India's
traditional art and entertainment forms are amongst the most evolved
and sophisticated of such systems. Carnatic music, classical dances
like Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi etc, theatre and drama forms including
Harikatha and folk arts are amongst the traditional and ancient art
and entertainment forms today. Indian films which today have their own
idioms are patterned after the traditional arts in their formative years
during 1930's and 40's. Carnatic music and bharathanatyam reigned supreme
in Tamil films during this period. Indian cinema especially Hindi and
Tamil cinema have grown to be one of the largest film industries in
the world, perhaps next only to Hollywood.
India's
classical arts like Carnatic music, dance, theatre and drama have traditions
and history going back to several centuries. The musical forms prevalent
today including Carnatic and Hindustani music have their roots in "Sama
Veda" one of the four Vedas which are the eternal and timeless scriptures
from which the religious and social ethos of the sub-continent evolved.
Bharatnatyam too has an ancient antiquity with authoritative source
books for it like "Natya Sastra" by the sage Bharata Muni and "Abhinaya
Darpana" by Nandi Kesava dating back to centuries before Christ (scholars
are yet to agree on the precise period)
Another
unique feature of the Indian art tradition is the guru-sishya parampara
(teacher taught lineage). In this form of learning a student of an art
form lived for long periods often more than a decade as apart of the
teachers family where he learnt not just an art like carnatic music
or dance but also imbibed the value systems of his guru. Thus there
was an unbroken lineage not only of the art form but also a certain
value system that was necessary for the growth and practice of the art.
Sadly this centuries old system which flourished until the early part
of this century is now more or less extinct.
