"The Singer and the Song is the first of C.S. Lakshmi’s three volumes of detailed interviews with 50 notable women in the arts in India. She recounts the experiences of legendary greats in the field of music, both vocal and instrumental like Gangubai Hangal, Naina Devi, Dhondurai Kulkarni, Veena Sahasrabuddhe, the Sikkil Sisters, Sukanya Ramgopal, and many others. What I really wanted", she says, "was to cry and understand the artistes as women sharing a historical context, living and functioning as women and as artists in a patriarchal society that fixed them in particular ways. I wanted them to talk about their lives in general, to learn about how are was to be taken into account as a factor in their everyday lives; how they sustained their art over the years; how it influenced their decisions in life, why they continued to pursue it, did they have choices; what their family life was like; and how they looked upon life as a whole." In the process she provides us with a fascinating account of how individual careers evolved in a constantly changing musical environment, from the days of the Devadasis and Tawaifs, to contemporary times. This rare document is accompanied by photographs and an insightful introduction on the importance of oral history in recording women’s experiences."
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