The Post Independence Era (b. 1947 A.D.)

1947 marked the end of British Raj and birth of modern Indian state. This, along with new technologies, brought about several changes in Indian Classical Music to make it look like what it is today.

The governments of India, Pakistan (and later Bangladesh) took over the part of princely states, supporting musical genres they thought appropriate. Indian government (and the people too) assumed they had inherited all the cultural aspects of ancient and medieval India, and supported all forms of Indian music, esp. classical and light classical. Pakistan thought it inherited only the Medeival Muslim India and supported only music clearly identifiable as muslim - Ghazals and Qawwalis. This resulted in almost disappearance of Hindustani classical from Pakistan.

There are several reasons for the collapse of Hundustani Classical music in Pakistan after partition, apart from official apathy. Before independence Lahore was a an important cultural center in North India. Affluent Hindu and Sikh families were the main patrons of music. Most of these patrons migrated to India after partition. Interestingly many muslim artists chose to migrate to Pakistan from India - Amanat Ali Khan, Barkat Ali Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana; Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Nazakat Ali Khan of the Shyam Chaurasi gharana; Roshanara Begum of the Kirana gharana; Asad Ali Khan (Ustad Fayyaz Khan’s nephew) of the Agra gharana and Sardar Khan (Taanras Khan’s grandson) of the Delhi gharana. But the patrons had migrated out of Pakistan. The artists realized that the old system of patronage had collapsed. Pakistan government (through Pakistan Radio), unlike All India Radio refused to step in as the chief patron. Wisely Bade Ghulam Ali Khan decided to migrate back to India after a few miserable months and had a very successful post independence career as well. Though in the beginning, official Pakistan govt. policy was very tolerant, later Increased criticism from orthodox quarters influenced the official policy which proceeded to discourage many forms of Hindustani music like Dhrupad, thumris and dadras as un-islamic. The artists were left at the mercy of the market and they had no market. They gradually lost their audience. They either dissuaded their children from following in their footsteps or the children themselves opted for film music or ghazal singing. In the last decade, some of them moved to pop music — about half of those singing or playing in the pop groups are children of the great masters. So Pakistan lost out on its musical heritage. But those who migrated to Pakistan and chose to sing mainly ghazals later gained prominence in, like Mehdi Hassan, Farida Khannum, Iqbal Bano and Mallika Pukhraj.

The Maihar gharana takes its name from the princely state of Maihar, where the founder of this gharana Ustad Allauddin Khan (18??-1972) lived. Since Allauddin Khan had received his musical training at the hands of Ustad Wazir Khan of the Beenkar gharana, an offshoot of Mian Tansen's Senia gharana, the exponents of the Maihar tradition are often said to belong to the Senia gharana. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, son of the founder, calls it Baba Allaudin Seni Gharana of Rampur and Maihar.

Ustad Allauddin Khan revolutionized instrumental music. He was the visionary who pioneered the fusion of the gayaki, layakari and tantrakari. Allaudin Khan had command over scores of instruments, although he was the master of the sarod. Ustad Allauddin Khan also composed new ragas like Hemant, Prabhakali, Manjkhamaj, Hem-Behag and a host of others which are still in use today. The gharana is characterized by the systematic development through alaap, jod and jhala, the unique gatkari embodying the close rapport of swara and laya and above all, the pervading sense of aesthetics.

Since the mid-1950s, Indian classical music has been performed fairly regularly in the West. Initially, the audiences were composed mainly of South Asians, but gradually an increasing number of Westerners have been attending the concerts. Perhaps the music would not have reached beyond a very limited audience were it not for the interest shown by the American violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who sponsored a number of programs in the West. Sir Yahudi Menuhin (1912-1999) was a great violin prodigy and a peace activist. He played numerous benefit concerts promoting peace beginning in World War II, which endeared him to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, with whom he formed a lasting friendship. Nehru invited Menuhin to India in 1952, where he met Ravi Shankar and other artists. He developed a keen interest and deep admiration for Indian Classical Music, which was almost unknown in the west at that time. In 1955 Menuhin arranged for the first Indian concert in the US by inviting Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Apart from giving successful concerts, Ali Akbar Khan also recorded the first Indian classical album in the west. In 1960 Menuhin was awarded the Nehru Peace Prize for International Understanding.

The 60s was a time of profound change in the west, esp. USA. The failing war in Vietnam turned a lot of young people away from materialism, towards the mysticism of the east, esp India. The enormous popularity of Beatles, who were greatly interested in the mystical aspects of Indian religion, meditation and music, gave some exposure in the west to Indian music. Particularly George Harrison, learnt Indian Music from Ravi Shankar and started incorporating some Indian sounds in Beatles songs. Indian music, identified now with Sitar, Sarod and tabla of Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Alla Rakha, became the staple diet of the Hippie culture. Satyajit Ray, the first Indian director to acquire world fame, and a common name in repertory art cinemas, also brought classical Indian music to the attention of Westerners, for the music of some of his early films was composed by Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan. Great interest in the west for Sitar brought other Sitar masters like Vilayat Khan, Imrat Khan, and Nikhil Banerjee to the west.

This also started the era of Fusion music with several East-West collaborations between Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuin and also attempts by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison. Ravi Shakar with Menuhin brought out two albums East Meets West and In Celebration. Ravi Shankar appeared on the famous Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for George Harrison.

By the end of the 1960s the sitar and tabla were heard frequently in Western pop music, jazz, cinema, and television programs, as well as in radio and television advertisements. Sitars and sarods were shipped to American and European music shops by the thousands. Performances by Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha in the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) and in the heavily promoted Woodstock Festival (1969) brought Indian Classical to the attention of a large number of younger fans. In 1968 the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music was established in Northern California. 1969 Ravi Shankar became Billboard Magazine’s Musician of the Year. The Concert for Bangladesh (1971), to raise funds for UNESCO's humanitarian programs in Bangladesh, was promoted by George Harrison. A performance by Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan with Alla Rakha in this concert was a media success. The United Nation’s Human Rights Day Concert, featuring Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha was also well received.