Unity in diversity

The Sangeet Natak Akademi recently organised a two-day workshop on Carnatic music conducted by eminent vocalist Dr Radha Bhaskar. Carnatic music relied heavily on presentation through compositions while Hindustani music developed a distinct instrumental style and differences in gayeki that Carnatic music was not subject to. Purandara Dasa in the late 15th Century formulated a lot of the technique of learning Carnatic music and also composed many songs in Kannada; three contemporaneous composers in the early 19th Century known as the Trinity; Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Satri prolifically composed pieces in mainly Telugu and Sanskrit, and these are still performed religiously. One reason for the popularity of Carnatic music today even amongst uninitiated may be its almost universal application in the film industry.