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Indian Classical Music and Dance in South Louisiana
By Andrew McLean
Introduction
History of Indian Classical Music
Arriving in Louisiana
Cultivating Transcendental Music
Honoring Sarasvati: The Goddess of Music
Priyo Majumdar performs "Raga Kafi" on his sarode
Saraswati Song Sung By Ramabai Shenoy
Meera Seth performs "Bhupali" on her sitar
Producing Concerts of Touring Indian Artists
Extending the Sense of Musical Community
Storytelling Through Dance
Conclusion
Introduction
Now that Indian culture has become more established in American life, it is a much more lively and interactive time for the Indian community of South Louisiana. Though somewhat reduced since Hurricane Katrina, the Indian population in the past few decades has increased in Louisiana. The younger generation of Indians is filled with more pride about their heritage than the previous generation as India's contributions to global culture and the global economy (principally through information technology) are often front page news. The complementary and alternative health movement has embraced the benefits of India's yoga, and thus health spas and yoga studios are commonplace, offering various forms of this Indian tradition adapted to modern Western lifestyles. The inclusion of Indian popular music and dance styles in Western popular culture is evident in mainstream movies, television programs, and commercials. Though practiced by a smaller segment of the Indian community, India's classical arts that have been maintained and performed in Louisiana have showcased and preserved India's ancient and modern heritage. These arts fortify the lives of and deepen the sense of community among Indians in South Louisiana, while offering the local non-Indians, including Louisiana musicians, more direct interaction with India's cultural gems. Classical music and dance have played a simultaneous role reaffirming older traditions and maintaining a current sense of place through interaction with the new homeland and its styles.
History of Indian Classical Music
Like jazz, Indian classical music is a spontaneous music that takes a unique shape in each performance depending on the circumstances and the environment in which it is played. As an oral tradition, it is typically passed down in formal teacher-student relationships known as Guru-Shishya parampara. Its essential melodic form, the raga, has roots in the ancient times before written language was used to convey spiritual meaning. For a long period of history, the essentials of the Hindu tradition were not passed along in books but were embodied in sacred sounds memorized and recited by specialists in temples (see Beck's writings in bibliography). Some of these sacred sounds have elucidated a path to spiritual union (yoga) known as Nada Yoga including the primordial sound prayer Aum, also written as Om, which is said to be the sound of the universe, and Nada Brahma which means "sound is God." This use of sound as a spiritual practice gradually developed into both the melodic (raga) and rhythmic (tala) features of Indian classical music. Both the notes of the basic musical scales as well as the various beats and rhythm cycles came from this "sound of the universe" (called Sa among musicians). Ragas and talas are basically specific treatments of these scales and rhythms that use a specific combination of notes and maintain a certain design, character, and mood while a musician composes and spontaneously elaborates. Depending on the nature of a raga, there may be hundreds or even thousands of compositions, which adhere to its structure. The ragas of Indian classical music, then, developed in these temples principally as a form of vocal prayer music with some secondary instrumental accompaniment.
The instrumental music, like Western classical music, initially modeled itself on the vocal music, but eventually established its own distinct character. Comparatively speaking, Western music including jazz flourished as a medium for several interrelated voices (melody, counterpoint, harmony, etc), but Indian classical music has maintained a soloistic tradition that features a single voice or instrument with optional instrumental accompaniment. Commonly featured instruments in Indian classical music include:
sitar -- a 25 string lute made from a gourd body and wood neck,
veena -- a predecessor of the sitar,
sarangi -- a 38 string bowed instrument with a skin surface under the strings like a banjo and sits in the musicians lap,
bansuri -- a bamboo flute,
sarode -- a 25 string lute made of wood with a metallic fretless fingerboard and plucked with a coconut shell,
santoor -- a 72 string hammered dulcimer which is a predecessor of the harpsichord and piano, and
tabla -- a pair of tuned drums.
Some Western instruments have gradually been accepted as well including the violin and the harmonium -- a small hand-pumped organ brought in during British rule.
In the middle of the second millennium while Western classical music was developing multiple voices into chordal music (polyphony), Indian music remained mono-tonal (monophony) but underwent an equally significant shift by dividing into Hindustani (north) and Carnatic (south) styles as north India was overtaken by the Islamic Moghal Empire. While the Carnatic system of the south remained a music principally associated with Hindu temples, the northern Hindustani tradition was cultivated in the Muslim courts yielding a melodic and instrumental focus, which attempted to de-emphasize the Hindu-themed lyrics typically embellished in raga presentations. Whether lyrically or melodically rich, the two music systems were recognized for their profound spiritual appeal and remained an important part of many sacred occasions. Though they were officially Muslims as members of the Royal court, Hindustani musicians tended to transcend the Hindu-Muslim dichotomy by honoring both religions in their own prayer services and were even known to claim music itself as their religion. Once the British take over of India destroyed the royal patronage system that supported Hindustani musicians, the "priestly caste" of Hindus (Brahmins) in the north began to sponsor classical concerts and eventually became students of the Hindustani maestros.
Arriving in Louisiana
In the 1960s when the initial waves of Indian immigrants arrived in Louisiana mostly for education and port-related jobs, many Louisianans began to take interest in India's vast spiritual landscape. Young people, in particular, found new avenues for spiritual satisfaction in the meditative practices of Buddhism and Hinduism, both of which were born in India. Another significant source of Indian spirituality for Indians and non-Indians alike were the long play (LP) records of Indian classical music. These LP's not only nurtured the Indians' sense of their own culture but inspired many local musicians to treat music making as a spiritual practice unto itself. The first LP of Indian classical music was recorded in 1955 by Ustad (Muslim title for master-musician) Ali Akbar Khan whose eldest son, Aashish Khan, has made several recent trips to New Orleans to play with New Orleans musicians. The elder Khan's LPs, along with his Beatles-associated, more famous brother-in-law, Pandit (Hindu learned person, abbreviated as Pt.) Ravi Shankar, inspired a league of admirers that included jazz giants like John Coltrane, Don Cherry, and others who were so moved that they approached the Indian maestros for instruction in the transcendent sound of their classical music. As many music-loving Louisianans remember, Pt. Ravi Shankar even toured through New Orleans and Baton Rouge in the 1970s giving many listeners their first direct experience with live Indian music.
The Indians who emigrated here, however, did not come to South Louisiana to play their classical music. Those who had a taste for or some basic training in their classical music listened to recordings or practiced their lessons privately in their homes while occasionally giving performances at various community centers. At first it was the women of the community who devoted time to keeping the music alive. Sitarist Mrs. Meera Seth is probably the first musician to present Indian classical music in Louisiana. She still has the newspaper articles from the 1970s that feature her early concert presentations in Baton Rouge:
Music is a universal language. … It's a way of communicating with other cultures. … Through music we can tell a lot about the heritage of the culture. Playing sitar all over Baton Rouge in the International Expo, etc., I thought that it was my duty to expose Indian classical music to Americans. I became like an ambassador, like a bridge. Then I started teaching [private students], and this gave me the most happiness. (Seth 2008)
Meera Seth performs "Bhupali" on her sitar
Gradually, as the Indian population increased in the region, other classically trained artists arrived who could teach the many music and dance forms aside from their chosen professions. Weekly singing classes began in Metairie in the 1980s under Sunita Pethe. Houston resident Padmini Chari, was asked to make regular visits to tutor the community's children in the South Indian classical dance form known as Bharatnatyam. This gave dozens of Indian and some non-Indian students direct access to the culture's graceful movements and profound music structures.
By the 1990s some real momentum was becoming established. In 1995, sitarist Ashok Gildyal and sarodist Priyodarshi Majumdar accompanied a New Orleans Museum of Art exhibit of Indian (Jain) art with long-time Louisiana resident and tabla player Tushar Roy.
Tushar Roy plays tabla, traditional drums at the 2008 Saraswati Puja in Kenner, Louisiana.
Photo: Sadie Ordes
These concerts were well attended by both Indian and non-Indian listeners. Much to the delight of the Indian community, two non-Indians brought their classical training and academic expertise in Indian music and spirituality to the region. Dr. Guy Beck, a Hindustani vocalist with six years training in Calcutta, earning the degree of Sangit Bivakar, began teaching classes about the significance of sacred sound in Hinduism as an assistant professor in Religious Studies at Louisiana State University and Tulane University. Andrew McLean (the author) was trained in tabla and Hindustani music at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music in California, and then returned to his native New Orleans to share the teachings and offer tabla classes for the first time in Louisiana. As proud custodians of this rich musical tradition, these musicians give full-length concerts (1-3 hours) in southern Louisiana venues, sometimes with local New Orleans musicians.
Finally, to promote the appreciation of India's artistic heritage classical arts connoisseurs in New Orleans established the Indian Arts Circle of New Orleans (IACNO). IACNO presents programs that feature touring professional artists from India such as the legendary Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (bansuri), Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor), and Pt. Ajoy Chakraborti.
Andrew McLean is an ethnomusicologist and professional musician who specializes in Indian Classical Music. He is based in New Orleans, Louisiana where he performs and teaches the guitar and Indian tabla (drums).
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