Aesthetic Symbiosis Of Indian Classical Music And Poetic Form In The AI Era: Preserving Indigenous Traditions Through “Hanuman Chalisa And Alha Gayan”

Abstract

This article discusses the aesthetic convergence of poetic forms and Indian classical music with a sense of determination and with reference to “a regional folk song (Alha-udal ki veer gatha) and a popular Hindu devotional hymn (Hanuman Chalisa)”. While Alha Gayan consolidates (shared) collective memory and themes of bravery, it is an oral-epic traditional performance of Bundelkhand and the Hanuman Chalisa incorporates spiritual lyricism embedded in rhythm and repetition, composed by Goswami Tulsidas in 16th century.

The exigency of this unique research work is to preserve our folk traditions through contemporary digital and AI-enabled approaches, so that it can be transferred to our future generations, as “ALHA GAYAN” is only popular in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bundelkhand, but this masterpiece should be made popular in Bharat (India) also, even “Alha-Khand” is not included in any of our school syllabuses, it is only transferred through ‘oral traditions’ to generations.

Both forms reveal an innate musicality which corresponds to the structures of Indian classical aesthetics, but are different in motive and genre. The present study uses musical, textual and relational analysis to explore the relationship between the rhythm, metre & tonal shift (variations) in these traditions with tala and raga, and thus how these function in the process of transforming poetry into personified soundscapes. These facts reveal that their performance not only support oral and spiritual exercises but also sets out as a means for conserving indigenous cultural heritage in the look of modern cultural transformations.

This research is placed within the broad context of cultural preservation, digital humanities, AI-assisted documentation, and aesthetics, highlighting the importance of Hanuman Chalisa and Alha Gayan as a repository of the untouchable heritage of India and the need to study, record and promote these traditions for cultural and educational purposes.

The study further examines how emerging digital technologies and AI can contribute to the documentation, preservation, analysis, and wider dissemination of these oral and musical traditions while maintaining their cultural authenticity.