Paulo. Agra [Agra, India]. Retrieved March 9, 2018 from https://flic.kr/p/eoQvWo (Originally photographed 2010, August 18). Licensed by CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Flag
(Citation 1)
Map
(Citation 3)
Books on Indian Cinema
Bollywood and Globalization by Call Number: PN1993.5 .I8 B592 2011
Hong Kong and Bollywood by Call Number: PN1993.5.I8 H66 2016
Exploring Morality and Sexuality in Asian Cinema by Call Number: PN1995.5 .P78 2015
Streaming Audio: Folk Melodies of India
Listen to Hindustani Music
Facts in Brief
The Republic of India forms a natural sub-continent, with the Himalaya mountain range to the north. Two sections of the Indian Ocean—the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal—lie to the west and east, respectively. India’s neighbours are Tibet (the Xizang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China), Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Pakistan to the north-west and Myanmar (formerly Burma) to the north-east, while Bangladesh is surrounded by Indian territory except for a short frontier with Myanmar in the east. Near India’s southern tip, across the Palk Strait, is Sri Lanka. India’s climate ranges from temperate to tropical, with an average summer temperature on the plains of approximately 27°C (81°F). Annual rainfall varies widely, but the summer monsoon brings heavy rain over much of the country in June and July. The official language is Hindi, spoken by about 30% of the population. English is used as an associate language for many official purposes. The Indian Constitution also recognizes 18 regional languages, of which the most widely spoken are Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu and Gujarati. In addition, many other local languages are used. According to the 2011 census, 79.8% of the population are Hindus and 14.2% Muslims. There are also Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and other minorities. The national flag (proportions 2 by 3) has three equal horizontal stripes, of saffron, white and green, with the Dharma Chakra (Wheel of the Law), in blue, in the centre of the white stripe. The capital is New Delhi. (Citation 2)
Ragas
The notes of the Indian scale are arranged in various patterns called ragas. Each raga has a special meaning and may be associated with a particular mood, emotion, season, or time of day. Indian instruments include the sitar, sarod, and vina, which are plucked stringed instruments; the tambura, which produces a drone (continuous tone); and the tabla and mridangam, which are drums.
The Ragas of Early Indian Music: Modes, Melodies, and Musical Notations from the Gupta Period to c. 1250 by
The concept of raga, the traditional basis of melodic composition and improvisation in Indian classical music, has become familiar to listeners and musicologists throughout the world, but its historial origins and early development have been little explored. Richard Widdess draws on writtendocuments from the pre-Islamic period in India, including musical treatises (especially that of the thirteenth-century theorist, Sarngadeva), literary works, and a remarkable inscription comprising musical notation. These documents bear witness to the development of the earlier ragas, which theyname, classify, define, and in some cases illustrate with melodic examples.The melodies, which have not previously been studied in detail, form the focus of the book, which analyses their notation, musical structure and relationship to the theoretical tradition in which they are embedded, as evidence for the early history of melodic compostion and improvisation in theIndian tradition.
Call Number: ML338.2 .W5 1995
The Music of India, a Popular Handbook of Hindustani Music by Call Number: ML338 .B26 1958- The Ragas of North India by Call Number: ML338 .K37
Globalization of Indian Culture
While Hindi language films have become more westernized in recent years, filmmakers who speak other languages like Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada have captured broader appeal throughout the country with dubbed or subtitled versions of their films. Some see this success as a testament to the power of storytelling and cinema no matter the language, and indicative of Indian cinema's global appeal. Critics have attributed this success to the glorified violence and masculinity presented by many of these blockbusters. (4)
Vice President of Content for Netflix India, Monika Shergill highlighted the global appeal of films from India, “points out that 28 Indian films have featured in the Netflix non-English top 10 charts this year, there was a week where five Indian titles featured on Netflix’s global top 10 list, and that viewership of Indian films on the service has gone up by 50% from last year.” (5)
Recent action, spy thriller The Gray Man featured Tamil movie start Dhanush.
"Something that was one of the more significant benefits of working with Marvel was we were able to travel the world and meet fans up close and talk to them and understand culturally where they're coming from when they watch stories," [Joe] Russo continued, adding, "Bollywood has as rich of a history as Hollywood does and has incredible talent and stars that are just not getting a platform on a bigger stage.” (6)
By performing in major concert venues around the world, Shankar is credited with introducing the West to Hindustani music. His collaborations with many Western artists made Indian music mainstream. George Harrison was fascinated by the sitar and Shankar’s virtuosity and studied with him from 1966-68. The song “Love You To” from the 1966 Revolver album begins with a sitar introduction and pushed the group into a more experimental direction. Harrison was also passionately interested in transcendental meditation and encouraged the Beatles to visit the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968. This trip became their most productive songwriting period. (7)
Hindustani Music
Ravi Shankar was a monumental figure in Indian music, sitar virtuoso, and composer. His concert career began in India in the late 1930s, where his extensive knowledge and training in different genres revolutionized the sitar. In 1949 he was appointed director of the new All-India radio and composed for that ensemble. He left that position in 1956 and began making trips to Europe and the U.S. He was extremely sought after as a concert artist and collaborated with artists like Yehudi Menuhin, Zubin Mehta, and Phillip Glass. Additionally, his score for Gandhi was nominated for an Academy Award. (8)
Shankar performing at Woodstock in August, 1969 (9)
American composer Reena Esmail was the 2020-2021 Seattle Symphony Composer in Residence. Her works connect the styles of Hindustani (North Indian) and Western Classical music. This blend of both cultures can be a window into understanding either, no matter your background. The fusion of styles is especially apparent in her Concerto for Hindustani Violin and Orchestra which features violinist Kala Ramnath. This work was premiered with Ramnath and the Seattle Symphony on March 20, 2022, and is one of Esmail's 11 world premieres in 2022. (10)
Violinist and vocalist Kala Ramnath is one of the world's most sought-after violinists. She was the first Indian musician to be featured in The Strad magazine and performs around the world collaborating with artists in many genres. (11)
Learn Hindi, Telegu, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, or Urdu!
- Mango Languages
An online language learning resource that covers over 70 languages. Courses are accessible from a web browser or app.
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- Tennessee Electronic LibraryCreate an account with TEL to access Transparent Language Online from their website. Find it in the right side bar entitled "Featured Resources."
Citations
(1) Country Flag (India), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Retrieved 09 March 2018 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/in.FLAG
(2) Location, Climate, Language, Religion, Flag, Capital (India), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 09 March 2018 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/in.is.2
(3) Country Map (India), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville.Retrieved 03 March 2021 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/in.MAP
(4) Chris Kay, “Big Budget Blockbusters Eclipse Bollywood in India Power Shift,” Bloomberg, June 30, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-07-01/big-budget-blockbusters-eclipse-bollywood-in-india-power-shift.
(5) Naman Ramachandran, “Netflix India Content Chief Unwraps Strategy as Streamer Reveals Production Partnerships, Celebrates Films Day,” Variety, August 29, 2022, https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/netflix-india-content-chief-strategy-1235353166/amp/.
(6) Kirsten Acuna, “Why ‘The Gray Man’ cast Dhanush and kept his character alive: ‘We were not interested in him playing a one-off character.’,” Insider, August 3, 2022. https://www.insider.com/why-the-gray-man-cast-dhanush-2022-8?amp.
(7) Ravi Shankar performing with his daughter Anoushka, (M. Peric/Lebrecht Music and Arts. Grove Music Online)
(8) Stephen Slawek. "Shankar, Ravi." Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 4 Oct. 2022. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000025580.
(9) Ravi Shankar at Woodstock, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ravi_Shankar.jpg#globalusage.
(10) Thomas May, "Highly sought-after composer Reena Esmail debuts new piece with Seattle Symphony," Seattles Times, March 18, 2022, https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/classical-music/highly-sought-after-composer-reena-esmail-debuts-new-piece-with-seattle-symphony/.
(11) "Bio," kalaramnath.com, accessed October 4, 2022, https://kalaramnath.com/profile.