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Kathak Gharana
Kathak Gharana
The principle of equality is having a revolutionary effect on life in contemporary India. The impact is more dramatic there than elsewhere because perhaps no other major society in recent history has known inequalities so gross or so long preserved. In the traditional civilizations of Islam and China, the ideal if not always the practice of equality had an honorable and often commanding place in the culture. But in India the notion that men should remain in the same occupation and station of life as their forefathers was enshrined in religious precepts and social custom. While life was not as immobile as theory prescribed, and from time to time revolts against the dominance of particular social classes occurred, the idea of social equality never became as widespread in Hinduism as it did in other great traditions. Even today, the visitor to India-whether from Europe or the Far East-is struck by the gross inequalities, not merely in material standards, but more profoundly in the attitudes of men toward each other. To be kissed on the foot by a beggar or by a supplicant for a job is, for one sensitive to the dignity of man, among the most degrading human acts imaginable. The stooped back, the outstretched hands of the groveling poor are in contrast with the stern and commanding voice and the fine carriage of the rich, the mighty and the highborn. Yet very recently the principle of equality has flowered in Indian life, and it is the changes that this has brought and its effects on other aspects of India's efforts at modernization SOCIETY has a civilising aspect and even if there are natural differences amongst individuals, society can overcome them because of the potentiality of social thought and social organisation. Civilised societies protect their weak since they realise the potential of each citizen. Today this idea confronts marketisation which is taking society in the opposite direction and posing problems for collective action and movements. Altruism is basic to people. This is being denied in the race for competition. Youth is robbed of its best years and atomised. Its idealism and energy are being turned into cynicism. Those very structures of society that proclaim that Man is strong and should be left free are the ones that weaken him the most for their own narrow needs. All this works not just at the economic plane but also through culture, science and technology, media, etc., so that inequality is reinforced in various interlocked ways and must be tackled at all these levels. Growing cynicism and narrowness of thought are leading society to lose its innocence and turning the individuals into mere shells having lost the emotional depth they had and are increasingly being treated as sophisticated machines. In brief, the very factors resulting in growing inequality are also making it difficult to organise movements for achieving equality. The progress made in the decades for the upliftment of the downtrodden and women, socially, economically and educationally is impressive. But it has not yet reached the level of satisfaction. New laws are to be promulgated taking into account the progress, the pitfalls and failures. The legislature and judiciary should work in cooperation for the benefit of the entire population rather than for a particular group. Hopefully, the changes that are being brought since the beginning of this decade will continue and will give an impetus to the efforts towards social justice and equal opportunities for all and the realization of the Vedic goal of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (One World One Family).
remain the basis of Indian music, but, in north India particularly, it is the performers interpretation, imagination, and skill in rendering these that provide the main substance of modern Indian music.
Modern developments in Indian music could be said to have begun with the songs of the world famous Indian poet, author and painter, Rabindranath Tagore. During his lifetime he wrote more than 2,000 songs, drawing his inspiration mainly from classical, folk, and devotional music. The result was a unique individual expression in which words and melody blended together in an extraordinary way. Purists in classical music have sometimes found objection to Tagores songs on the grounds that they are not composed in pure raagas. This is indeed true, but the popularity of these songs in West Bengal, especially among the intellectuals, shows that they are not without sophistication and succeed in their intent. There have been significant changes in modern Indian music as compared to that of medieval India. The influence of the mass media, particularly cinema and radio are easily traceable in the contemporary Indian music and these have also worked as a means of development in Indian music.