The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India and the Deccan c9.229

c9.229

The Dhrupad—perhaps the most admired of all Hindustani songs—is a heroic song, with a slow and dignified style, and sung almost exclusively by men. It consists of three parts—i.e., asthayi, antâra, and abhōg. Great scope is given to variations upon the actual theme, and the time cadence is very complex. Other songs are called Tilanas and Sarigams (or svaragrâmas), and are in particular tâlas; they contain only two parts.