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Hindustani!

Around the 12th century, Hindustani classical music diverged from what eventually came to be identified as Carnatic classical music.

Hindustani classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, shastriya sangeet. The term shastriya sangeet literally means classical music, and is also used to refer to Indian classical music in general. It is played on instruments like the veena, sitar and sarod. Its origins from the 12th century CE, when it diverged from Carnatic music, the classical tradition in South India. While Carnatic music largely uses compositions written in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and sometimes in Sanskrit, Hindustani music largely uses compositions written in Urdu, Punjabi, Rajasthani and sometimes in Hindi.


Knowledge of Hindustani classical music is taught through a culturally unique structure of classical music schools, called gharana. Hindustani classical music is an integral part of the culture of India and is performed across the country and internationally. Exponents of Hindustani classical music, including Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and Ravi Shankar have been awarded with the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India, for their contributions to the arts.

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