Directory
of
Performing
Hindustani Musicians
Mukul
Dube, compiler
My directory of Hindustani classical musicians is finally out (October 2001).
There is such information as gharana or style; forms performed (e.g. khayal, dhrupad, thumri); names of up to three gurus; academic qualifications (music and other); years of first public performance, first radio broadcast, first television broadcast; year of birth; present AIR station; and address and phone number.
I have in all 3,087 artists listed,
with specialisation (i.e. vocal, tabla, etc.) available for all but 19. This is
the first edition, and information is complete for only 25 per cent. Still, that
is almost eight hundred people.
"Eminence"
and such words can be meaningless. I have taken all performing musicians—all
who have performed in public
concerts or over radio or over television: in short, those whom you and I might
hope to hear. (One implication of this is that only the living are listed.) There are musicians from nearly every part of the country. Some
are in their 80s, some are just beginning their professional lives.
Soloists and accompanists, both are included.
With
so many individuals to be listed, only a limited range of information about each
could be collected and presented. No claim is made to comprehensiveness either.
It can be said, though, with certainty, that no other work of this kind
exists—and, with hope, that the next
edition will be very much better.
This directory is the outcome of some nine years’ work by a private citizen without access to institutional resources.
