Krishna's Musicians: Musicians and Music Making in the Temples of Nathdevara, Rajasthan - Hardcover

Gaston, Anne Marie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 817304161X ISBN 13: 9788173041617

Publisher: Manohar Publishers and Distributors, 2024

Synopsis

Many arts in traditional India were the preserve of hereditary practitioners, some of whom are still supported by Hindu temples. An example is the community of hereditary musicians (kirtankars), who still serve in the temples of the Vallabha Sampraday, a Vaishnava sect with its main centre in Nathdvara, Rajasthan. The performance of music, in the form of haveli sangit, has been a prescribed part of worship in its temples (havelis) since the sixteenth century. According to tradition, the svarups of the sampraday are entertained with music seventeen times daily. In the most important haveli, the Shri Nathji temple in Nathdvara, there are eight full-time musicians. In the other centres there are fewer musicians and music is performed less often. This book deals with the role of music in the sampraday and with the lives of the musicians, in particular that of Pakhavaji Guru Purushottam Das and his family. It is concerned with the living tradition, and what it can tell us about the past.

About this title

About the Author

Anne-Marie Gaston holds a doctorate in the Sociology of Arts from Oxford University. She began to study Bharata Natyam in Madras in 1964.

Edition details

• Publisher: Manohar Publishers and Distributors
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 817304161X
• ISBN 13: 9788173041617
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 358