Arts performed for an audience that has a visual impact on it are known as performing arts. These include music, dance, theatre, etc. Performing arts have been a part of various cultures, traditions globally since ancient times. India is a country with a rich cultural and historical heritage. Music, dance, and drama have been an integral part of our culture since the dawn of time. In this article, we will study various performing arts which are important for UPSC IAS preparation.

What is Performing Arts?

• It is an expression of human emotions expressed through various art forms.
• This expression is expressed through music, dance, theatre, painting, sculpture, etc.
• Initially, these art forms were used to spread religion and social reforms, with music and dance being incorporated to gain popularity.
• Gradually these performing art forms became a medium for expression and entertainment across the world.

Origin and Evolution of Performing Arts

• Bharatmuni’s Natyashashtra is the earliest text related to performing arts.
• In Matanga’s Brihaddesi ragas were named and discussed.
• Performing arts were also patronized by various rulers such as Samudragupta, King Bhoja of Dhara, Akbar, etc.
• Ibrahim Adil Shah II wrote Kitabe Navras which is a collection of songs in praise of Hindu deities and Muslim saints.
• During the initial phases of the emergence of performing arts, these were used for the propagation of religion and for various other socio-religious purposes.
• Performing arts became means for generating awareness among the masses during Vedic, medieval periods.
• For instance, in Vedas rules were given for chanting hymns.

Categories of Performing Arts

Performing Arts have been recognised in the following categories:

Music

• It is a performing art form where different types of musical instruments, styles are used to produce various genres of music.
• Music has been India's most popular art form since time immemorial.
• The origins of Indian music can be traced back to the Sama Veda, which contained the slokas that were set to music.
• Religious rituals still include the chanting of Vedic hymns with prescribed pitch and accent.
• Jayadeva of Orissa created the most brilliant raga kavya, the Gita Govinda, in the twelfth century, with each song set in a raga and composed on the theme of Radha and Krishna's love.
• Abhinavabharati by Abhinavagupta (993-1055) contains useful information about music.
• Tamil music contains a number of terms and concepts that are similar to those found in Sanskrit texts.
• Psalms (poems) were also set to music by the Saivite Nayanars and Vaishnavite Alvars.
• Similarly, Sufi and Bhakti saints encouraged music during the medieval period.
• Qawwalis were performed in Sufi khanqahs, and devotional music such as kirtan and bhajan became popular among Bhakti saints.

Indian music during medieval times was divided into

Hindustani Classical Music

• Hindustani classical music can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate and Amir Khusrau (AD 1253-1325), who encouraged musical performance with specific instruments.
• He is credited with inventing the sitar and tabla, as well as introducing new ragas.
• Tansen is the ancestor of the majority of Hindustani musicians.
• Dhrupad, Dhamar, Thumri, Khayal, and Tappa are Hindustani music styles.
• Some of the popular ragas are - Bahar, Bhairavi, Sindhu Bhairavi, Bhim Palasi, Darbari, Desh, Hamsadhwani, Jai Jayanti, Megha Malhar, Todi, Yaman, Pilu, Shyam Kalyan, and Khambaj.
• India also has a wide range of musical instruments of various types.
• Hindustani classical musicians are usually associated with a gharana or a specific style of music.
• Gharanas are hereditary musical linkages that represent the core of the style and distinguish it from others.
• Gharanas work in guru shishya parampara, which means that disciples learning under a specific guru and transmitting his musical knowledge and style will belong to the same gharana.
• Gwalior gharana, Kirana gharana, and Jaipur gharana are some well-known gharanas.

Carnatic Music

• Carnatic music compositions can be attributed to three composers who lived between AD 1700 and 1850. They were - Shyam Shastri, Thyagaraja, and Mutthuswami Dikshitar.
• Purandardasa was another great Carnatic composer.
• Thyagaraja is revered as a saint as well as an artist, and he embodies the essence of Carnatic music.
• The main compositions, known as kriti, are devotional in nature.
• Maha Vaidyanath Ayyar (1844-93), Patnam Subrahmanya Ayyar (l854-1902) and Ramnad Srinivasa Lyengar were among the notable musicians of this era (1860-1919).
• Carnatic music is accompanied by instruments such as the flute, veena, nadaswaram, mridangam, and ghatam.
• Despite the differences between Hindustani and Carnatic music, some similarities can be found.
  • For example, the Carnatic alapana is similar to the alap in Hindustani classical music. Tilana in Carnatic architecture is similar to Tarana in Hindustani architecture. Both put emphasis on tala or talam.

Folk Music

• Aside from classical music, India has a rich folk or popular music tradition. This music embodies the feelings of the masses.
• The simple songs are written to commemorate every event in life. It could be a festival, the start of a new season, a marriage, or the birth of a child.
• Rajasthani folk songs such as Mand and Bhatiali of Bengal are well-known throughout India. Ragini is a popular Haryana folk song style.
• Folk songs have unique meanings or messages. They frequently describe historical events and significant rituals.
• Gulraj from Kashmir is folklore, and Pandyani from Madhya Pradesh is a story set to music.
• During Muharram, Muslims sing Sojkhwani, or mournful songs, and Christmas carols and choral music are sung in groups on festive occasions.

Dances

• The Rig Veda refers to dance (nrti) and a danseuse (nrtu), and compares the brilliant dawn (usas) to a brightly attrived danseuse.
• Dance and music are mentioned together in the Brahmanas by Jaiminiya and Kausitaki.
• The Epics are rife with references to earthly and heavenly dances.
• Indian dance, like music, has a rich classical tradition. It has a great deal of expressive and emotional power when telling a story.
• The art of dancing can be traced back to the Harappan culture in India.
• The discovery of a bronze statue of a dancing girl demonstrates that some women in Harappa danced.

• Dance served as a symbolic expression of religious ideas in traditional Indian culture.
• The figure of Lord Shiva as Nataraja represents the cosmic cycle's creation and destruction.
• There isn't a single temple in the country, at least not in the south, that doesn't have sculptures of dancers in various poses.
• In fact, classical dance forms such as Kathakali, Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchi pudi, and Odishi are important components of our cultural heritage.

Some of the Popular Dance Forms in India are:

Kathak - Famous dancers include Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Shambhu Maharaj, Sitara Devi, etc.

Bharatanatyam - Famous dancers include Saroja Vaidyanathan, Padma Subhramaniam, etc.

Odissi - Famous dancers include Kelucharan Mahapatra, Sanjukta Panigrahi, etc.

Kuchipudi - Famous dancers include Swapna Sundari, Satya Narayan Sarma, etc

Drama/Theatre

• The origins of Indian drama can be traced back to the Vedas, according to indigenous tradition and modern research.
• The Ramayana mentions female drama troupes, while Kautilya's Arthshastra mentions musicians, dancers, and dramatic performances.
• Drama is a performing art that has been practised since the dawn of time.
• Since ancient times, mythological stories of war between the gods, goddesses, and devils have been told.
• Bharata penned Natyashastra and the plays Asura Parajaya and Amrit Manthan.
• Natyashastra is one of the most important texts in the history of drama and other performing arts.
• The next epoch is that of the great Bhasa, who wrote plays based on the stories of Udayana, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata, his masterpiece being Swapana Vasabdatta.
• Patanjali's Mahabhasya, written in the second century B.C., refers to several aspects of drama, including the actors, music, stage, and rasa in the performances known as Kamsavadha and Balibandha.
• In the context of drama, two types emerged: classic drama, which featured intricate themes and subtle nuances of dramatic traits, and folk theatre. It was impromptu and on the spur of the moment.
• Local dialect was used in folk theatre, and as a result, many different types of folk theatres developed in different provinces.
• Acting with music and dance accompaniment was a common practice.
• In various provinces, various forms of folk theatre were given various names, such as:
  • Bengal - Jatra, Kirtania Natak
  • Bihar - Bideshia
  • Rajasthan - Raas, Jhumar, Dhola Maru
  • Uttar Pradesh - Raas, Nautanki, Svaang, Bhaand
  • Gujarat - Bhawaii
  • Maharashtra - Larite, Tamasha
  • Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka - Kathakali, Yakshagana
• Some props used in folk theatre included dhol, kartal, manjira, and khanjira instruments.
• Although the mediaeval period was rich in music and dance, theatre did not receive much attention.
• Wajid Ali Shah, a great patron of the arts, was also a major supporter of drama. He encouraged and supported artists to participate in theatre.
• The arrival of the British altered the character of the society. An Englishman founded a theatre in Calcutta in the eighteenth century.
• Horasim Lebedev, a Russian, founded a Bengali theatre, which marked the beginning of modern Indian theatre in India.
• Shakespeare's English drama, in particular, influenced Indian drama.

Some of the popular forms of drama in India are:

• Stage theatre
• Radio theatre
• Nukkar or street plays
• Mono drama (one-man show)
• Musical theatre
• Short skits

Importance of Performing Arts

• It helps in the development of the overall personality of an individual.
• It promotes tolerance and love for all.
• It helps spread awareness about cultures, traditions among present and future generations.
• It makes an individual confident and adaptable.

Conclusion

In the present times all the performing art forms, be it dance, drama, music are flourishing in the country and the world. These forms of art have been a medium for generating awareness about various social evils plaguing society. Performing arts have been used as a means of expression about religion, and various other festivities. They form the soul and cultural ethos of our diverse nation.

FAQs

MCQs

1. Which of the following is not a classical dance form of India?

A) Bharatanatyam
B) Kathak
C) Garba
D) Kathakali

2. The musical form Khyal belongs to which tradition?

A) Carnatic Music
B) Hindustani Music
C) Western Classical Music
D) Folk Music

3. Who is the author of the ancient treatise on performing arts called Natya Shastra?

A) Kalidasa
B) Bharata Muni
C) Tansen
D) Valmiki

4. Which of the following instruments is commonly associated with Carnatic classical music?

A) Sitar
B) Sarod
C) Veena
D) Shehnai

5. Yakshagana, a form of theater, is primarily associated with which Indian state?

A) Maharashtra
B) Gujarat
C) Karnataka
D) West Bengal

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Discuss the role of performing arts in promoting cultural unity in India.

Answer: Performing arts have played a significant role in promoting cultural unity in India by serving as a medium for expressing shared values and traditions. Classical forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Hindustani music transcend regional boundaries and have been embraced across the country, fostering a sense of collective heritage. Folk forms like Garba, Bhangra, and Lavani reflect the unique customs of different regions while also contributing to a national cultural identity. Performing arts help bridge cultural divides, promote understanding among diverse communities, and serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas and creativity.

Q2: Evaluate the significance of the Natya Shastra in the development of Indian performing arts.

Answer: The Natya Shastra is one of the most significant texts in the history of Indian performing arts. Written by Bharata Muni, it provides a comprehensive guide to the principles of dance, music, and drama. The text's influence can be seen in all classical dance forms of India, such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Odissi, which adhere to the guidelines laid down in the Natya Shastra. Its detailed discussions on Rasas (emotions), Bhavas (expressions), and Mudras (gestures) have shaped the aesthetic and performative aspects of Indian arts. The treatise has served as a cornerstone for both traditional and contemporary performances, ensuring the continuity of Indian performing arts across centuries.

Q3: Analyze the impact of globalization on Indian performing arts.

Answer: Globalization has had a profound impact on Indian performing arts. On one hand, it has led to the global dissemination of Indian art forms such as Bollywood dance, Indian classical music, and yoga, bringing them to international audiences. The rise of fusion music and dance, combining traditional Indian styles with Western influences, has created new forms of artistic expression. However, globalization has also posed challenges, as traditional art forms struggle to maintain their purity and relevance in the face of commercialized, global trends. The balance between preserving the authenticity of classical forms and adapting to modern tastes remains a key issue for performers and cultural practitioners in India.

Previous Year Questions on Performing Arts in India

1. UPSC CSE Prelims 2021

Question: Which of the following classical dance forms is from Odisha?
A) Kathak
B) Bharatanatyam
C) Odissi
D) Kuchipudi

Answer: C

Explanation: Odissi is a classical dance form that originated in Odisha and is known for its fluid movements and expressions.

2. UPSC CSE Mains 2020 (GS Paper 1)

Question: Discuss the role of classical music and dance in shaping the cultural identity of India.

Answer: Classical music and dance have played a pivotal role in shaping India’s cultural identity. They serve as a link to India’s ancient traditions, with roots in spirituality and mythology. Forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Carnatic music are deeply tied to religious practices and have been used for centuries to convey stories from Hindu epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. These performing arts have transcended regional and linguistic differences, creating a shared cultural heritage that unites the country. Their continued practice and popularity today reflect their importance in preserving India’s cultural identity amidst modernization and globalization.