This work is concerned with the ways m which status is manifested,
determined and altered within the Hindustani musical world of North India.
This enquiry is undertaken by investigating two seemingly distinct, yet
profoundly intertwined parts of North Indian classical music - the Hindustani
violin and the significance of gender distinctions within Hindustani music. The
'stories' of both the Hindustani violin and of women as public performers of
Hindustani classical music are inextricably tied to the larger paths of colonialism
and nationalism, as they have manifested in India over the past century. At the
same time, a deeper understanding of these two subjects is found in an
engagement with the individuals who, through their personal actions and
endeavors, have sought to shift their status within Hindustani music, thereby
changing the Hindustani musical world in the process. This work is therefore
grounded in the musical and social knowledge of the Hindustani violinist Kala
Ramnath. Kala-ji's innovative violin technique, insights into gender
differentiation within the Hindustani musical world, and articulated identity as a
female Hindustani instrumentalist provide new understandings of how music,
words, and personal action can affect a performer's relationship with the sociomusical
world that she inhabits.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/49016 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Desai-Stephens, Anaar Iris |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | This work is being made available in OpenBU by permission of its author, and is available for research purposes only. All rights are reserved to the author. |
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