Contrary to popular opinion, art music (also called classical music) is neither as distant from nor as esoteric to the ears of the common public. Songs that still dominate the waves on radio, TV and even the internet, such as Kishore Kumar’s 'Koi Hamdam Na Raha,’ or 'Mang Ke Saath Tumhara,’ or even 'Munni Badnaam Hui,’ are either based on ragas or have elements of ragas in them. At our Online Talk #ClassicalVsPopular, Hindustani classical vocalist and writer Pandit Amarendra Dhaneshwar shows us how the roots of art music can be discovered in popular music, especially in the music of the golden era of Indian cinema - the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.

About the speaker

Pandit Amarendra Dhaneshwar is a Hindustani classical singer from the Gwalior gharana, and has performed at over 700 events all over India and abroad. He also writes on music and other subjects. He has contributed articles on music to mainstream newspapers like The Times of India, Hindustan Times and Maharashtra Times, and magazines like Time Out. He has also written on music for the Encyclopaedia of India edited by Stanley Wolpert.