Translated from the original Bengali by Indrani Haldar

Tagore had considered his song-lyrics his best creative offering because in them he expressed himself spontaneously and unabashedly, freeing himself from the conscious process of literary crafting that marked most of his fictional writing which was subjected to stiff literary criticism. Written in chalit bhasha or conversational Bengali, he did not have to adhere to any expected literary standard. He could be inspired by classical musical tradition for instance, and yet defy its prescription for the individual ragas;


Reviewed by: Reba Som
By Rajiv Vijayakar

What do I mean by this? There are examples galore throughout the book; here are some: Laxmikant Kudalkar, the son of a mill worker and Pyarelal Sharma, the son of a renowned musician Pandit Ramprasad Sharma, were an unlikely pair. Laxmikant’s father sensed his son’s love for singing and entertainment and started classical music lessons for him. Pyarelal’s father was a Hindustani classical musician but wanted everyone,


Reviewed by: Ashwini Deshpande
By Soubhik Chakraborty and Ranjan Sengupta (with co-authors: Anirban Patranabis, Vidhi Salla, Apoorva Chakraborty, Pranjala Shukla, Lopamudra Dutta, Sudakshina Bhattacharjee, Moupali Mitra and Sulochana Lamichaney)

Returning to the book. It is divided into two parts, the first part is a biographical study, which consists of three essays, one each by three of the co-authors. These three essays could easily have been one. The essays repeat very well-known basic biographical facts, including her date of birth that is mentioned several times in each essay, including multiple times on the same page. The replication is not confined to specific facts.


Reviewed by: Ashwini Deshpande
By Richard David Williams

Williams puts together a picture of a man of complex and varied tastes: an innovator rather than a curator of past practice. The textual evidence is formidable. The collections of song-texts that Williams examines show the Nawab’s close collaboration with his senior Begum, Khas Mahal, and include dhrupad, hori, sadra, khayal and tarana


Reviewed by: Amlan Dasgupta
By Radha Kapuria

Ethnographical studies in the region remain an inescapable methodology due to the subcontinent’s knowledge systems embedded in oral traditions. There is also an institutional lack of a proper archival system. For most scholars in the past, ethnography had led them to innovative revelations, unlike the archives which have revealed partial information with politics of power inclined towards the educated elites of the society.


Reviewed by: Pushpita Mitra
By Abir Bazaz

To the perceptive reader, Nund Rishi: Poetry and Politics in Medieval Kashmir is a sombre book. This impression starts to build right from the rather symbolic jacket, which bears a photograph of a gloomy Charar-e Sharif mausoleum on an overcast winter day. This monument, belonging to that solitary strand of Kashmiri Sufism which once drew…


Reviewed by: Shonaleeka Kaul