Intercultural Exchanges in Indian Classical Music: A Step Toward Universality

Multi-cultural India

India possesses one of the oldest, most varied, and most extensive cultural heritages in the world. The country’s vast geography and the many races and peoples who either visited temporarily or settled permanently have all contributed to the evolution of a distinctive culture, one whose core rests on enduring values.

The nation recognizes eighteen scheduled official languages and 96 non-scheduled languages according to the 1991 census. Among these, the primary source languages are as distinct as Sanskrit and Dravidian. Two more language families, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman, are also native to India, though they have a relatively smaller user population. Over time, Indian languages have also absorbed words from Persian, Portuguese, English, and other tongues.

After Sir G. A. Grierson’s foundational Linguistic Survey of India (1896–1927), the government launched a fresh survey roughly 75 years later. The current phase is underway in the state of Orissa and revealed that 45 of the 96 non-scheduled languages are found there. Of these, 26 have been studied so far, showing that 9 belong to the Indo-Aryan family, 11 to Austro-Asiatic, and 6 to Dravidian.

India’s schools teach 58 different languages, newspapers are printed in 87, radio programs are broadcast in 71, and films are produced in 15. Known as the land of spirituality and philosophy, India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, among other religions. Alongside these indigenous faiths, the country also hosts followers of religions of non-Indian origin, including Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Bahaism, and Judaism. The adherents of these various religions arrived in India at different historical moments.

This cultural diversity — in languages, religions, customs, and many other areas — is remarkably present across the country. It gives rise to the concept of “Unity in Diversity,” a binding principle that helps sustain this vast nation despite the myriad colors and shades in its life-components.

Unity in Diversity

Most people in India understand the potential of “unity in diversity,” and intercultural exchanges happen almost as a natural phenomenon. Through these exchanges, individual cultures not only become richer and more colorful but also spread a message of peaceful coexistence. Mutual respect and tolerance for other cultures are comfortably evident, especially in Indian metropolises. Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres once said that India is the greatest example of tolerance. He praised India’s unity in diversity and urged other countries to learn lessons in coexistence from it (The Hindu, December 13, 2002). It is therefore pertinent to share thoughts on India from an intercultural perspective, with a focus on music.

Happiness and Intercultural Understanding

Happiness is a specific mental state that arises from a higher natural acceptance of the prevailing situation or of a situation created at a certain time. Rabindranath Tagore, writing in Tapoban (1909), refers to the Upanishads and notes that they speak of a tolerance that is not mere sacrifice but a fuller acceptance that brings deeper happiness. Culture shapes a person from the inner consciousness, helping the individual bloom to full potential. A person finds fuller expression when they develop a better understanding of the creation around them. An understanding of different cultures helps the mind grow with better perceptive power, and intercultural exchanges facilitate this growth.

Culture itself becomes enriched when some elements of another culture are naturally accepted over time through healthy intercultural exchanges. In such adaptations, the borrowed element loses its original color and takes on a matching shape, intermingling with the receiver’s culture. Indian music has accepted many elements from other cultures, yet these have so thoroughly intermingled that they have become fully Indian and an integral part of the tradition. This process is what happened to Indian music: once appreciated and enjoyed only within its own land, it has gained much wider acceptance around the world in its current forms. This clearly indicates that enlightenment through intercultural exchanges has the potential to elevate a culture toward universality.

Intercultural Exchanges in Music: A Step Toward Universality?

A major reason for the intercultural character of Indian classical music is the history of invasions by other nations. Historically, Indian music incorporated folk, regional, and even non-Indian types, as D. P. Mukherjee noted in 1943. India was under Mughal rule before colonial rule. It is fascinating that the intercultural aspects of Indian classical music have merged in such a way that the idioms, concepts, forms, and styles of other musical cultures have unified completely with the native music culture. The North Indian classical system, Hindustani music, as well as the classical music of Kashmir, were more influenced by Islamic countries than by the West, whereas the South Indian classical system, Carnatic music, took more influence from the West.

The musical influence of Persia and Arabia appears in the adoption of instruments like the sitar, sarod, and tabla; in music forms such as khyal; and in ragas like Yaman, Sarfarda, Sajgiri, and Zilaf. The use of the violin, guitar, and harmonium points to Western influences. Over time, these instruments have been modified to suit Indian music — for example, by adding sympathetic strings to the violin and guitar. Recently, the guitar has even appeared with an additional gourd-like structure on its upper part to give it an Indian look.

The impact of Western music on South Indian classical music began with British colonial rule in the eighteenth century. This influence is seen in the adoption of instruments such as the violin, viola, clarinet, mandolin, saxophone, and guitar. Many new Carnatic ragas are now based on Western scales and tunes. Interestingly, Indian classical music has also integrated many suggestive elements from folk cultures after due refinement and processing. For instance, Bengal contributed raga Bangalee, Sindh gave raga Sindhu, Surat gave Sorat, Gujarat gave Gurjari, Bihar gave Bihari, Jaunpur gave Jaunpuri-Todi, and the hill regions gave raga Pahari. The neoclassical variety also accepted folk styles like Kajri, Chaiti, and Hori and refined them to meet classical standards. More recently, ideas from song varieties like Rabindrasangeet — the songs of Rabindranath Tagore — have been inducted into classical instrumental music compositions.

Extemporization is a very prominent element in Indian classical music, and this is likely the reason it can invite and accept elements from many different sources while still processing them to match its basic character. Today, musicians of the Hindustani and Carnatic styles occasionally perform together despite their quite different apparent characters. The exchanges continue: Hindustani music has accepted many Carnatic ragas, and Hindustani percussionists have imbibed considerable Carnatic elements into their playing, enriching both styles. International exchanges have also taken effect. Music and musicians have become so open that intercultural collaborations in music production are thriving, and the results are gaining wide acceptance across diverse societies around the world.

Indian music, once limited to its own land, has found much broader appreciation globally in its current forms. Many non-Indians now perform this music as if it were their own breath. One can listen to Ken Zuckerman (USA) or Adrian McNeil (Australia) on the sarod, or Amelia Cuni-Durand (Germany) in vocal renderings, and many others, to enjoy this great musical impact. Jon Barlow (Australia) spent most of his life pursuing this music, developing a fantastic understanding of the art of music-making and craftsmanship in instrument building. A passionate involvement with this music, adapting the style as if it were one’s own, can be seen widely around the globe. There is a long list of musicians from different countries who have considerably mastered this style and enjoy it. My experience with non-Indian students suggests that the wide acceptability of Indian music occurred because it can substantially fulfill the basic musical demands of people from different societies and backgrounds. Through such intercultural interactions, the music developed a quality that can cater to a wide cross-section of the world’s population while retaining its fundamental character.

This clearly indicates that enlightenment through intercultural exchanges can elevate a culture toward universality. One might ask whether universality is merely a utopian concept, and there is also the issue of protecting the individuality of cultures. While universal acceptance of any cultural activity may be utopian and perhaps not even desirable in many contexts, steps in that direction help create an environment of peaceful coexistence. Globalization and internationalization bind the people of the planet under a common platform. Globalization creates cultural plurality, which ultimately gives birth to new cultural forms combined with the traditional.

Step Toward Cultural Liberation?

A new kind of human liberation is emerging as smooth global communications become available to the masses through various media. This ushers in a transition from monocultures to multiculturalism, an effect so pronounced that it might be termed “cultural liberation.” Here, “liberation” does not mean liberation from culture itself or from any particular culture, although the latter may be possible to an extent through creativity and multi-cultural awareness.

To appreciate the culture of different communities, it becomes necessary to cultivate familiarity with their artistic creations, which have a universal appeal and transcend geographical boundaries. The intimate study of practices from different cultures is raising the level of understanding of cultural activities, widening art’s penetration, and thus approaching a universal status. The differences in mind-frames caused by different geographical locations are gradually diminishing. Increasing understanding between people of different cultures helps us feel the mind-pulse of others and fosters international amity and unity.

Culture in Education

Education and culture are intimately connected. Education concerns the transmission of past generations’ knowledge to the new generation. It must emphasize the development of mind and character, enabling a person to adjust to society, assess cultural values, remove defects, and work for cultural development. As Sri Aurobondo put it, three elements must be taken into account in a true and living education: the individual in their commonness and uniqueness, the nation or people, and universal humanity. The general study of world culture and intercultural activities are tools to foster this understanding. Thus, curricula might promote wider intercultural activities to create a world with greater understanding, ultimately leading to less conflict in all areas of life.

Concluding Remarks

Intercultural exchanges in Indian music have not only considerably enriched the art but also acted as a catalyst in evolving a mental state directed toward eliminating discrimination based on recognized components. Musicians typically say they have no formal religion and that they are exclusively musicians. This happens mainly because mutual respect and understanding of different cultures, using music as a non-formal medium of communication, guide their interactions. Thus, communication is essential for developing awareness and understanding of different cultures. Widening understanding of different cultures seems the path to fostering global unity and amity.