.3Why remember Zakir Hussain?

Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain died on 15 December 2024, aged 73. Earlier that year he won three Grammy Awards. He was the first Indian musician to win three in a single year. (Source: NPR)

8What do PYQs ask?

• UPSC CSP 2026Asked which Carnatic raga matches Hindustani Raga Bilawal. The answer is Dheera Shankarabharanam. See the question
• UPSC CSP 2026Asked which gharana Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur represented. The answer is Jaipur-Atrauli. See the question
• UPSC CSP 2025Asked where Paluskar set up the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1901. The answer is Lahore. See the question
• UPSC CSP 2019Asked for the wrong statement about Tansen. The wrong one said Akbar gave him his title. See the question
• CAPF 2022Asked who shaped and spread Dhrupad. The answer is Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior. See the question
• CAPF 2025Asked which raga is sung to invite rain. The answer is Raag Malhar. See the question
• CAPF 2017Described a Jaipur gharana singer born in April 1932. The answer is Kishori Amonkar. See the question
• SSC CGL 2024Asked which state holds the Tansen Music Festival. The answer is Madhya Pradesh. See the question
• SSC CGL 2024Asked which instrument Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar played. The answer is the rudra veena. See the question

9What are the exam traps?

• Dhrupad came first; Khyal is later but more popular.
• Man Singh Tomar shaped Dhrupad. Tansen was a later Dhrupad singer.
• Title “Tansen” came from Raja Vikramjit, not Akbar.
• Purandara Dasa is the father of Carnatic music, not a Trinity member.
• Thaats = 10 (Bhatkhande). Melakartas = 72 (Venkatamakhin).
• Gandharva Mahavidyalaya = Lahore, not Delhi or Gwalior.
• Pandavani is a folk form of Chhattisgarh, not a classical one.