N. Ramani

2024 Stock. The most famous exponent of Hindustani flute music is off course the great Hariprasad Chaurasia playing the bansuri (the bamboo flute) and to a lesser extent Ronu Majumdar. In the West, North Indian music has always overshadowed South Indian (Carnatic) music, which is a pity as the latter is as profound and beautiful as the former. North Indian music has changed through the Middle Ages by the Arabian, Turkic and Persian influences the Mogol Invaders brought with them. It had become music played predominantly at the courts aiming to evoke a great variety of moods for any occasion and concentrating on the virtuosic prowess of the musician(s).

Carnatic music, on the other hand, remained for the most part 'pure' - as Muslim rule could never really subdue the southernmost reaches of the Indian subcontinent. As a result the culture of South India is the last place in the world with an unbroken line with it's origin and source: the Vedic way of life, the world's most ancient civilization.