Setting the Hindustani Stage
A tabla maestro makes sense of Hindustani music and its complex ecosystem
Tabla maestro, historian, author and columnist Aneesh Pradhan’s latest book tackles two important themes—the mixed legacy of music patronage by modern institutions and their erratic histories, especially in post-independence India. While elite support of classical music in North India by maharajas, merchants and the landed were always important, the public and modern nature of Hindustani classical was the legacy of AIR, pioneering music schools like Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, ITC Sangeet Research Academy and others. The meliorative character of these institutions meant that they claimed a moral high ground and expected musicians to conform.
The early history of the institutionalisation of Hindustani classical music is the remarkable story of a handful of dedicated musicians like V.D. Paluskar and V.N. Bhatkhande. The absence of state patronage in the colonial era was made up for by nationalist fervour and reformist initiative to systematise the classical. After independence, AIR took on this role, but it was a story of omissions and commissions. For years together, there were no proper posts for a sound engineer or investment in sound technology. A precedent was set by offering a contract but the fee was not commensurate. Private organisers gave better remuneration, but no contract. In both the cases, the musician got a raw deal. Sometimes musicians revolted and put their foot down and a compromise was reached as was the case of AIR’s attempt to make established musicians take an audition in the 1950s. If the unionisation of musicians paid dividends, then this was short-lived. From the 1970s, corporate patronage played an important role, yet questions of copyright, recording permissions, proper acknowledgement to accompanists still remain a grey area. SPIC-MACAY combines nationalism with NGO-like activism and offers another model of patronage to music in recent times. Pradhan agonises over the dilemma of accepting the patronage of tobacco and liquor companies. Private players, according to him, uphold the star system where the tried and tested are repeated again and again. Many of Pradhan’s insights come from experience and sensitivity as a performer and he makes a plea for a less capricious, professional space where dedication, technological endeavour, scholarship, enlightened listenership will matter. He acknowledges the importance of music streaming and its scope for enabling performance. As a diligent researcher, he has gone out of his way to scour archives, source annual reports and privately published accounts, survey websites, interview organisers. All those interested in the business of music will read this book for its evaluative account of classical music today and the possibilities it holds for the future.