First appeared in www.scroll.in on November 15, 2014. Colonialism impacted Indian music in myriad ways. One of the more obvious influences of Western music was evident in the manner that many princely states put together bands and orchestras. Art or classical music in India was and still continues to be predominantly a soloistic tradition, but contact with the West saw several such experiments featuring larger ensembles. The Indian defence and police forces have bands that perform martial tunes, folk