Tradition of Hindustani Music: A Sociological Approach

This book provides a fascinating study of Hindustani Music in its sociological perspective. It is a wonderful study for depicting the social interaction that takes place in guru-shishya parampara handing down the tradition of music and strictly preserving a style through pedagogy. The book also explains the social status and organization of the musician-community ad a psycho-social analysis of the journey of a musician from an individual being to a social being. The author has carefully traced the history of Hindustani music in its socio-political perspective. She has amply proved what an interdisciplinary study can achieve for a great art like Hindustani music. It is a teat to observe the author’s scholastic insight into the realm of music and her grasp of the concepts of sociology. The relationship of society and music is intense and complex. The author has successfully grappled with such complexities and arrived at logical conclusions. She has justified the worth of sociology of music, both for the musician and the listener who may better understand each other with knowledge provided through this deep study of music and society.