Today, there are 10 Thaats in Hindustani music.
The questions often asked by the students of Hindustani music discussed in our lat post are:

1. Can one categorize 56 Moorshanas into 10 parent scales (Thaats).
2. Are there any equivalent Moorshanas for Bhairav, Poorvi, Todi and Marva thaat?
3. Can one define 12 notes of an octave through the Sharuti system to establish all the Thaats?

Answer to all the above is simple; no.

If no, then what happened?
How did we go from one system to the other, which are not compatible with each other?

Answer to that question is not so simple. The first and foremost factor is history of India. Second is the influence of charismatic musicologist, who more than once changed the path of Hindustani music with there personal views.

When India became a Muslim empire, the foreign emperors (and their administrators) brought their own entertainers with them. Thousands of musicians from Persia and Middle East arrived in India. Their music was based on 12-note octave and they used ‘Mukam System’ to categorize the scales. For the longest time there was no integration between two types of music. When the time arrived, original Indian music had two set backs.

1. It did not have royal sponsorship.
2. Newcomers were not ready to grant higher or equal status to the arts of a defeated nation. This notion did not just affect the music. It reflected in all types of arts (builidings, paintings etc.)

The tide slightly changed when a new generation of Persian musicians was born in India. Regardless of their religious beliefs or political loyalties, they were Indians. It was their motherland. Many of them were not comfortable with the notion that they should play a foreign style of music. Hazarat Amir Khusro is the most influential musicologist of this era. He took the task of making the popular music ‘all Indian’ on him. Amir Khusro was a brilliant musician and enjoyed support of five different emperors. Although it was believed that he was fully versed in both types of music, but now musicologists and historians agree that his knowledge of Indian music was limited. Rather than spending a lifetime to understand the secrets of Moorshana and grams, he classified the known Rāgas in Mukam system. This turned a page in the history of Indian music. Seeds of Mail System or Thaat system were sown.

For four hundred years, music historians and musicologist have spent their lives justifying that both systems were essentially the same. The modern names of Southern Indian notes are the prime example of far reaching effects of this misunderstanding. Modern thinkers know that regardless of Ramatyas justifications, these names are not compatible with the Gram system. The Carnatic music is not in the scope of this blog so I will not go into details on this subject. However consequences of these actions were severe, before that time India never had two music systems. There was only one Indian music. In essence they still are the same. But in this era of redefining everything, Northern music faired a little better. It came out richer and better than ever before.

The second influential person in the modern history of Indian music was Pundit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. Rather than taking a scientific approach to Thaat creation, he divided the popular Raags into 10 Thaats. Here again historian disagree. Some think that all his invetions were actually not his but result of his Guru’s lifetime research. Which even Pundit V N B himself admits. Regardless of the origin of his doctrins, he is the face of modern Hindustani Music theory and his contributions and their effect on the Hindustani music is undeniable.

The prime motive to choose only ten Thaats was to keep the system simple. In his opinion the ten Thaats were sufficient to cover all three types of Raag-scales. You have seen these three categories in the Time Theory post.

1. Raags With Komal Re and Dha
2. Raags with Shudh Re and Dha
3. Raags with Komal Ga and Ni

Read more about this theory here.

After the Independence (August 15,1947), Hindustani musicians and musicologists enjoyed a much more open and welcoming environment. New projects of translating the ancient scriptures began. An open dialogue between the new and the old started. For the first time in the history of our music, researchers could share their ideas globally with all Hindustani musicians. They could speak their mind without worrying about any royal reprecussions. The walls started to come down. The knowledge hidden in the corners of remote temples, houses, asharams, libraries, digs and hearts started to merge. There are so many great people on both sides of the border (India and Pakistan) who have done a great deal of service to Hindustani music in the last 60 years.

Achayria Brihaspati is definitely the torch bearer of this new era. He demonstrated the old and new and helped the new generation of musicians to understand the essence of Indian music.

Although all ancient styles of singing and performing are lost, the practice of performing Indian music never really changed. All current musical styles have their roots in the ancient styles. The progression of change is natural.

The Mughal era proved to be the most effective era in the history of Hindustani Music. This was a time of peace and prosperity in the middle India. Art flourishes in such periods. This was the time when Sanskrit reciting Brahmans could sit and share ideas with their Muslim Gurus and Students. Mian Tansen is the most famous vocalist of this time. From his drupads, it is obvious that he was well versed in the old Moorshana System and the new Mukam system.

Acharya Brihaspati considers today’s Ghazal Performers the same as the Gadharavas of the ancient India. In Ghazals, the words and notes are both equal. A ghazal writer is as important as the musician who composes it. In ancient India these two aspects of musical performance were known as Dhatu and Matu.

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