Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande

Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande
Background information
Born(1860-08-10)10 August 1860
Bombay, India[1]
OriginIndia
Died19 September 1936(1936-09-19) (aged 76)[1]
Bombay, India[1]
Genres
Years active1875–1935

Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (10 August 1860 – 19 September 1936) was an Indian musicologist who wrote the first modern treatise on Hindustani classical music, an art which had been propagated for centuries mostly through oral traditions. During those earlier times, the art had undergone several changes, rendering the raga grammar documented in scant old outdated texts.[2]

Ragas used to be classified into Raga (male), Ragini (female), and Putra (children). Bhatkhande reclassified them into the currently used thaat system. He noted that several ragas did not conform to their description in ancient Sanskrit texts. He explained the ragas in an easy-to-understand language and composed several bandishes which explained the grammar of the ragas.

  1. ^ a b c Powers, Harold S. (2001). "Bhatkhande, Vishnu Narayan". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.03008.
  2. ^ Inventing a tradition – CHEN. The Hindu (2 January 2007). Retrieved on 2018-12-19.