Music in Colonial Punjab: Courtesans, Bards, and Connoisseurs, 1800-1947

This book offers the first social history of music in undivided Punjab (1800-1947), beginning at the Lahore court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and concluding at the Patiala royal darbar. It unearths new evidence for the centrality of female performers and classical music in a region primarily viewed as a folk music centre, featuring a range of musicians and dancers -from 'mirasis' (bards) and 'kalawants' (elite musicians), to 'kanjris' (subaltern female performers) and 'tawaifs' (courtesans). A central theme is the rise of new musical publics shaped by the anglicized Punjabi middle classes, and British colonialists' response to Punjab's performing communities. The book reveals a diverse connoisseurship for music with insights from history, ethnomusicology, and geography on an activity that still unites a region now divided between India and Pakistan.

About the Author

Radha Kapuria is Assistant Professor in South Asian History at Durham University. This book draws on her PhD work at King's College London, which was nominated for the 2019 Bayly Prize. Her work straddles history, cultural studies, ethnomusicology, and gender studies. As well as interest in the Partition, she is currently also a co-editor and collaborator on projects exploring the intersections of regional, sonic, and environmental histories of South Asia.