North and South Indian Classical Music and Dance: A Comparative Account

MU4011: Critical Encounters with World Music and Dance, University of Limerick, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance

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Many people who’ve not much experience with different music and dance cultures around the world may argue that there’s no difference between music and dance of North India and music and dance of South India, and that the only distinct difference is simply geography. While the geography does count towards the ‘differences’ of North and South India, there are also significant social and cultural differences in the arts as well. In this comparative analysis, we will explore these cultural and social differences, as well as geographical, between North and South Indian classical music and dance by employing the themes of sound and space, text and context, repertoire and practice, and community and identity.

Geography of India

If you were to look directly at a map, you can find the country of India by looking left to the continent of Africa; India shares land borders with a variety of different countries such as Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh. India is considered to be the second most populated country in the entire world. Narrowing down the geography of India, we are able to see the ‘divide’ of North and South India; this is not a physical border but more of a cultural and social divide. Due to the fact that there is this division between cultures, there would be a division between the Indian classical music and dance cultures as well. Referencing my notes from my world music and dance lecturer, Matthew Noone,

Northern India music and dance - known as Hindustani - would be more influenced by Arabic world culture. This means that Northern Indian culture is more of a mixture of Arabic cultures, specifically Islamic culture, while Southern Indian music and dance - known as Carnatic - is categorized more as being ‘Indian,’ meaning that South India is not mixed into different cultures like North India. (Noone 2021)

To put this simply, the ‘divide’ between North and South Indian classical music and dance is primarily influenced by the geographical, social, and cultural surroundings of the regions.

North Indian Classical Music

Muslim culture has played a major role in the development and evolution of what we know to be called North Indian classical music today. “Muslim musicians took to the performance of Indian music and added to the repertoire by inventing new ragas, taals, and musical forms, as well as musical instruments…The textual themes of the songs were often based on Hindu mythology.” (IndiaNetzone 2014) This is a good example of both text and context as well as repertoire and practice. Throughout my research, I have found that North Indian classical music is deeply rooted in old cultural beliefs and spirituality. Consider the idea of ‘Riyaz.’ Riyaz literally translated from Hindustani means “practice.” An example of this would be like someone saying, “Have you practiced your Riyaz today?” Referencing Matthew Noone from his lecture on North Indian Classical Music,

There is this discussion that the concept of Riyaz is more than just practicing something - it involves emotions and is intended for you to build a personal connection to your practice and to build a better understanding of the music. (Noone 2021)

Let us also look into the idea of ‘Puja.’ Puja translated in Hindustani means a type of physical prayer like during a ritual or a religious ceremony. In his lecture, Noone compares music to “being like puja; music is similar to being like a prayer.” (Noone 2021) I like this comparison and I believe this is something really important to consider especially when building your learning and understanding of a North Indian classical musical culture. Riyaz and Puja are good examples of community and identity when focusing on North Indian music. In terms of sound and space, let’s discuss ‘raga.’ Raga translated means passion or a sense of ‘color’ in music. Raga is the melodic structure for Indian composition. Referencing an article from Frontiers in Psychology (Frontiers in Psychology (2017) Frontiers in Psychology: Music and Emotion - A Case for North India Classical Music):

North Indian Classical music (NICM), or Hindustani music, is an ancient musical form of India that emerged from a cultural synthesis of the Vedic chant tradition and traditional Persian music (Kaufmann, 1965). The central notion in this system of music are ragas, which are described as musical compositions capable of inducing specific moods or emotions. Past studies have investigated ragas and have shown that distinct ragas elicit distinct emotions...They also found that specific tonal combinations emerged as reliable predictors of emotions that participants reported feeling. (Front. Psychol. 2017)

In conclusion to employing sound and space in North Indian classical music, we are able to see how raga is used to inflect and stimulate listeners’ emotions by focusing on musical features such as rhythm and tone.

South Indian Classical Music

Looking at South Indian classical music in comparison to North Indian classical music, there is a distinct difference. We have already discussed how India’s geography is significant to the division between the musical factors of North and South India - in terms of geographical context, Carnatic music primarily comes from the state of Karnataka in South India. We have also discussed the social and cultural impact on South Indian classical music, as the South Indian culture is less mixed with other cultures like North India is. This difference in culture and in the musical culture of South Indian contributes to our theme of community and identity. The main difference between North Indian music and South Indian music is in the different stylistic factors; mainly through the ‘degree of improvisation.’ However there is a stylistic difference between the North and South that is built on the same four foundations: Sruti, Swara, raga, and tala. “Carnatic sangeet (Karnati Sangit), is the South Indian system of classical music. It has a rich history and a very sophisticated system of theory.” (Indian Century 2014) During my research, the thing that stood out to me the most is how Hindustani music emphasizes more primarily towards emotional connection with musicality and spirituality, while Carnatic music emphasizes structure, scales, and systems along with that degree of improvisation; the technicalities. This is a good example of practice and repertoire in South Indian classical music. In reference to an article by India Century (Indian Century (2014) Indian Century: North and Sound Indian Classical Music),

South Indian performances are based upon three major movements. These are the Pallavi, Anupallavi, and Charanam. These roughly correspond to the Sthai, Antara, and the Abhog in North Indian Music...fixed compositions; they have well identified composers and do not allow much scope for variation. Such compositions are often preceded by alapana; the alapana offers a way to unfold the ragam to the audience, and at the same time, allow the artist considerable scope for improvisation. (Indian Century 2014)

These types of ‘fixed compositions and performance movements illustrate the ideas of both sound and space as well as text and context in Carnatic music.

North Indian Classical Dance

Between both the North and South Indian dance, there are 8 formally recognized styles of dance that are shared. The main differences between them are primarily different techniques when performing, different traditional clothing, different stylistic factors, etc. North Indian classical dance has the same concepts as does North Indian classical music; it is all about emotional connection. A quote from an article about North Indian classical dance written by Jameela Siddiqi, an author for Darbar (Siddiqi, J. (2021) ‘North Indian Classical Dance Styles: Kathak, Temples, and Royal Courts,’ Darbar) interprets this idea of emotions and connection through North Indian dance very well,

It is said that a dancer is as much a musician in that while dancers may not actually play an instrument, save for the sound made by ankle-bells, their entire body is used as a musical instrument - with the added accentuating movement through facial expression. (Siddiqi 2021)

We can argue that this illustrates the theme of repertoire and practice. North Indian classical dancers are known well to be big ‘performers’ in the way that they carry out a dance. “North India’s best-known classical dance style is kathak, which traces its origins to nomadic storytellers.” (Siddiqi 2021) Turning back to the ideas of Riyaz and puja in North Indian classical music, we can also apply those terms to the dancing culture as well. A common dance performance in North India will more than likely include ‘storytelling’ and spiritual movements, almost as if the dancers themselves were performing a “religious ritual.” (Sidiqi 2021) Again - like North Indian classical music - this common use of storytelling and performance culture in North Indian dance contributes to our theme of community and identity. When a dancer is in their performance space, they move fluidly, and they perform not just with their choreography, but with their mind and their feelings.

A performance will usually begin with a Vandana (an invocation to God and Guru) leading to thaat (the first composed piece, depicting short variations within a given time-cycle), followed by the Mughal style aamad and salaami. This can be followed by any number (or combination) of set formats in the style, including the recitation of percussive syllables as well as the purely expressive forms of lending movement and facial expression to a ghazal or thumri. The performance usually ends on a high tempo, often with a tarana. (Siddiqi 2021)

This is a good example of our theme of sound and space of a North Indian classical dance performance.

South Indian Classical Dance

Like North Indian classical dance, the purpose of South Indian dance is to tell a story. However, the difference with these two in comparison is that the South Indian dance style is that of a musical theatre type style of dance. South Indian dance emphasizes physical beauty with the dancers and performers. A quote from a second article written again by Jameela Siddiqi (Siddiqi, J. (2021) 'South Indian Classical Dance Styles: Bharatanatyam and more,’ Darbar) helps to further explain this, as well as to illustrate our theme of community and identity,

Bharatanatyam is the best-known of all South Indian classical dance forms. The classic Indian treatise on the performing arts, the Natya Shastra, which dates back as far as 400 BC, provides painstaking detail on the exact qualities and specific requirements of the (female) dancer or narthaki: "Women who have beautiful limbs, are conversant with the sixty-four arts and crafts (kala), are clever, courteous in behavior, free from female diseases, always bold, free from indolence, inured to hard work, capable of practicing various arts and crafts, skilled in dancing and songs, who excel by their beauty….” (Siddiqi 2021)

This example of South Indian Classical dance also contributes to our theme of text and context, as this gives us more of a background of the ways of South Indian dance and its craftsmanship. A quote I found from the article Cultural India (Cultural India (2018) ‘Cultural India: Dances of India: Indian Classical Dances,’) gives a great example of sound and space in South Indian dance,

Kuchipudi exhibits scenes from the Hindu Epics, legends and mythological tales through a combination of music, dance and acting. Like other classical dances, Kuchipudi also comprises pure dance, mime and histrionics but it is the use of speech that distinguishes Kuchipudi's presentation as dance drama. (Cultural India 2018)

Certain types of South Indian dances - such as Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, and Kuchipudi - rely strictly on the ‘performance aspect of the dancing. This includes wearing elaborate costumes and clothing, wearing heavy makeup, having props like incense sticks (Kuchipudi), and exaggerated body gestures and facial expressions. This demonstrates repertoire and practice in South Indian Classical dance.

Concluding Statement

By employing the themes of sound and space, text and context, repertoire and practice, and community and identity, we are able to compare and contrast the cultural, social, and spiritual differences between North and South Indian classical music and dance.

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Sources Cited

Noone, M. (2021) ‘Indian Classical Music and Dance’ MU4011: Critical Encounters with World Music and Dance, 8 September, University of Limerick, unpublished

Noone, M. (2021) ‘South Indian Music’ MU4011: Critical Encounters with World Music and Dance, 8 September, University of Limerick, unpublished

Noone, M. (2021) ‘North Indian Classical Music and Dance’ MU4011: Critical Encounters with World Music and Dance, 8 September, University of Limerick, unpublished

Lonely Planet (1977) Lonely Planet: India, Available: Complete guide to India | Asia - Lonely Planet [accessed 13 November 2021]

Agate Travel (1997) Agate Travel: India Travel Guide, Available: Where to Go in India – North vs. South: Culture, Food, Climate (agatetravel.com) [Accessed 13 November 2021]

Indian Century (2014) Indian Century: North and Sound Indian Classical Music, Available: Indian Century - North and South Indian Classical Music [Accessed 13 November 2021]

IndiaNetzone (2014) IndiaNetzone: North Indian Classical Music, Available: North Indian Classical Music (indianetzone.com) [Accessed 13 November 2021]

Frontiers in Psychology (2017) Frontiers in Psychology: Music and Emotion - A Case for North India Classical Music, Available: Frontiers | Music and Emotion—A Case for North Indian Classical Music | Frontiers in Psychology [Accessed 13 November 2021]

Siddiqi, J. (2021) ‘North Indian Classical Dance Styles: Kathak, Temples, and Royal Courts,’ Darbar, Available: North Indian classical dance styles: Kathak, temples, and royal courts | Darbar Arts Culture and Heritage Trust [Accessed 14 November 2021]

Siddiqi, J. (2021) 'South Indian Classical Dance Styles: Bharatanatyam and more,’ Darbar, Available: South Indian classical dance styles: Bharatanatyam and more | Darbar Arts Culture and Heritage Trust [Accessed 15 November 2021]

Cultural India (2018) ‘Cultural India: Dances of India: Indian Classical Dances,’ Available: Indian Classical Dances (culturalindia.net) [Accessed 19 November 2021]