09

Have you travelled to a town, city, or country different from where you live? Just as human beings travel and move from one place to another, music and culture also flow between different regions and countries. So, let’s pack our bags and set off on a journey!

Music and Migration

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to settle in a new location. When populations such as people of a country or an ethnic group that originated from the same place settle in a new country, they form what is called a diaspora.

Over thousands of years, people moved in and out of the Indian subcontinent. And, with them, they carried not just physical possessions, but also their music. The music they carried served many purposes — it provided links to their home, helped them bond with fellow migrants, preserved their cultural practices, and also allowed them to express their feelings and hardships. Their music blended with local sounds, creating new, hybrid genres, and enriched the cultural landscape.

Chutney music

It emerged from the migration of Indians from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to the Caribbean islands in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Over time, Bhojpuri folk songs, bhajans, and instruments like the dholak blended with Caribbean styles such as soca and calypso. This fusion created a lively hybrid genre. Its lyrics mix Bhojpuri, Hindi, English, and Creole, reflecting everyday life and cultural identity. Instruments like the dholak, tassa, dhantal, and keyboards give Chutney its energetic, dance-driven sound.

Listening selections

• Phulowrie Bina Chutney Kaise Bani – Sundar Popo
• Cham Cham Baje – Drupatee Ramgoonai

Bhangra in the United Kingdom

Fig. 9.1. Bhangra

A vibrant folk music and dance tradition from Punjab, Bhangra is rooted in energetic dhol rhythms and celebration. When Punjabi migrants settled in the UK between the 1950s and 1980s, they brought their music with them as a way to preserve their identity and community. Growing up between Punjabi homes and British cities, young musicians blended Bhangra with reggae, hip-hop, pop, and electronic sounds. This fusion led to the emergence of UK Bhangra, which is a blend of fast beats, heavy bass, Punjabi lyrics, and modern instruments.

Listening selections

• Tutak Tutak Tootiya – Malkit Singh
• Dowain Jaaniya – Heera group

Do you know?

Just as Indians have migrated to other countries, there have also been several examples of communities from other countries and continents migrating to India and bringing their music with them. Read and watch videos about the Siddi community and the Siddi Dhamāl music–dance form that combines African traditions with Gujarati folk traditions.

Fig. 9.2. Siddi
Dhamāl dance

Activity 9.1

Migration in your family

Has someone you know migrated to another town, city, or country?

• Speak to a person who has migrated, and ask them to share a song that reminds them of their home with you.
• If you had to write a song about your home and family to take with you to a different place, what would it be like? Write down a few lines of lyric in your journal.

Do you know?

The dancer icon seen in many messaging apps is inspired by flamenco, which is a tradition of song, dance, and guitar music from southern Spain, closely linked to the Andalusian Roma community. Its roots trace back to Roma migrations from Rajasthan to Spain between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, where their music blends with Jewish and Moorish cultures, creating this distinctive art form.

Families of Musical Instruments

We have studied the classification of instruments into four categories, namely string (tata), wind (suṣhira), percussion (avanaddha), and solid (ghana), according to the Nāṭyaśhāstra. What is most remarkable is that this classification applies to musical instruments found anywhere in the world. Musical instruments may also be classified in other ways such as based on the musical genre they belong to, which country or region they come from, or similar shared characteristics.

Do you know?

The rāvaṇa-hatthā is an ancient bowed string instrument. According to folklore, it was invented by Rāvaṇa in Lanka. It continues to be used as a folk instrument in Rajasthan. Can you find any other instruments that belong to this family of bowed string instruments?

Fig. 9.3. Rāvaṇa-hatthā

The lute family

It includes plucked string instruments found across Asia and Europe. All of these share a basic design—a wide resonating body and a narrow neck—but differ in materials and construction. The resonating top, or belly, may be made of wood, as in the West Asian oud, or skin, as in the banjo. Some instruments use highly specific materials — the Japanese shamisen traditionally uses cat skin (skin of dead animals), the Puerto Rican cuatro uses seasoned jagrumo wood, and the Indian sarod has a stretched goatskin top. In recent times, synthetic materials have also been adopted.

Fig. 9.8. Shakuhachi

Fig. 9.6. Recorder

Fig. 9.7. Bansuri

Making of the Veena

Look at the following images showing the process of making a veena. Reflect on how craftspersons make each instrument with great effort.