Bhatkhande then did something extraordinary: he painstakingly gathered compositions from musicians all over India and devised a notation system, applying Western scientific systems of documenting knowledge to what had been an oral tradition. Experiments in notation of Indian music had been carried out earlier in Calcutta and Baroda, but Bhatkhande’s contribution was far-reaching. Many musicians may not have been able to identify the precise notes they were singing. Now, for the first time, the grammar of their music was being analysed and written.
