‘In 1700s Hindustani, Carnatic music remained demarcated’

Addressing at the “SADAS” organised by the Music Academy here on Tuesday he said the Carnatic music remained relatively unaffected and retained its original pristine form.

It was at this time that Purandara Dasa, who is known as the Pitamaha of Carnatic music, formulated the basic framework for Carnatic music. He is therefore known as the father of the musical tradition. Venkatamukhin invented and authored the formula for the melakarta system of raga classification in his Sanskrit work, the Chaturdandi Prakasika (1660 AD).

Govindacharya was known for expanding the melakarta system into the sampoorna raga scheme, the system that is in common use on Thursday.

The Governor said subsequently, in the 18th century Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri who are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music composed their kritis. This was further enriched by many other great composers like, Papanasam Sivan, Swati Thirunal, Arunachala Kavi Annamacharya and Arunagiri Nathar.

Music is the complete expression of the soul reflecting the inner beauty within us.

Purohit said the people of Chennai have nurtured Carnatic music, classical dance and its traditions for several centuries. “We are all justifiably proud of the fact that Chennai has been listed in the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. Only two other Indian cities Banaras and Jaipur are found in the list. Among them Chennai is the most recent, having been founded only in the 17th century. This is ample testimony to the mix of tradition and modernity in Chennai. Here is a city where Sabhas and Software and Puttus and Popcorn co-exist, to hold aloft music and culture. May this tradition continue,” he said.