In Kerala, classical music exists within every person
you will come across. People are fond of folk music in Kerala. Infact,
for every occasion there is a set of corresponding songs. The
traditional music of Kerala is very melodious and an absolute delight to
the ears. There are various genres of music that range from
entertainment songs to film songs to the more traditional ones like
carnatic music and devotional songs.
The entertainment songs are usually sung during festivals among
gatherings like Onam. These songs are basically sung to keep the
atmosphere peppy and alive. Film songs are sung during functions and
family gatherings like marriages and birth ceremonies to add zing to the
whole affair. Even lullabies are sung in a traditional way and found
their way into poetry. There are certain songs that are sung during
manual work like harvesting, farming etc. to alleviate the burden and
weariness of working continuously.
Another form of Kerala music is the "sopana". Sopana means
flight of stairs that lead to the worship place. The devotees used to
sit on these stairs and sing devotional songs in the praise of the Lord.
That is how this form of music derived its name. Yet another form of
music that is famous in not just Kerala, but entire south of India is
the Carnatic music. In Kerala, carnatic music flourished under the
influence of the then king Swati Tirunal. Carnatic music has a plethora
of ragas and talams that are combined together to form music for the
soul.
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