According to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya, ‘One who is skilled in veena-play attains salvation without effort.’ The Veena in the hands of Saraswati, who is depicted all white meaning all pure (sarva shukla saraswati),symbolizes art and Music .It also symbolizes that Bharati is Sabda Brahman. As Sarda holds the veenã, She is referred to as “Veena-pani”.
The history of music in India can be traced back to the Vedic times. The concept of Naadbrahma was prevalent in the Vedic ages. All organized music traces its origins back to the Sam Veda which contains the earliest known form of organized music. The earliest raga owes its origin to the Sam Ved. During the late Vedic Period, music prevailed in the form called Samagana, which was purely a chanting of the verses in musical patterns. After that music changed its course a little bit. The epics were narrated in musical tones called ‘Jatigan. Between the second to the seventh century AD, a form of music called ‘Prabandh Sangeet’ written in Sanskrit became very popular. This form gave rise to a simpler form called Dhruvapad, which used Hindi as the medium.
History of Ancient Indian music is large enough which covers a lot of books. Hindustani system of Indian classical music is prevalent in predominantly northern and central parts of India. Not only does this form of music contain traditional styles of rendering, but also imbibes elements from various cultural/linguistic influences (for instance persian/arabic/urdu).
But unfortunately Indian classical music losing its quintessence and audience .Many common people find Classical music to be mind numbing ,not catchy to their ears compared with songs of Bollywood and Western Music .The emotional depth of Indian Classical Music is not easily understood by all.
To protect the Indigenous Music from fading away young Indians now Pledging to restore the Fine Arts to the fullest glory by preserving India’s rich Musical Heritage far and wide .
Kolkata is perhaps the most important cultural center of India.It concentrates to look after the Indian culture conserving Music and Arts by setting up different platforms organizing Cultural events .
On 25th January 2023 ,Metro sandhya co-operative society, Newtown ,Kolkata organized a Cultural Evening of Hindustani Classical program where many eminent Singers participated irrespective of their age group.Organiser Ms Pompa Mukherjee conceptualized the event in a most meaningful way.
Indian Classical Music began as an integral part of socio-religious life.It takes the cake when it comes to being the most well defined musical genre. The eminence and evolution of this music through the centuries is the testament to the greatness of our nation. This is where our identity lies .