New Delhi, Nov 07: Hindustani music is set on a path of irreversible globalisation raising the fears of its "de-culturation".
Technological advances have enabled the creation of mass-market, giving in turn rise to strong populist tendencies in Hindustani classical music. These tendencies have triggered off a conservationist reaction, which insists on sanctity of the dividing line between art and entertainment, says the book " Hindustani Music, A tradition in transition" by Deepak Raja.
Raja, an accomplished Sitar and `Surbahar` player of the Imdad Khan/Etawah Gharana is a Repertoire Analyst for India Archive Music Ltd. New York, and a regular columnist on music. The book is a collection of Raja`s essays and papers published in journals and his commentaries.
Hindustani music now finds it profitable to address the lowest common denominator by keeping itself accessible, intellectually undemanding and familiar, Raja says. With instrumental music under the greats like Ustad Bismillah Khan and Pt.Ravi Shankar overtaking their contemporary vocalists, there came a disparity between the concert fees of leading vocalist and instrumentalists.
The decline of vocal music that followed heartens not only vocal music but all of classical music, the author says adding that for the uninitiated, instrumental music is easier to handle than vocal music as audiences are not required to come to terms with the quality of the voice delivering it.
Bureau Report
