Unfinished/ Ongoing Research
In 2022, I was invited to participate in a symposium on storytelling. I decided to envision what elements of classical music exist as structural elements in modern arts and culture, I started conducting interviews of random people as a part of the research. However due to unforeseen and extenuating circumstances I could not participate in the symposium even though my draft paper was accepted for further deliberations. This research is ongoing as I have continued to study this topic to a greater degree and will compile it into a considerable study in time.
The following is my draft submission:
Lost Aural Narratology & the Scope for Comparative Musicology
Aural traditions hide within their folds, narrative structures that are devices of theatrical and
dramatic effect. However, the demands of time and technology have posed a certain
detriment to certain performative aspects of classical music, that are key to understanding the
rudiments of a uniquely Indian narratology in classical music. Herein, is an attempt to offer
insight into the scope for comparative musicology of modern and traditional Indian music;
and, of certain underused elements of aural narratology and storytelling in modern music, that are possibly valuable assets of lost heritages.
Aural narration (and storytelling) exist in the musical forms, the techniques, and the
aesthetics of Raga performance. A classical recital (or performance) is a complete event of
storytelling. For instance, the four major narrative devices used a Hindustani classical
performance – Alap, Jhor, Jhalla, and Ghat are all known edifices of traditions that are
perhaps not much utilized today outside of live performances. Another example is the
classification of ragas in terms of time of day, season etc. – devices used in character
development, mood, and aesthetics.
However, with the evolution of modern music, much of that formalism has fallen to the
fringes, and is barely visible in the contemporary mainstream. Over time as the Entertainment
Industry evolved; many performative aspects of traditional aural narration styles and
practices were abandoned to make way for processed, packaged, and mass produced music –
aimed at mass distribution, rather than individual virtuosity. This has posed a detriment to
public patronage of performing arts, as little scope for it remains outside Bollywood.
In the West however, when Pt. Ravi Shankar performed at the Woodstock Music and Arts
Festival in the USA in 1969, it ushered in an era of a rediscovery of Indian Classicism in the
global domain. Globalization and postmodernism led to creation of multidisciplinary
practices such as Jazzfusion Music, Contemporary Theatre, Performance Arts etc. Hindustani
and Carnatic traditions found new avenues of practice especially in the jazz and fusion
explorations of John Coltrane, Ustad Zakir Husain, John McLaughlin, The Mahavishnu
Orchestra, and Larry Coryell amongst others.
Given this history; the scope for a musicological (and geographical) survey of folk and
classical arts of India is immense. With the help of modern technology, its findings are likely
to supersede its Colonial, and Eurocentric precedents. As a case study for this proposed
survey, The Alan Lomax Archive’s field recordings (that were originally commissioned by
The Library of Congress, USA), could be considered.
Although classical structuralism and formalism are taught in music courses, there is certainly
a case for exposing these linguistic aspects of music across modern disciplines. Just the way
Joseph Campbell offered a formula to storytellers via his study of comparative mythology
(the Monomyth); with a new study of Indian musical linguistics, one may uncover a
comparative musicology that will renew classical narratological concepts within the modern
context. The fact that in a country as large as ours, there are only four colleges that teach
musicology; is a matter of concern.
Here is a sample of the interviews that were conducted for the symposium. These are students and teachers from The Anant National University, Ahmedabad, to whom I am deeply grateful for sparing their valuable time:
