Traditional music
Music is supposed to be the soul of life. By virtue
of being the oldest living city, Benaras has its
own rich history and treasure of music. According
to mythology, when Renu (son of Vishwamitra) and
Mahagovind founded Kashi (Varanasi), they also
brought with them the Aryan traditions and the
Vedic culture. Lord Shiva is the presiding deity
of Varanasi and is also considered as the lord
of dance and music. According to the Puranic tales
the Apsaras, Gandharvas and Kinnars lived in Varanasi
and made the musical tradition of Varanasi a rich
one.
Going back to history, we find numerous instances
and examples of dance, music and drama evolving
in Varanasi. Excavations at Varanasi have shown
a terracotta figurine, in which two musicians
are playing percussion instruments. The literature
of ancient and medieval times also point out to
a great tradition of music in Kashi or Varanasi.
The Bhakti movement in the medieval period also
contributed to the development of music in Varanasi.
Great saint Chaitanya and Vallabhacharya played
an important role in the development and popularity
of music in Varanasi. Saints like Surdas, Kabeer,
Raidas, Meera and Tulsi also made rich and valuable
contributions to the devotional music and their
Bhajans are popular to even this day.
Benaras also developed as a great center of Dhrupad
style of singing. In the 16th century, Govind
Chandra ruled Varanasi and during his regime Dhrupad
was the royal music. With the development of Dhrupad,
other styles like Dhamar, Hori and Chaturang also
grew. The Famous Assarwari, "Ghunghat ke
pat Khol" was made famous by the Nirgun singers
of Kashi while Meer Rustam (the Nawab of Awadh)
patronised Music Festivals like Jhoola, Jhoomar,
Kajri, Birha, Dangal, Gulab Bari and music festivals
on boats. Over a period of time Tappa form of
singing also became popular in Varanasi and its
main exponents were Shori Miyan, Gammu Khan and
Shade Khan.
Over a period of time, the Maharajas of Kashi
or Varanasi also gave patronage to music and that
resulted in making Varanasi a great center of
music. Here, it's important to note the contribution
of Maharaj Prabhu Narayan Singh, who gave patronage
to Bahadur Shah's court Musicians like Waris Ali,
Akbar Ali, Nisar Khan, Sadiq Ali and great Ashiq
Ali Khan. Ali Mohammad and Ali Bux, the sons of
Basat Khan, were considered the "jewels"
of Kashi Darbar. Thus, a galaxy of great musicians
made Banaras a great center of music. Varanasi
saw the development of Banarasi Thumri, Dadra,
Chaiti, Hori, Bhairavi, Kajri, Tarana, Ghato and
much more. Besides these major streams, lesser-known
forms like Tirwat, Sadra, Khamsa, Lavni, Chaturang,
Sargam, Ragmala, Kirtan, Qauwali, Kathagayan,
Bhajan and Ramayan also developed at Varanasi.
Varanasi is also associated with many great instrumentalists.
Sehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan is famous
world wide while Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar
has earned wide acclaim throughout the world.
Other instrumentalists who have left their mark
are Madan Mohan, Bhola Nath, Pathak, Mannuji,
Amarnath Mishra, Brindwan Das, Ramdeo and Subodh
Babu
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