Srutis in Wikipedia

The Wikipedia article on srutis says that the practice of dividing the
octave into 22 theoretical parts died out in the 16th century. If so,
why do writers on Indian music continually allude to it? I'm not sure
what this article is trying to say, but doubt it can be right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sruti

Here we need to try to clarify a few things:

1. The concept of shruti is, first of all and most of all, a matter of
aesthetics.

2. To support this concept the well-known experiment of two vina-s was
devised. This experiment, leading to the derivation of 22 shruti-s,
continued to depend upon the ear of the musician.

3. I do not recall to have read in any authentic Sanskrit text that
the 22 shruti-s are equal. Any assumption as to their equality is an
unwarranted assumption that we can, in my opinion, eventually, support
(or reject) theoretically.

4. I do not recall to have read in any authentic Sanskrit text that
22 is the absolute maximum number of shruti-s to the octave. I have
not felt that the texts emphasise the number 22 to the complete
exclusion of other possibilities. For example, if someone with an
extremely sensitive ear were to say that he can hear more shruti-s
than 22, I do not think Bharat Muni or Sharngadeva would have
ridiculed such a claim. The very importance of "meend" (glissando) as
an embellishment in Indian music should lead us to the implied
possibility of the presence of a larger number of shruti-s.

5. In the 14th century, Indian music came to be branched into Karnatic
(South Indian) and Hindustani (North Indian) genres. But no event of
great significance took place in the 16th century -- certainly NOT the
demise of the practice of the shruti system.

Regards,
Haresh.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Gene Ward Smith" <gwsmith@s...> wrote:
>
> The Wikipedia article on srutis says that the practice of dividing the
> octave into 22 theoretical parts died out in the 16th century. If so,
> why do writers on Indian music continually allude to it? I'm not sure
> what this article is trying to say, but doubt it can be right.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sruti
>

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Gene Ward Smith" <gwsmith@s...> wrote:
>
> The Wikipedia article on srutis says that the practice of dividing the
> octave into 22 theoretical parts died out in the 16th century. If so,
> why do writers on Indian music continually allude to it? I'm not sure
> what this article is trying to say, but doubt it can be right.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sruti

Some schools, or ghanaras, continue to teach musicians to perform the
22 srutis, while many do not. There's also a vast distinction between
North (Hindustani) and South (Carnatic) Indian musical cultures that
should be discussed in any such article.