The Negrito, the Mongoloid, the Dravidian, and the Aryan, have all contributed to the complexity of Indian culture. When and how the two main schools crytallized would be an interesting study but the earliest treatises of Indian music do not make any distinction between Northern and Southern schools. It is interesting to note the influence of Indian music on sculpture and particularly painting. Painters have portrayed the theme of the Raga and they have named their paintings after the Ragas and Raginis. Both paintings and sculpture concentrate on creating contained, volume-filled forms.
Great care is taken to keep the basis simple.
The moving line and contained space complement each other, giving each other meaning. This is exactly analogous to the character of Indian musical melody, which moves in smooth united motions, including within its curves definite units of musical form. The tradition of Indian music should be understood in the context of Indian life and thought. The theory and practice of Indian music are the logical result of a consistent development, a distintive process, which plays an integral part in Indian history and culture. One should not listen to Indian music and judge it in terms of Western music or any other musical form.