British interest also extended east of its home, to the territory now known as India. In 1858, the British parliament enacted legislation to create a better India. Years of political unrest, shady dealings, and skirmishes finally led to the establishment of the republic of India in late 1949. India gave more to the U.K. than mineral resources, food, and spices. It introduced them, and the rest of the world, to its strikingly unique, beautiful music.
Indian music is perhaps one of the most complex types of music ever heard.
It has been in existence in its present form for almost 2,000 years, and it still is unequaled. Indian classical music is performed mainly for artistic reasons in urban concert halls, while rural music accompanies life cycle and agricultural rites. The melody line may either be composed in advance or improvised, and it is based on one of several hundred traditional matrices called raga. Ragas are associated with moods, performance times, deities, etc. Measured time can consist of many possible measures, called talas.