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Although classical music has an elitist
tingle about it, it has nevertheless flourished in Madhya
Pradesh, a so-called backward state. Music of the land, which
is an inseparable ingredient of any culture and which has
eternal value, has given Madhya Pradesh a distinct identity
not only in India but in the Indian diaspora as a whole. It
is not that classical music has blossomed as a seasonal flower.
It got ingrained and became a rich tradition in the state.
The reputation of some of the great musicians of the state
has crossed the boundaries of this land. The state has produced
great masters in the field of music in the ancient times and
this tradition has continued to the modern days. These great
masters have brought glory to Madhya Pradesh. While a number
of great masters of music lived in Madhya Pradesh, perfected
their arts and rose to great heights in performance, the state
had also no dearth of virtuosi and lovers of music, who extended
patronage to practitioners of music, both vocal and instrumental.
Margi Style
In the ancient times Margi music tradition developed in Madhya
Pradesh. There is a record of this tradition in our ancient
texts. Then followed the Jati system of Valmiki and the rag
which was evolved by the sage Matang. The Sungas who flourished
in Vidisha near Bhopal in the first and second century BC
were ardent patrons of art. They attained glorious position
in their music. The great dramatist of Sanskrit Bhas mentions
that Visa- radutta achieved excellence in writing lyrics.
The ruins of stupas in Vidisha district commemorate the music
festival which marked Buddha's birth. The stupas of Sanchi
portray gods hailing the triumph of Buddha over Cupid. These
records show that music had an important place in arts even
in ancient times in Madhya Pradesh.
The great lyricist Mahashweta Vasantsena whose magical beauty
entangled Charudutta in her love. Ashoka the Great and Vikramadi-
tya devoted themselves to music and their immortality would
be incomplete if their love for music is not mentioned. The
famous Deepak rag was originated by the great Vikramaditya.
Gupta rules were known for their keen sense of music and their
age is considered a golden age of music in history. Kalidasa,
the immortal poet in Sanskrit has portrayed various facets
of life of his time in his works. Kalidasa who was born in
Ujjain, mentions how music cast spell on the people. According
to Kalida- sa there were a number of schools where students
were imparted training in music. These schools were called
Gandharva shalas.
Music festivals were also held in Kalidasa's times and musicians
were patronised by the kings. The musicians also used to do
their sadhna in temples. Malavikagnimitra of Kalidasa mentions
how the practice of music teaching was quite popular those
days in Madhya Pradesh.
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