The Classical Music Culture of South India

Abstract

The paper sketches briefly the cultural and political context against which one may study the classical South Indian concert called the Kutcheri. It goes on to trace the development of the modern concert and then concentrates on the devotional poetry of Tyagaraja who is the foremost composer in the tradition. The paper demonstrates the centrality of Bhakti (devotion) as an emotion and its role in creating a link between the composer, the singer, the song and the audience.

Keywords

• Kutcheri; Bharatanatyam; National discourse; Bhakti (devotion); Tyagaraja’s songs