Music is the soul of the cosmos. It is found everywhere from the rustling of the trees, to the playful streams to the pitter-patter of the raindrops. Indian music in particular is one of the oldest and finest forms of human expression.

The Vedas, representing the most ancient literature known to the world, are set to a distinctive melody that is absolutely soothing. Folk and classical music developed side by side. The varied human passions like agony, ecstasy, sorrow, hope and desire find expression in the subtle notes of music.
 
In India, music has been categorized by the scripts into two main streams known as the 'margi' and the 'desi', roughly translated as 'classical' and 'folk'. The basic tenets of classical music has been laid down by numerous ancient texts.  

Hindustani and Carnatic are the two main streams of classical music. Though they have similar origins and sources according to ancient scripts, they are distinct. There are references about the Dhruvaprabhada (later transformed into the Dhrupad) in the ancient texts such as Natya Shastra of Bharata and Sangeetha Magaradham, Raga Sarangini etc. Dhrupad developed as a part of worship in temples and various rituals such as yajnas. Dhrupad has four distinct gharanas or schools namely - Gudiya Govarhar, Khandar, Dagar and Nauhar.