Podcast

One example is the 20th century tradition of taking folk forms (shahiri, tamasha etc) that that usually were used to express devotion to religious deities and reinforced social hierarchy (though many of these were already subversive in subtle ways) and infusing them with revolutionary or emancipatory content, whether in the form of Indian People’s Theatre Associations’ ‘people songs’ or the aforementioned Ambedkarite jalsas. Other artists or movements tapped into the already progressive traditions of bhakti or sufi music and updated them to counter contemporary forms of oppression or injustice. More recently, Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna has used a classical form considered the domain of conservatives and used it to shine a light on issues of caste, communalism and environmentalism, which has generated considerable controversy and pushback. In this conversation we will look at how contemporary artists can use and/or subvert this pre-existing cultural heritage and collective memory in their practice. We’ll also interrogate the effectiveness of such approaches in an increasingly globalised world, where contemporary pop music often diverges significantly from these traditions, and the tricky balance between authenticity and the necessity of innovation to keep up with contemporary trends that might be more effective in reaching out to specific audiences or demographics.