How are classical and popular Indian music different?
This question was brought about in my mind by the continuing misconception of what Indian classical music really is. Some people categorize classical music by the instruments used. Therefore the use of traditional acoustic instruments as opposed to more modern ones could be seen as the performance of classical art. Others argue that the difference lies in the nature of the composition and how it is presented. Therefore, where the raga dominates a particular piece of music it is regarded as classical in the true sense whereas if the poetry is regarded as foremost above the adherence to the rules of the raga the music could be categorized as popular. In this sense the word semi-classical would best fit the term popular.
I would argue the latter argument best describes classical music and therefore the vocal genres of dhrupad and khayal are really classical in the true sense as the presentation of the raga is the true object of performance. In all other genres, even if raga material features very prominently in the composers mind when he produced the piece, we would use the term popular or semi-classical. Genres in this category include thumri, ghazal, bhajan, folk music and film songs. In instrumental music the same argument would exist in that if the object of the presentation was raga then it would be classical. Otherwise the instrumental would be semi-classical or popular.
Given the fact that in many of these genres the same instruments are used that go towards making up a full classical presentation, it is easy to see why there are common misconceptions in the categorization of a musical composition.