About the Book:

"Hindustani Music: A tradition in transition" is a wide-ranging survey of the North Indian tradition of classical music during the post-independence period. Explicitly, this book addresses music lovers of above-average familiarity with Hindustani music, and their curiosity about its inner workings. It is, however, also a valuable reference for scholars and other writers on music.

The book is based on author's long years of training as a musician, vast experience as an analyst of music, and an observer of the cultural environment.

This book is divided into six parts.

Part I articulates an Indian perspective on important societal, cultural, economic and technological drivers of Hindustani music.

Part II discusses issues pertaining to presentation formats, and the structural and melodic aspects of Hindustani music.

Part III deals with the notion of raga-ness, and the world of ragas.

Part IV presents comprehensive backgrounders on the four major genres of vocal music - Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumree, and Tappa.

Part V features detailed fact-sheets on eight major melodic instruments of Hindustani tradition - Rudra Veena, Sitar, Surbahar, Sarod, Sarangi, Shehnai, Santoor, and the Indian classical (Hawaiian) guitar.

Part VI presents a glossary of words in italics, a list of suggested readings, and an index.

The book makes complex musicological concepts accessible to non-academic readers, and contributes significantly to widening the understanding of contemporary trends in Hindustani music. Written by an author of impeccable credentials as a musician, researchers, and author, this book is very significant addition to a body of authoritative writing on 20th century Hindustani music.

Experts from Reviews:

" I commend Deepak Raja's book as a serious review of the Hindustani music tradition in the post-independence era. Deepak is an author with a keen analytical mind, imbued with a scientific approach. His chapters on raga grammar, raga authenticity, raga chemistry, and introductory essays on Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumree and Tappa can be of immense value to music students and scholars. His essays on the time-theory of ragas is a thought-provoking piece of writing, which deserves the attention of the music fraternity in view of the changing context of music performance and enjoyment…. I sincerely hope that this book will be widely read, and will encourage the serious discussion and debate on different facets of Hindustani music"

Shiv Kumar Sharma

" Deepak Raja's volume is a welcome overview of the recent trends in Hindustani music. It provides a panoramic, rather than encyclopedic, appraisal of important developments in Hindustani music, and confronts us with the problems that Indian classical music faces today… Raja has a very definite point of view and argues it passionately."

Lyle Wachovsky

About the Author:

Deepak Raja [Born: 1948] is amongst the finest contemporary writers on Hindustani music. He is a Repertoire Analyst for Indian Archive Music Ltd., New York, the most influential procedure of Hindustani music outside India. He is also a columnist for Sruti, the performing arts monthly, and frequently contributes papers to seminars and journals of the ITC-Sangeet Research Academy, Sangeet Natak Akademi, and the Indian Musicological Society.

The author is a sitar and surbahar player of the Imdad Khan/ Etawah gharana, trained for over forty years by two of its stalwarts, Shri Pulin Deb Burman, and Pandit Arvind Parikh. He studies Khayal under Pandit Dhondutai Kulkarni of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. As a performer, he is respected for the soundness of his approach to music, and his command over the instruments.

Deepak Raja took a BA Honours degree from Delhi University, an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and studied advertising at the Watford College of Technology in the UK. For over thirty years, he has been a prolific writer on media industry, including the Editorship of Business India. While being well versed in the tradition concepts of Indian musicology, he brings to the subject a fresh perspective using the conceptual tools and analytical methods cultivated by his careers in media research, business journalism and financial consultancy.

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