Hindustani Music A Tradition in Transition

CONTENTS Foreword VII Preface XIII Acknowledgements XXV Key to Transliteration XXIX Prologu 1 Not by Accident Alone 2 The Bigger Picture 3 The Language Issue 5 Issues of Objectivity 6 The Writer's Role 7 Towards Connoisseur Activism 9 Clarity of Purpose 11 Introduction 13 PART I Culture, Technology and Economics 1.1 Populism and Rival Forces 25 The Emergence of a Market 26 Dimensions of Populism 27 The Conservationist Reaction 29 The Unlikely Ally 32 1.2 If Peanuts is What You Pay 36 The Changing Context 37 The Economics 38 The Bottom-line 41 1.3 Government, Business and Classical Music 42 The Traditional Patronage Model 42 Benefactor Qualifications 44 Reconfiguring Benefaction 47 1.4 Pandits and Ustads Aplenty 49 1.5 Archival Music and the Cultural Process 55 Obsolescence in Recorded Music 56 The Archival Music Market 57 Generations as "Markets" 59 Continuity and Change 61 The Challenge from the Graveyards 61 The Yardstick of Musicianship 64 The "Virtual Guru" 66 The Big Picture 69 1.6 A Requiem for the Gharanas 71 What is Gharana? 71 Favourable Conditions 73 The Golden Age of Hindustani Music 77 Chinks in the Armor 78 The Gharana "Brands" Today 81 PART II Form, Idiom and Format 2.1 Architecture in Modern Hindustani Music 87 The Architectural Metaphor 88 Function and Structure 89 The Linearity of Progression 90 The Cyclicity of Melodic Exploration 93 The Econometric Model 96 A Case Study 97 The Duration Factor 99 The Argument 100 2.2 Instrumental Idioms Anga or Apanga 102 Source Material of the Hindustani Material 103 Adoption and Adaptation 104 Deviations and Innovations 105 Aucitya in Innovation 107 Aucitya - The Idea 110 2.3 The Jugalbandi Racket 111 Jugalbandi Patterns 112 The Burden of Evidence 113 Experimentation and Propriety 115 2.4 Tihayis and the Rape of Melody 117 The Logic of Tihayis 118 Placement, Function, and Aesthetics 120 The Aesthetic and the Grotesque 121 PART III The World of Ragas 3.1 The Raga-ness of Ragas 125 The Melodic Grammar of Ragas 130 The Aesthetic Grammar of Ragas 133 3.2 Raga Chemistry and Beyond 138 The Allotrope 139 The Compound 141 The Emulsion 143 Chemistry Defines Options 145 The Raga-Malika 146 Beyond Chemistry 147 Raga Chemistry and you 149 3.3 Raga: Right and Wrong 150 Nomenclature 151 Rare Ragas and their Compounds 152 Creative License 153 Raga Evolution 154 Grammatical Propriety 156 The Bottom-Line 157 3.4 Kedara at Sunrise 159 The Theory 162 A Rational Perspective 165 3.5 The Experience of Melody: From Dhrupad to Santura 168 Melody in Dhrupad 169 Melody in Khayala 171 Melody on the Sitara 172 Melody on the Saroda 174 Melody on the Flute 175 Melody on the Santura 175 What the Trends Imply 176 The Concept of a Genre 178 The Concept of a Music-Scape 179 Alarm and Reassurance 182 PART IV The Major Genres 4.1 An Introduction to Dhrupad 185 An Aesthetic Perspective 188 Stylistic Diversity 189 Gharanas of Dhrupad 191 Melodic Expressions in Dhrupad 192 The Talas of Dhrupad 194 Raga Presentation Structure 195 Variants on the Raga Presentation Structure 199 The Ensemble for Dhrupad Performance 200 A Structural Analysis 201 The Nature of Appeal 202 Dhrupad Today 204 4.2 An Introduction to Khayala 207 The Plastic Arts Metaphor Applied to Khayala Music 208 History and Evolution 209 The Gharanas of Khayala Music 210 The Ensemble for Khayala Performance 213 The Format of Khayala Presentation 213 Melodic Expressions in the Khayala Genre 215 The Poetic Element in the Khayala Vocalism 217 Articulation in Khayala Music 218 The Structure of Compositions 220 Khayala Presentation Protocol 220 The Typology of Tanas 222 The Aesthetics of Tanas 224 Trends in Khayala Vocalism 226 4.3 An Introduction to Thumari 229 Sources of the Thumari Tradition 231 Stylistic Evolution 232 Landmark Personalities 236 Poetry in Thumari 241 Ragas in Thumari 243 Tala in Thumari 244 Dadara, The Genre 245 Ensemble for Thumari Performances 246 Bandisa Thumari: Structure and Rendition 246 Bola-banao Thumari: Structure and Rendition 248 Thumari in Instrumental Music 250 The Thumari Today 253 4.4 Introduction to the Tappa 257 Historical Outline 258 Salient Stylistic Features 261 The Tappa Today 263 PART V The Major Instruments 5.1 The Rudra Vina 269 Organology 270 History 271 Design 274 Ergonomics 276 Acoustics 278 Stroke Craft 279 Techniques of Melodic Execution 280 Recent Bina Music 281 The Disappearing Breed 287 5.2 The Sitara 290 The Masit Khani Gata 291 The Raza Khani Gata 292 Sitara Styles 293 Techniques of Melodic Execution 294 The Singing Sitara 295 5.3 The Surabahara 298 Surabahara and the Imdad Khan Lineage 300 5.4 The Saroda 303 History 303 Organology 305 Design and Tuning 306 Acoustics 307 Ergonomics 307 The Saroda Idiom 309 Techniques of Melodic Execution 309 New Path to Sculpting of Melody 311 5.5 The Santura 314 Organology 315 Construction and Tuning 317 Evolutionary Perspectives 318 Shiv Kumar Sharma's Music 321 The Santura after Shiv Kumar Sharma 324 5.6 The Sehnayi 328 Organology 328 Design 329 Idiom and Repertoire 330 Genres in Sehnayi Music 331 The Ensemble for Sehnayi Performances 332 The Disappearing Sehnayi 332 5.7 The Sarangi 334 Construction, Design, and Tuning 335 Playing Technique 336 The Role of the Sarangi in Music 336 The Harmonium Challenge and the Response 338 The Sarangi - As the Second Fiddle and the First 340 5.8 The Indian Classical Guitar 343 Evolutionary Perspectives 344 The Vicitra Vina Legacy 346 Kabra's Guitar 347 After Kabra 349 Glossary 351 Suggested Bibliography 419 Index 423