Street Music of India

During our growing years, we Indians are exposed to a lot of rural folk as well as urban street music. It is noticed that the amorphous nature of music has given rise to an unique amalgam of folk music and popular cinema sounds, being performed by musicians on stages and arenas, depicting the cultural experience of urban life and the streets. One can easily relate street music with the multi-dimensions of street culture.



There is an evident cross fertilisation between the two musical forms, with both taking from, and responding to the other. The Indian film music industry has a strong influence on popular Indian culture and while it has shaped public preferences, it has also borrowed from classical music forms. One common belief about street musicians is of them being too lazy to get a 'real' job, harassing people on the streets with 'inferior' or 'crude' acts to solicit money to support a degenerate lifestyle. This perception is not confined to this part of the world only.

Bhajan from Benares :  (Download)



Tribal Song from Rajasthan :  (Download)



Nautanki Song from Kanpur :  (Download)





Street music is perceived as a 'lesser' performing art, an illegitimate musical form. However, it continues to endure this viewpoint, surviving elitist ideas of 'high' art. Moreover, street music is being increasingly absorbed into mainstream musical forms but without recognition. Lack of recognition of this art form, deprive the artists of social and economic benefits that are rightfully theirs.

Jogi Song from Gujarat :  (Download)



Bhajan from Orissa :  (Download)



Baul Song from Bengal :  (Download)



Beggar's Song in a Street :  (Download)





The homespun, creative and intelligent construction of musical instruments made by the artists themselves, mirror the many dimensions of the artist. Streets and their culture lie at the heart of public life in contemporary India, especially in cities where urban housing is crowded and uncomfortable. Its streets act as thoroughfares, bazaars, theatres and most of all, a setting whose culture is constantly changing and evolving with time.

Comments are welcome.

Voices along the Ganges : Ragas & Sagas

We resume our journey along the Ganges. Those who have not read the previous parts of the Voices along the Ganges series, please read my earlier posts Voices along the Ganges : Saints & Beggars, Voices along the Ganges : Chants & Folklores and Voices along the Ganges : Weddings & Funerals.



The river Ganges which originates in the Gangotri glacier in the snow clad Himalayas, descends down the mountains, reaches the plains at Haridwar, flows through ancient pilgrimage sites such as Prayag (Allahabad), Benares and Patna, and drains into the Bay of Bengal. Sagar Island, at the mouth of the river Hooghly in Bengal, where the Ganga breaks up into hundreds of streams, and drains into the sea, is honored as a pilgrimage site, signifying the spot where the ashes of the ancestors of Bhagiratha were purified by the waters of the Ganga.

Bihar-Bengal border - Lori (Lullaby) :  (Download)



Bihar-Bengal border - Hori Jogira :  (Download)



An important festival of Bengal is Kali Puja, a festival in which people worship Goddess Kali, the goddess of destruction, the saviour of mankind from evil demons. During this Puja, clay images of demons are sold to be placed alongside images of Kali herself. At the end of festivals, thousands of devotees converge on the Ghats of Kolkata to immerse clay images of Durga, Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati into the river. Every year, in mid-January, a religious festival, Gangasagar Mela is celebrated at Sagardwip, the last island before the ocean, where the Ganga meets the sea.

Bengal - O Doyal :  (Download)



Bengal - Baul Song :  (Download)



Bengal - Kali Kirtan :  (Download)





A dip in the ocean, where the Ganges drains into the sea is considered to be of great religious significance particularly on the Makar Sankranti day (mid-January) when the sun makes a transition to Capricorn from Saggitarius and this town becomes home to vast fairs, drawing visitors and recluses (sanyasis) from all over India.

The end.

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