This article was originally published in Economic and Political Weekly in July 2022. The essay is adapted from my M.Mus Dissertation entitled âA New Explanation For the Decline of Hindustani Music in Pakistanâ. The dissertation was recently published in book form (Lahore: Aks Publications 2024)
I am posting an excerpt from the essay here. To read more go to: https://www.epw.in/engage/article/evolution-hindustani-classical-music-pakistan-1947
The 1947 partition of British India on religious lines significantly impacted Hindustani classical music in the parts of the colony that became modern Pakistan. Â There is a consensus that, since the creation of the country, Hindustani classical music has declined in Pakistan. Â Various reasons for this decline have been theorised: the contested status of music in Islam, Pakistanâs search for a national identity distinct from India’s, and the loss of patronage. In this paper, I trace the evolution of music in Pakistan since 1947, focusing mainly on the adaptive strategies employed by gharana musicians to continue performing within the new societal constraints. These adaptations include focusing on the less problematic genre of ghazal rather than khayal and fusing elements of Western pop into local styles (as exemplified by Coke Studio). Â
It is widely accepted that the classical aspect of Hindustani music (khayal, dhrupad) has declined in the parts of British India now comprising Pakistan. Before 1947, Lahore was renowned as a major cultural metropolis whose centrality in the world of Hindustani music has been well documented (Saeed 2008) and also narrated in the documentary Khayal Darpan (Saeed 2008b) by surviving musicians of the time. Now the city finds no mention aside from its historical eminence. This note traces how the core of that tradition has evolved Continue reading The Evolution of Hindustani Classical Music in Pakistan Since 1947