August 24th, Sonipat: Jindal School of Journalism and Communication in partnership with the University of Oregon organized a symposium to study the cultural roots of Western music and its interaction with Indian classical music. The event was held at the Global Auditorium on the first floor on August 23, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and comprised of a series of scholarly discussions related to the blending of Indian and Western music and its impact on Indian culture and modernity.
JSJC Dean Prof. Kishalay Bhattacharjee and Prof. Bish Sen from the University of Oregon delivered the opening remarks. Prof. Bhattacharjee elaborated on the theme of the event: Western popular music and Indian modernity. How the coming together of Western and Indian music forms helped bridge the gap between two disparate cultures. The impact of Western music on Indian thought and sensibility he noted, was a less explored theme but well worth delving into.
The keynote speaker at the event was Naresh Fernandes, editor of Scroll.in and author of ‘Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age. The book explores the journey of Jazz in Bombay, recounting the story through the lives of a few remarkable Indian and American Bombay musicians, who embraced Jazz and helped it find a home in India. Fernandes talked about Jazz in the 1930s — how the music form electrified Bombay’s elite in the 1930s and how it was gradually accepted and absorbed into the city’s cultural life.
The first panel discussed "popular music as an agent of modernity." Moderated by Dr. Bish Sen, it featured Prof. Shiv Vishwanathan, Dr. Maheli Sen, and Dr. Shikha Jhingan, as the main speakers. The session covered the similarities and differences between Indian and Western music, the impact of rock and jazz on Bengali films, and the evolution of Hollywood music. Speaking first, Prof. Viswanathan stressed the issue of modernity in music. Whatever its merits, he mentioned, Jazz had failed to modernise in a way that would capture the indigeneity of Indian thought and sensibility. Carnatic music, in contrast, seems to have embraced modernity; unlike Jazz, it had elements of sexuality and eroticism – an indication that the Indian music forms had the capacity to upgrade and modernize.
Dr. Maheli Sen spoke of the influence of Western music on Bengali films, in particular Rock music, which altered Kolkata’s sonic scape. While Jazz was popular initially only among India’s anglicized elite, she mentioned, the mixing of Western music forms with Indian music — as in the case of Dutta’s music — paved the way for greater acceptance by the masses. The third speaker Shikha Jinghran spoke about how Hindi cinema built a soundscape out of mixing Indian and foreign sounds.
The second panel was about local context and global culture. Moderated by Prof Vishanathan, the session has three speakers: Dr. Rateesh Kumar, a JNU professor, Dr. Abhija Ghosh, a JSJC professor of film and digital media, and Dr. Ridhima Sharma, a JNU M.Phil. School of Arts and Aesthetics students. Dr. Ratheesh spoke about Western music in Malabar, modern-day Kerala. He spoke about the traditions of Western music in the coastal cities, particularly those restricted to missionary churches, implying a strong colonial presence in the past. He discussed musical gatherings from the late 1980s to the 1990s, as well as major Indian rock bands of the time such as Third Eye, Axe Waggon, and The Gipsies. "In the 1980s”, he noted, “Western music was considered dangerous music.” It was a reference to the hegemonic structure of political and social institutions, as well as the vectors of power that moulded people's perceptions.
Dr. Ghosh and Dr. Ridhima Sharma discussed the importance of Western music in shaping the image of a modern-day woman. Dr. Ghosh referred to 1990s films that portrayed female celebrities and the codification of desire in Hindi 90s film music. Connecting cinema music to the traditional past, she emphasised the thriving audio cassette culture in Indian marketplaces. Dr. Sharma also discussed MTV, Indi-pop, and its role in establishing the cultural economy's "new modern" in the 1990s. "TV and audio-visual projections sparked neoliberal aspirations among women in India to become models, because all the women bands were models," she observed. The lecture concluded with a brief question-and-answer session, which included some interesting queries from the audience.