There are three major ways of looking at Hindustani sangeet. An easy-to-follow discussion of its basic concepts is one. A truthful and sympathetic, yet not merely laudatory, account of the life and art of some of its masterly exponents is another. Both these approaches have been fairly common so far. The third way, which has not yet received the attention it deserves, tries to dwell upon Hindustani music, rhythm, and (Kathak) dance explicitly in relation to philosophy and philosophers of art. It is from this point of view that the present book should be welcome. It does not, however, overlook the first two approaches. Besides quite a few essays that explore the aesthetical aspects of Hindustani music, the book takes a renovative look at Kathak dance, and engages the reader in a discussion of how far our music can be regarded as spiritual. These and some other key features should make this book acceptable to both rasikas and musicologists.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sushil Kumar Saxena
A former Professor of Philosophy at the University of Delhi, where he started the teaching of philosophical aesthetics in 1964, Dr. Sushil Kumar Saxena has actively related this contemporary way of looking at the arts to Hindustani music and Kathak dance in the form of published essays and books spanning a period of more than 35 years. His first book, however, was on metaphysics. Entitled studies in the distinction of being the second Indian (after Dr. S. Radhakrishnan) to appear as an author in (George Allen and Unwin's) Muirhead Library series of philosophical works. Thereafter, turning to philosophies of art and religion, Dr. Saxena produced three more books: The Winged Form: Aesthetical Essays on Hindustani Rhythm (Sangeet Natak Akademi). Aesthetical Essays, and Ever Unto God: Essays on Gandhi and Religion (Indian Council of Philosophical Research). His essays and review articles, again on aesthetical and religious subjects, have appeared in The British Journal of Aesthetics, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (U.S.A.), Religious Studies (U.K.)Diogene (France), Kant Studien (Germany). II Vetro (Italy), Philosophy East and West (U.A.A.)Sangeet Natak, Marg, Indian Philosophiy Quarterly, and Journal of the ICPR (India). Currently, as a Fellow of the Indian Council of philosophical Research, Dr. Saxena is working on two book. Art and Aesthetics and the Arts of India.
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