Bigandlittlemagic

To  being the oldest living city, Benaras has its own rich history, tradition and treasure of music. According to mythology, when Renu, son of Vishwamitra and Mahagovind founded Kashi (Varanasi), they also brought with them the Aryan traditions and the Vedic culture. Going back to history, we find numerous instances of dance, music and drama evolving in Varanasi. Excavations at Varanasi have shown a terracotta figurine in which two musicians are playing percussion instruments. The literature of ancient and medieval times also point out to a great tradition of music in Varanasi as in 14th century’s drama ‘Vikrant Kauravam’. The ‘Bhakti’ movement in the medieval period also contributed to the development of music in Varanasi. ‘Jataka’ tales narrate the storyeof Veena competition in the ‘Sudarshan’ city. Ashwaghosh in his famous work ‘Sunderananda’ describes Ganikaas of Kashi. In the 16th century Govind Chandra ruled Varanasi and during his rein Dhrupad was the royal music. It is said that Mian Tansen took birth in Varanasi. Among the pioneers of Instrumentalists of Varanasi, the most revered and noted name is that of Pt. Laxmi Prasad Mishra. His descendants and disciples gave a wide platform to Stringed Instruments.