Page 42 - ANSAMBL IJROCHILIGI: TARIX, NAZARIYA, AMALIYOT: Хalqaro ilmiy-amaliy seminar materiallari to'plami

music (settled in Kocha-i Kharabat), as well as created new genres that became
identifiable as Afghan art music along with performing famous Indian genres
such as dorbot (dhrupad), khayal and tarana. Some of Indo-Afghan musicians
were in territory of Bukhara Emirate too and thus until the beginning of the 20th
century the Afghan rubab were famous as Rubab-i Hindi in Bukhara and was
included into ensemble performances. Along with Indian musicians musical
instruments, such as tabla, sarangi, sarod, tampura and sitar have found their
way into ensemble musical performance of Afghanistan. Ustads (professional
musicians) of Afghanistan have learned North Indian classical music not only in
Kocha-i Kharabat, but also in India. Among them were Indian descendants who
moved from India to the royal court in Kabul in the 1860s. There performances
were in the frame of Indian classical (raga) and light classical (ghazal, tarana,
etc.) music by including into ensemble musical instruments such as harmonium,
tabla, sarangi, etc. Among the most outstanding performers from Kocha-i
Kharabat of the 20th century can be named Rahim Bakhsh (1920-2002; khayal,
thumri, tarana, ghazal) and Ustad Muhammad Hussain Sarohang (1924-1983;
master singer of Patiala Gharana in North Indian classical music). The Indian
musical influence in ensemble performances one can felt more strongly in the
east region than in the west, in Kabul and other urban centers rather than in
rural areas.
In the beginning of the 20th century music of Central Asian countries and
Afghanistan had an advanced system which consisted of the national monody
style of professional music with an oral tradition and folklore and its own types
of composition, genres etc. Local musical tradition was enriched by the Western-
style polyphonic by the middle of century, which is also possessed its own forms,
genres and methods of their performance. Thus, till the end of the 20th century
new methods, art values, aesthetics etc., which came to music of Central Asia and
Afghanistan through Russian and Western musical traditions, were
adopted/assimilated by own way and got a new qualities. All this achievements
left in one side, when youngsters involved with genres of popular music. Thus,
the omnipresence of genres of popular music, their popularity between the
young generation and the necessity of development of popular music according
to national values became evident.
For modernisation and liberalisation of society the great role played by
Radio broadcasting, which is began in1925, but its station destroyed in 1929.
Broadcasting did not resume until Radio Kabul opened in 1940. Radio is helped
to change traditional values of performance. Many amateur musicians from
middle and upper classes joined the ranks of the professional musicians. In
Radio Kabul was establishes an orchestra of mixed Afghan, Indian and Western
instruments, which included European clarinets, guitars and violins. Both
orchestras gave concerts not only in Afghanistan but in other foreign countries.
National fame had gained “Afghan Elvis Presley” Ahmad Zahir. Over five
hundred of his recorded songs preserved in the archive of the Kabul radio.
Ahmad Zahir was popular not only in Afghanistan, but also in Iran, India,

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