Odissi Classical Music

Odissi music is the classical music of Odisha in eastern India, the sound-world of the Odissi dance and of the Jagannath temple tradition at Puri from which the dance descends. It has its own system of ragas and talas distinct from both Hindustani and Carnatic practice, its own repertoire of composed song — chhanda, champu, chautisa and bhajan settings of poets such as Jayadeva, whose "Gita Govinda" is its foundational text — and a characteristic accompaniment of mardala drum, violin, flute and harmonium. Long overshadowed by the dance it serves, it is defended by its gurus as an independent classical system.