MUSIC IN COLONIAL PUNJAB - Courtesans, Bards, and Connoisseurs, 1800-1947. By Radha Kapuria. [Publisher OUP Oxford. Hardbound. Rs. 1350].

Radha Kapuria, in her book, focuses on the music of Punjab in the 19th century. She points out that, generally, Punjab is only associated with a robust folk tradition. However, it was a centre of classical music. The oldest classical music festival in India, Harivallabh, originated in Jullundur (Jalandhar), Punjab. When early 20th century reformer Vishnu Paluskar decided to open a school to teach classical music, he chose Lahore, Punjab as the venue. 

The book is divided into four chapters along with an introduction and conclusion. It is a well-researched book wherein each chapter draws heavily from different source materials. In her conclusion, Kapuria tries to prove through her holistic study— including ‘mirasis’ (traditional bards), and dancing girls in Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s court—that “the artificial boundaries since created between ‘classical’, ‘folk’ and ‘devotional’, and between ‘urban’ and ‘rural’” were “constantly crossed.” This conclusion is of course not new to a study of musical traditions anywhere in India; but its repeated reiteration in the context of Punjab perhaps dilutes the distinct nature of the classical tradition, which indeed has scanty reference material. Kapuria writes, that there are “excellent but isolated studies on Sikh music, Punjabi folk traditions, Sufi music, … (but) no attempt has been made to systematically examine the pre-1947 social history of music, and particularly art music in Punjab.” However, though an excellent attempt, this book does not really do justice to the subject: there is a lot more to cover.

Though Kapuria’s writes: “I challenge the symbolic alienation of the ‘classical’ from Punjab’s culture,” her book does not fully portray the hidden classical traditions of Punjab, which remains known to its practitioners. Perhaps this is due to heavy reliance on archival material for a subject that exists largely through an oral tradition.

Chapter One, with its meticulous research, is a fascinating read about Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s court and the importance given to music and dance. The high status of his courtesan wife Mai Moran was testimony to the respect shown to artists in his reign. The patriarch of the present Dagarvani tradition Behram Khan was employed at the Lahore Darbar, and also was Irshad Khan, forbearer of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Though the book’s title seems to convey that Kapuria’s focus in her study is only music, she writes about the dance tradition in the court of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh as well.

Chapter Two is a general read about music in colonial Punjab, the efforts of the Christian missionaries to use Punjabi music to further their cause, and the status of the folk bards the ‘mirasis.’ Ironically, one of the main sources of research in this period are the writings of Westerners living in Punjab: who had no knowledge nor the ability to appreciate classical Punjabi music. Scholar administrator Richard Temple (1850–1931) stated that “despite recognising the value of the ‘mirasi’s’…. never mentioned any ‘mirasi’ by name in his writings, treating the bards as ‘mere push button repositories’ of folk knowledge.”

Anne Campbell Wilson (1855–1921) wrote extensively on the music she heard; she earnestly tried to decode it and eventually became a lifelong student of Indian music. But in her initial commentaries, even superficial appreciation was missing. “There was a tendency in it to produce madness, and as far as we were concerned it was a mode of torture. …three distorted faces uttering individual yells, two drummers beating a rapid accompaniment and then imagine being told at the conclusion the pandemonium was an oriental love song.” Towards the end of her stay in India, Wilson patronisingly concedes “the people of India are essentially a musical race.”

A more interesting and relevant writing is the Mirasinamah (1891) written by a Muslim insider berating the ‘mirasis’ as a class: their low values, greed, un-Islamic attitudes, and defiance of existing social hierarchies. The quoted verses in Punjabi are a delight to read.

Kapuria’s comment that classical music, historically in Punjab, has been performed in spaces associated with folk, qawwali or Gurbani music in melas or shrines is true for all other states in India. Hence, the distinction of spaces for ‘folk’ and for ‘classical’ is perhaps a modern perception. Studies have shown that shrines and royal courts were venues for all types of music everywhere.

Perhaps the driest chapter in the book is the well-researched Chapter Three “Gender Reform and Punjab’s Musical Publics.” Kapuria focuses on the musical tradition of three urban centres —Lahore, Amritsar, and Jalandhar. There is an interesting reference, perhaps the first ever, in 1858 to a lady sitar player called Biba Jan Sahiba, a disciple of Bahadur Khan of Delhi.

Kapuria also discusses about the ‘Punjab Purity Association’. It was formed in the last decade of the 19th century and took its cue from the anti-nautch campaign of the Madras Presidency. The Kanya Mahavidyala schools started by Devraj Sondhi of Jalandhar laudably had music as a compulsory subject that upheld Punjab’s vibrant classical music tradition.

Additionally, Kapuria expertly traces how reformists of all three faiths— Islam, Sikh, and Hindu—in their different ways are changing the perception of music and creating “new musical publics in Punjab, one where the relationship between piety and pleasure in the public domain was reconceptualised.”

The last chapter deals with princely patronage for the musicians in the courts of Patiala and Kapurthala. Patiala’s last three rulers were active patrons of the arts. However, in Kapurthala, the rich tradition of patronage during Fateh Singh and Nihal Singh’s reign lessened in Maharaja Jagatjit Singh’s (1872–1949) reign.

Today’s Harivallabh S a n g e e t Sammelan in Jalandhar is, historically, Kapurthala’s contribution. (The land —the festival grounds—was given by Bikrama Singh (1835–1887), the younger son of the ruler, as was the musical impetus provided by his guru Mir Nasir Ahmed—great great grandson of the iconic Sadarang from Tansen’s family).

Sadly, there is perhaps no available material on the other major patron states of Punjab—Nabha, Faridkot, and Malerkotla—which is why they have not been covered. The rich qawwali tradition that exists in Jalandhar today through the lineage of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is another area that needs more research.

The pakhawaj tradition of Punjab which was incorporated in the distinct playing style of the Punjab gharana of tabla is not touched upon; nor are the dhrupad traditions of Punjab, or the Punjabi origins of tappa. However, no book can cover every aspect. As Kapuria concludes, further research is needed: “Despite the broad sweep covered in this book, it does not aim to be fully comprehensive.”

The book is an interesting read on a subject that has limited literature despite the rich tradition of Punjab’s music. Radha Kapuria deserves kudos for her work.

(The author writes on music, musicians and matters of music)