Ibrahim
Adil ShahII and muscians playing Musical Instrument
and Rangmala Painting Yougni charming snakes
Bijapur was also a seat of culture of classical
music, and specially of Dhruvapada. Sultan Ibrahim
Adil Shah II of Bijapur was a contemporary to
the Emperor Akbar. He devoted the best part
of his life to the cause of classical music,
in which he took interest from his early age.
Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II him self was agreat
Indian classical musician, who was contemporary
master of Dhrupad. He mentioned his musical
instrument in many places. He composed Book
of Music called Kitab-E-Naurus. He was equally
a master of Deccani miniature art. He was prolific
Deccani Urdu Poet, equally good in other local
traditional languages like Marathi and Kannada.
He inherited these from his aunt and care taker
mother and mentor Chand Bibi Sultana from the
childhood. She too was a great artist of music
and miniature paintings. Ibrahim Adil Shah II
created a fusion between these three primary
expressions of art the Indian Classical Music,
Poetry and Painting called Rangmala Painting,
which later got popularity in many other royal
courts, and inspired centuries to follow this
art.
Detailed Notes
about the Form of Ragamala Paintings
Different
rare Rangmala Painitngs
A Ragamala painting is the ultimate example
of the correlation between the arts. It is in
a Ragamala painting that music, poetry and painting
come together to mesmerize the senses. Here
is synesthesia at its best.
Ragamala'
literally means ‘A
Garland of Melodies'. It is
the depiction of a raga, in the form of a painting.
To appreciate Ragamala paintings, then, it is
perhaps necessary to begin by understanding
what a raga is.
Ragas
form the foundation of Indian Classical music.
A raga is a combination of notes and frequencies,
to form melodic movements. It is believed that
these melodies are capable of producing a pleasant
sensation, mood or an emotion in the listener.
Different
rare Rangmala Painitngs
There
are six principal ragas: Bhairava , Dipika ,
Sri , Malkaunsa , Megha and Hindola , and these
are meant to be sung during the six seasons
of the year; summer, monsoon, autumn, early
winter, winter and spring. Apart from seasons
the ragas are also related to different parts
of the day; dawn, morning, afternoon, evening,
night and midnight. During the monsoon, for
example, many of the Malhar group of ragas that
are associated with the monsoon, are performed.
However with increasing influence on this traditional
basis of Indian Classical music, ragas have
become increasingly flexible regarding their
time of performance.
In
the late medieval period, Indian musicologists
personified ragas and converted them into verse.
This poetry was often amorous, illustrating
the love affair of a man and his maiden. This
became the source of the Ragamala painting.
Under
the patronage of the aristocracy, Ragamala artists
explored, in great depth, the relationship that
governs sound and sentiment. And they translated
their understanding of the nuances of music
and poetry, into an art form defined by color
and mood: the vibrant Ragamala painting.
The
earliest Ragamala paintings are from the Deccan.
They were probably painted for Ibrahim Adil
Shah II of Bijapur, who was an authority on
painting and a fine artist and illuminator himself.
He was a lyrical poet and a writer of epics
and plays. Ibrahim Adil Shah was the moving
spirit behind the famous Ragamala painting.
The
musical syncretism achieved by Ibrahim Adil
Shah II and other Deccani sultans is beautifully
represented in an extraordinary painting, which
appears in an illustrated manuscript of Zuhuri’s
poem Sakinama. [slide 11] This text was compiled
in 1685, seventy years after the poet died.
In the miniature we see a real or imaginary
ensemble consisting of twelve musicians playing
Persian and Indian musical instruments. There
are only three indigenous instruments: a sarangi-like
bowed lute, a dholak and a bin. The foreign
instruments are the kamancha, rabab, qanun,
daf, chang, musiqar (or panpipes), nay and tanbur.
Nauras
Mahal in Nuarsu pur - A City for Artists
Context About Music of Art of Adil Shahi Era
Dr. Nazir Ahmed
has written as follows in the Introduction to
the book, Kitab-i-Nauras by the said Sultan
: "Ibrahim was a master of Dhrupada and
his book in the same style became so popular
as to attract even the Moghal Emperor Jahangir,
and the Emperor claimed the Kitab-i-Nauras to
be in form of Dhrupada which sultan learnt from
Baktar. It has been stated that about four thousand
skilled musicians thronged on an occasion, and
the Sultan wished that skillful musicians should
always adorn his court by their presence."
It should be remembered in this context that
Dhruvapada the most prominent feature of musical
culture of that time i.e. in the sixteenth -
seventeenth century A.D.
From the fact it is proved that Dhruvapada used
to play a prominent part in every musical function
not, only in the royal court,but also in the
kingdom of Ibrahim Adil Shah II. The Emperors
Jahangir and Shajahan were also great patrons
of Dhruvapada. The names of Jagananath Kaviraj,
Dirang Khan. Gunasamudra Lal Khan, the son-in-law
of Bilas Khan are worth-mentioning. in this
connection, asnoted exponents and connoisseurs
of Dhruvapada Prabandha.
The
Kitab-e-nauras of Ibrahim Adil Shah-II (1580-1626
AD) of Bijapur vividly describe the court music
of this period. The work reflects the confrontation
between the prevalent and flourishing musical
traditions in the South and the one taking shape
under Muslim influence. Ibrahim Adil Shah was
the moving spirit behind the famous Ragamala
painting, pictorially representing the musical
modes.
Notes Sources:
Article Mohammad
Sadiq.S.Sindgi
Kitab-i-Nauras
Indian Classical Music
Painting Different sources
