A review of the book 'Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748 – 1858' written by Katherine Butler Schofield.
Based on a vast, virtually unstudied archive of Indian writings alongside visual sources, 'Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748 – 1858' presents the first history of music and musicians in late Mughal India c.1748–1858 and takes the lives of nine musicians as entry points into six prominent types of writing on music in Persian, Brajbhasha, Urdu and English, moving from Delhi to Lucknow, Hyderabad, Jaipur and among the British.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748 – 1858' written by Katherine Butler Schofield.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
Katherine Butler Schofield is Head of the Department of Music at King’s College London and recipient of an European Research Council Grant and a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship.
She is the co-editor of two volumes of essays: Tellings and Texts: Music, Literature and Performance in North India (2015) and Monsoon Feelings: A History of Emotions in the Rain (2018).
Katherine is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Historical Society.
Let me read what is written on first page of the book:
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Based on a vast, virtually unstudied archive of Indian writings alongside visual sources, this book presents the first history of music and musicians in late Mughal India c.1748–1858 and takes the lives of nine musicians as entry points into six prominent types of writing on music in Persian, Brajbhasha, Urdu and English, moving from Delhi to Lucknow, Hyderabad, Jaipur and among the British.
It shows how a key Mughal cultural field responded to the political, economic and social upheaval of the transition to British rule, while addressing a central philosophical question: can we ever recapture the ephemeral experience of music once the performance is over? These rich, diverse sources shine new light on the wider historical processes of this pivotal transitional period, and provide a new history of music, musicians and their audiences during the precise period in which North Indian classical music coalesced in its modern form.
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Some of the things I learnt after reading this book:
1st ─ I would like to quote what the author has said on page 17:
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The underlying quest of this book takes its inspiration from the figure of Orpheus inlaid in pietra dura in solitary splendour above the throne in Shahjahanabad’s Exalted Fortress at the heart of the Mughal imperial city of Delhi - a figure with whom the Mughal emperor personally identified as a sonic symbol of his divinely ordained power.
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Before picking up this book to read, I had never known about the figure of Orpheus above the throne in Shahjahanabad. That was a BIG revelation for me.
2nd ─ There is a wonderful description of ‘nautch’ (nāch) by Mrs. Jemina Kindersley from Allahabad in October 1767:
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The diversions in India are but few. But the favourite and most constant amusement of the great, both Mahomedans and Hindoos … is called a notch; which is the performance of the dancing girls … It is difficult to give you any proper idea of this entertainment, which is so very delightful … A large room is lighted up; at one end sit the great people who are to be entertained; at the other are the dancers and their attendants; one of the girls who are to dance comes forward, for there is seldom more than one of them dance at a time; the performance consists chiefly in a continual removing the shawl, first over the head, then off again; extending first one hand, then the other; the feet are likewise moved, though a yard of ground would be sufficient for the whole performance. But it is their languishing glances, wanton smiles, and attitudes not quite consistent with decency, which are so much admired; and whoever excels most in these is the finest dancer. The girl sings, while she is dancing, some Persian or Hindostan[i] song; some of them are really pleasing to the ear.
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3rd ─ This is James Kippen’s summary of Neuman’s analysis of what a Hindustani musical lineage must possess to qualify as a gharānā:
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The gharānā must have, at its core, a family (khāndān) of musicians passing on a musical tradition from generation to generation through their disciples and students … a founder member with a charismatic personality … [it] must be represented by a living member of the original khāndān … have a famous personality who is living … at least three generations of distinguished musicians representing the musical tradition … [and] a distinct and unique musical style.
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4th ─ The East India Company was in India to pursue a colonial project designed entirely to benefit themselves. Less than seventy years later in 1856, the Company used the last Nawab of Lucknow’s love of exactly the same forms of music and dance of their excuse to depose him and annex his kingdom ─ a major grievance that fed directly into the all-too-real violence of the 1857 Uprising. The wider ramifications of this mutually pleasurable, liminal moment of cross-cultural engagement are thus ambiguous and troubling.
5th ─ In April 1806, the assistant British Resident to the Mughal emperor in Delhi, William Fraser, wrote a letter home to his father in the highlands of Scotland:
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On one of the late Mussulman festivals, I accompanied the king to the Mosque; and was much struck with the dignity and humility, with which the whole court offered their prayers to the Almighty. At this time, I was constantly at the side of the King; and could not but admire the extreme of nobility in his gait, aspect and mien. The loss of his eyes does not at all disfigure his countenance; but the history of their loss and of his misfortunes exalts to the highest our pity and our veneration. On his death, and not till then, we may say, that the Line of Timour is extinct as a Dynasty; beginning with the lame, and ending with the blind.
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6th and last is Figure 2.3 on page 43 which shows the connections between celestial bodies, musical notes, elements and effects. In my opinion, that in itself is worth the price of the book.
Conclusion:
I am personally not a very musically literate person but I really liked this book as it contains many stories about which I had no previous knowledge. I sincerely hope we get to read more such wonderful books in the future. As the author states on the last page,
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So many stories remain untold in this book. It should be clear by now that it is not because Hindustan’s musicians and music lovers left nothing to speak of behind. It is because I do not have the many lifetimes I would need to tell them all. I leave that for you to do. For the very least we historians of the ephemeral can do for Eurydice, and for Orpheus too, is to sing their songs once more.
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I give the book 4.5/5 and highly recommend it.
The book is available for around Rs. 725/- on Amazon India and for around the same price on Flipkart. And it is available for $110 USD on Amazon USA. I have given the respective buy links in the show notes. Please check them out for the latest prices.
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