Paragraphs on Modern Developments in India!

Music, like dance, fell into some disrepute in the early nineteenth century, but towards the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, inspirations began to stir and a revival took place.

Rabindranath Tagore composed unique songs which go under the name of Rabindra Sangeet.

The patriotic fervour of the early twentieth century drew many musicians into the freedom struggle—Kazi Nazrul Islam, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, Subramania Bharati—and they all sought to establish Indian music and musicology on the world map.

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Institutions were established to encourage the study of music as a science. In 1901, Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, in his effort to remove music from the stranglehold of gharanas and give it a broader base, opened a school of music at Lahore—the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Slowly it shifted base to Mumbai.

Later he opened the Prayag Samiti at Allahabad. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande was another notable pioneer in rescuing music from disrepute and giving it the respectability it deserved. His efforts led to the Marris College of Music being established in 1926 at Lucknow.

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It has now been renamed the Bhatkhande College of Music. In the meanwhile, in 1919, the All-India Music Academy was established. All this opened vast avenues for research, study and experiment and a better understanding of different styles, besides fostering an interest in music.

In 1928, the Madras Music Academy was founded and it did much to revive interest in Karnataka Music. Gradually many Indian universities and schools had music on their academic curricula, and several students started studying and doing research in this field.

The spread of interest in music was also due to the part played by the All India Radio which brought concerts by famous musician’s right into the home and gave a chance for budding talents to be aired. Cinema too has popularised music, though film songs are now very much influenced by Western techniques.

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