Roshan Ara Begum

Performing Classical Music, Gender, and Muslim Nationalism in Pakistan Fawzia Afzal-Khan

The performance — or lack thereof — of (North Indian) classical music in Pakistan, and espe- cially the obstacles women performers have faced, cannot only be blamed on Islam’s putative hostility to the musical and performing arts in general and to women performing in public in particular. Rather, the discourse of a religiously inflected nationalism collides with gendered, classed bodies within the performative space of a political imaginary such that the role played by music both constitutes and deconstructs this history. Women singers’ roles are crucial in

Fawzia Afzal-Khan is University Distinguished Scholar/Professor of English at Montclair State University and Visiting Professor at NYU Abu Dhabi. She is the author of Cultural Imperialism: Genre and Ideology in the Indo-English Novel (Penn State Press, 1993), A Critical Stage: The Role of Secular Alternative Theatre in Pakistan(Seagull Press, 2005), and Lahore with Love: Growing Up with Girlfriends Pakistani Style (Syracuse University Press, 2010); and editor of The PreOccupation of Postcolonial Studies (Duke University Press, 2000) and Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim Women Speak Out (Interlink Books, 2005). Siren Song: Pakistani Women Singers is her award-winning NEH- funded short film and forthcoming book from Oxford University Press. She is an Indian classical singer, a playwright, and a poet. [email protected]

TDR: The Drama Review 62:4 (T240) Winter 2018. ©2018 8 Fawzia Afzal-Khan

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Roshan Ara Begum 9 at the age of — the same age that Malka Pukhraj’s rigorous training the same age that Malka Pukhraj’s rigorous — began her career in pre-partition India and then settled India and then settled career in pre-partition began her — 1 [hymn sung in praise of the Prophet Mohammed]. She came to be called Roshan She came of the Prophet Mohammed]. [hymn sung in praise

[teacher], Abdul Karim Khan, a cousin. Under his tutelage, Roshanara came to Under his tutelage, a cousin. Khan, Abdul Karim ustad [teacher], Roshanara trained in classical singing for a decade before she began touring Bengal classical singing for a decade before she Roshanara trained in and Noor Jahan Malka Pukhraj naat

— She says in the interview: “I was the only daughter, only child, so I was spoiled and my so I only child, daughter, “I was the only She says in the interview: At the outset we are told by the great singer that she asked her mother Chanda Begum for At the outset we are told by the great singer style of singing, in which sur [melody] takes center style of singing, gharana be associated with the kirana (Gaekwad 2015) She also married a police officer who was stationed in Mumbai. stage. It is unfortunate but unsurprising, therefore, that there isn’t much written about the late, about the late, isn’t much written that there therefore, but unsurprising, It is unfortunate A fakir recommended Wahidunnissa. Roshanara’s real name was Born in Kolkata in 1917, after he heard her recite (one who illuminates the world) that she be named Roshanjahan a [The Light of Islam]. briefly as an actor in Noor-E-Islam Ara when she worked where she was immediately recognized for [musical gatherings] and Bihar for mehfils She sang thumris and ghazals and even began [classical melodies]. her mastery over raags “Bombaywali the radio as She was introduced on All India Radio. recording songs for to the city to live closer to because she had by then decided to move Roshanara Begum” her 1. All references to the 1982 interview that follow are from the YouTube video posted by Jamal Mustafa (2014). Mustafa Jamal by posted video YouTube the from interview1982 the to are references All 1. follow that mother did whatever I wanted.” Yet her mother also beat Roshan Ara when she misbehaved (in her mother also beat Roshan Yet mother did whatever I wanted.” or didn’t listen to her commands right authority, when she questioned her mother’s her words, Ara came to their house one day and asked Roshan a Sufi mystic, Faqir sahib, Warsi etc.). away, When name. was so pleased he asked her Warsi then sang a naat. She recited the Quran, to sing. your name must be Roshan Jahan because you will become famous in “No, he said she told him, and Roshan means Jahan means world, be a ray of light.” which will the world for your singing, One useful interview conducted with Roshan Ara on PTV (state-owned Pakistan Television), Television), Ara on PTV (state-owned Pakistan One useful interview conducted with Roshan between her contains some interesting exchanges recorded during the later years of her life, Iqbal that reveal much about her early years in Kolkata Ahmed and M. and interviewers Khalil moving in 1948 to the small backwater town of and Delhi and the challenges she faced after Lalamusa was the hometown of her hus- Located between Lahore and Rawalpindi, Lalamusa. a police officer who had been stationed in Bombay in the Chaudhry Mohammed Hussain, band, gen- music, two-hour interview sheds light on the imbrication of classical This two-part, 1930s. and national ideology. class, der, Deconstructing Source Materials (Courtesy1960s. circa performing Begum concert private Lahore a in at Ara Roshan page) (facing 1. Figure Zulqernain Farooq) of great classical singer, Roshan Ara Begum, who, like two other Muslim female singers of the other Muslim female like two who, Ara Begum, Roshan singer, great classical era very humble beginnings: She had in 1947. a year after partition in Pakistan both shaping and resisting this politically performative historical space of the Pakistani nation, the Pakistani nation, historical space of politically performative and resisting this both shaping or appreciated. well understood yet are hardly five, according to various sources. Roshan Ara’s first ustad was Laddan Khan sahib, well-known sahib, Ara’s first ustad was Laddan Khan Roshan according to various sources. five, with him She tells us that she studied instrument). in Kolkata as a sarangi player (a Nepali string his heard her and told her that he’d heard a singer for three to four years and then a friend of with her Ara pleaded Roshan “just makes you cry with the beauty of his song.” in Bombay who Luckily her from that singer (in actuality her cousin). mother to go to Bombay so she could learn Ara stayed with her. Roshan lived in Bombay and also a singer, Azmat Begum Noori, khala (aunt), and career began in Jammu and Kashmir. Noor Jahan started singing even earlier and career began in Jammu and Kashmir. an ustad when she was only nine years old Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on02 October 2021

10 Fawzia Afzal-Khan her movefromBombaytoLalamusa, claimingtohavecontinuedsingandperformonRadio nado ofPakistanandaclosefriendRoshan Ara’s husband. ent pictureemergesthatisbuttressedbyanaccountwrittenLutfullahKhan, amusicaficio- and obstaclesthatRoshan Ara facedasasingerafterhermovetoLalamusa, asomewhatdiffer wife’s passion. marriage. Luckily, sheclaims, herhusbandlovedmusicanddeclaredundyingsupportforhis there hadeverbeenanyquestionofhavingtochoose, shewouldhavepickedhersingingover says quiteunequivocallythatallherromanceandpassionwerereservedformusic ter tohavethesecuritythata “respectable” marriagebrings. To herinterviewers, Roshan Ara ing toRoshan Ara. Soshemarriedlargelytopleasehermotherwhowantedonlydaugh- that hermusicalcareerwouldneverbeaffectednegatively. This conditionheagreedto, accord- mother innouncertaintermsthatshewouldnotmarryunlessherhusband-to-bepromised singing careersaftermarriage. However, Roshan Ara tellsherinterviewersthatshetold her wasn’t consideredagoodthing” forwomentodo. Mostmeninsistedtheirwivesdrop was worriedthatmarriagewouldspellanendtohersingingbecause, assheadmits, “singing singer repliesno, shereallyhadn’tbeeninterestedorreadytocontemplatemarriage. Herustad proposal ofmarriagetohermother. When askedifshehadbeeninterestedinmarrying, the rees inBombaywherehewasstationedatthetimeand, impressedbyhersinging, broughta on herpart, repliesfirmlythatherhusband, aloverofmusic, heardheratoneofthemanysoi- before theyweremarried, Roshan Ara, towardoffanyspeculationsofromanceorsexualdesire course. When askedhowandwhyshemarried, andwhethershe “got toknow” herhusband questions byhertwomaleinterlocutorsregardingmarriage, upholdingthenormativedis- mainly MuslimPakistaniviewersofthistelevisionbroadcast, Roshan Ara Begumcoylyanswers childhood andcomingtomusic. that MalkaPukhraj, hercontemporary, relatesinhermemoir,Sung True Song (2003), ofherown the benedictionofasaintlyfigure, isalmostidenticalinitsapocryphalovertonestothestory from aSufi)thatlaunchedhercareer. light. This, claimsRoshan Ara, (aprayer wastheduaorprayer/prognosticationfromadervish Zulqernain Farooq) annual Jashn-e-Baharan festivalsof of the 1950s. (Courtesy and poet Hafeez Jullandari Lahore’s (right) at one of Radio Figure 2. Roshan Ara Begum with While atfirstRoshan Aradenieshavingsufferedalackofperformanceopportunitiesafter Yet astheinterviewprogresses, andtheinterviewerscontinuetoprobeintodifficulties Using the “respectability” ofasaintlybenedictiontogainacceptanceassingerbythe This storyofherchildhood, hernaming, andherpassiontosingnomatterwhat, alongside ustad Shareef (left) Khan of decorumandrespectabil- need tomaintainapublicfaçade lic andprivatediscourse the disjuncturebetweenpub- of herresponsethatsignals it isthecontradictorynature edges thetruthofthis. However, Roshan Ara reluctantlyacknowl- riage andmovingtoPakistan, her musicalcareeraftermar an uphillstruggletomaintain confronts hersayingshefaced practice.Khalil Ahmed When cians tokeepuphermusical She couldnotevenfindmusi- band didnotallowhertosing. a halfaftermoving, herhus- clear thatforthefirstyearand Pakistan inLahore, itbecomes — — and if her - - Roshan Ara Begum 11 and this is — the kind of plurality of — is her commentary in the interview where is her commentary in including the moralizing sentimentality of her male, her male, including the moralizing sentimentality of — in this case, understanding the multilayered and complex in this case, — is similar to Jacques Rancière’s formulation that art reveals its politics is similar to Jacques Rancière’s formulation this freedom is not individualist; it is the “contingent freedom” we can trace to “contingent freedom” this freedom is not individualist; it is the — in Brecht’s theory of acting is both an activity and a commentary. An actor’s gestus acting is both an activity and a commentary. in Brecht’s theory of

I want to call attention specifically to the fact that Roshan Ara Begum’s performance as the Ara Begum’s performance fact that Roshan I want to call attention specifically to the Roshan Ara’s gestus between [wo]men without the interme- the only activity that goes on directly Action, to the fact corresponds to the human condition of plurality, diary of things or matter, of the While all aspects live on the earth and inhabit the world. not Man, that [wo]men, this plurality is specifically the condi- human condition are somehow related to politics, (1958:570) tion [...] of all political life. ity while negotiating a legitimate space for the expression of a desiring self, a self who wants to a self who wants of a desiring self, space for the expression a legitimate ity while negotiating that he loved music her husband by saying is quick to defend Ara Roshan public. sing for the societal norms that in Pakistan, but then acknowledges her to keep practicing, and encouraged wife’s singing career, not approve of his his family did from India and because were different of maintaining honor, a matter of family It was else could do. much he or anyone there wasn’t of we have the ideology Here again it. position outside the home and a respectable peace within of the pri- in which the nation is an extension (respectability) discourse the masculinist ashrafi insisting , in a kind of purdah women “their” honor is tied to keeping vate domain where men’s Ara appears complicit in acqui- Roshan away from the public sphere. that the women remain she reverses herself with a gestus just as quickly in the interview, Then, escing to this status quo. for some time by her hus- she was held back from performing in Pakistan of stating that yes, of some true music lovers who with the help eventually she managed, band and his family but to get on with her singing career. to pressure her husband into allowing her appreciated her art, “Gestus” that attitude is almost case, and in Brecht’s of the play to the audience, thus dictates the attitude always political (Ara’s gestus Roshan Jestrovic 2006). she teases out the imbrication of discourses of patriarchy, religion, gender, and nation that she, that she, and nation gender, religion, of discourses of patriarchy, she teases out the imbrication for herself in her response She claims agential space and accepts. both resists as a female singer, at “oppression” TV to admit to her her on public Iqbal who were badgering Ahmad and M. to TV indus- middle-class working men in the them, the hands of the same ideology that grants withheld from female performing artists (an irony they do a measure of respectability that is try, not acknowledge). and sentimen- “put[s] morals but “neither moralizing or sentimental” subject of the interview is (Brecht [1930] 2008:172) tality on view” of her middle-class interlocuters who wish to construct a particular reading college-educated, Ara’s performance in the interview suc- Roshan As in Brecht’s epic theatre, for their viewers. the spectator her, Watching feelings than to reason. ceeds in making her gestus appeal less to empa- “submit to an experience uncritically [...] by means of simple isn’t so much invited to “a process of alienation [...] that is necessary for as they are subjected to Ara, with Roshan thy” ([1935] 1957:71) understanding” negotiations involved in becoming “Roshan Ara Begum of Pakistan.” “Roshan negotiations involved in becoming “its forms with the forms that life uses to shape itself”by identifying or as Cecelia (2006:23) the way in which it both disseminates and recon- “through Sjöholm reading Rancière puts it, we hear (understand rationally) and feel (emo- That is, (2015:4). structs sensible experience” musical career. her if not total loss of, Ara’s pain at the substantial decrease in, tionally) Roshan a Muslim respectability normalized by the Pakistani This deprivation is enacted in the name of politics of the a respectability that impinges upon the already classed and gendered nation-state, But This loss/deprivation is transformed by her gestus into freedom. home-space. a crucial point Arendt’s political philosophy: Hannah action of individ- “every explains how Arendtian action, expanding upon this notion of Sjöholm, of plurality itself’‘amounts to an affirmation ual agency and freedom (2015:18–19). Arendt’s terms” vision that is the condition of politics in Hannah Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on02 October 2021

12 Fawzia Afzal-Khan from IndiatoPakistanRoshan Ara performedtheroleofan obedient wife: Paraphrasing LutfullahKhan, theaforementionedmusic aficionado, welearnthatinemigrating Begum Roshan Ara Middle-Class MuslimMale Radio Pakistan) of Ghulam(Courtesy Haider of Pakistan,on Radio Lahore, circa 1970. Figure 3. Roshan Ara Begum appearance While suchaconceptoffreedommayappearcounterintuitive, quence ofthecolonialmodernityIndia. ideologies. And thesestructuresandideologies, intheir turn, arederivedfromandaconse- male elitesembeddedinashrafidiscourse, moldedbythenation-state’s societalstructuresand things based indifferentiationemerginganontologyofplurality, whereothers etal norms. What followsfromthisisarethinkingofthegroundsfreedom. Freedomis place wherethefemaleperforming/singingbodyisalwaysalreadyconstitutedoutsidesoci- that ofotherPakistanifemalesingers), theinteractionbetweensingerandsocietalnormstakes thought andactionarealwaysdependentuponcontingencies(18). InRoshan Ara’s case(and performing inpublicspacerealize “through thepluralityinhabitingpublicsphere” how self-sacrifice. (Khan 1997:183;mytranslation) suffered. Stillshewasatleastoutwardly cheerful, awomanwiththepiousattributeof band’s respectability. Butinfulfillingtheexpectationsofagoodwife, Roshan Ara’scareer “right” foramarriedwoman tosatisfyherpersonalambitionsattheexpenseofhus - accompanying herhusbandto Pakistan. Butsucharefusalwasimpossible. Itwas not The musicaficionadosofBombay triedtheirlevelbesttopreventRoshan Arafrom our everyday life, withoutgoals orpurposes. (Sjöholm2015:18;emphasisadded) contingent formationsofcollectivity, akindoffreedomArendt affirms thatmanifestsitselfin demands ofemancipationbutratherthroughactionsthataremadepossiblethe dom.is This it ispreciselytheencroachingcharacterofdifferentiationthatendsupconditioningfree- Musical performances, bythislogic, canalsobeseenas “affirmations ofplurality.” Singers — “impinge uponourchoices, decisions, andactions” inwaysthatconditionourfreedom. a radical andantiheroicgesture. Thinking theconceptoffreedomnotthrough Ashrafi Ideologyand actions ofherhusband, whichare, likethoseofother impinged uponbythechoices, wishes, decisions, and by thoseofothers. Mostespeciallyheractionsare decisions, andactionsareindeedimpingedupon mance spacewhileacknowledgingthatherchoices, Ara toobtainforherselfanentryintopublicperfor involves acomplexnegotiationonthepartofRoshan into arespectablewoman. This isafreedomthat out aspacewhereshecanturnfromfemalesinger promise andnegotiationarekeyforherasshecarves that manifestsitselfinhereverydaylife, inwhichcom- stance instantiatesthe Arendtian senseofafreedom both herownandothermusicians’decline. Rather, her point tothestate’spatriarchalideologyascauseof of theMuslimPakistanistateallowingRoshan Ara to is itcastintermsofasimpleantinationalistcritique tures of “wifedom” inMuslimmajorityPakistan, nor eral feministconceptionofliberationfromthestric- This freedomisnotcastassomeobvious Western lib- an antiheroic, Brechtian, and Arendtian freedom. throughout theinterview’stwo-hourduration at thepointininterviewIremarkedabove, but Indeed, Roshan Ara Begum’s n nt just not gestus —and — both peopleand — enacts - Roshan Ara Begum 13 - - [daily music practice] for possible future performance [daily music practice]

The net result of these developments was that the greatest living singer of classical The net result of these developments was - Ara to do concert record invite Roshan Then Radio Pakistan in Karachi started to

able! Now, I don’t recall when exactly she went on a tour of India after Partition, after of India after Partition, recall when exactly she went on a tour I don’t able! Now, with fans beg- much attention, she got so But in India, some time. living in Lalamusa for old hometown of Bombay, saying that in her and settle in India, ging her to come back and encouragement she would get the respect much missed, where her singing was unavailable to her in Lalamusa. left her practice and singing, of depression, music in the subcontinent became a victim this caused to the larger world of arts and culture What harm and stopped performing. peo- neglect, thankfully after quite some years of this criminal Anyhow, is another story. the art of music woke up from their slumber, ple of culture who appreciated and admired and begged him to figure out a way to keep her Chaudhury Sahib, came to her husband, pleased He too was not of Pakistani culture. spirit and talents alive for the greater good travel to Ara to gave his permission to Roshan with the way things had turned out and he heaved a music lovers Finally, Pakistan Radio. Lahore periodically to perform her art on sigh of relief! Then music lovers started invit- exposure. ings there and her programs acquired national of but Chaudhury Sahib did not approve ing her to do private concerts in their homes, thor he would check out the patrons accept, these; if forced through public pressure to mehfil In every such respectability were met. oughly to ensure the highest standards of Ara would glance frequently at her he would sit in the first row and Roshan [gathering], as well as and her manner of performance, husband to ensure he approved of her singing the audience itself was measuring up to respect- to gauge through his expressions how far At He would guide her behavior and modulation by his facial expressions. able norms. [semi-classi- , or a dadra a thumri, he would even request her to sing certain songs, times, lyrics in usually sung by women] and when she didn’t remember the cal forms of music, with the he would look for a suitable moment to intervene and supply her their entirety, (Khan 1997:185–88; my translation) This would bring a smile to her face. words! Ara’s career as a Khan tries to sweep away any notion of blaming the decline of Roshan singing were thus controlled at every step by Ara’s behavior and The way that Roshan - her husband made many folks cast blame for the restrictions she suffered on her hus Knowing Chaudhury but not entirely. I guess they are correct, some extent, To band. say without compunction that the honorable I can Sahib as well and as closely as I did, was due to the fact that she was so her last days, Ara commanded till reputation Roshan Had she fallen into the wrong hands of closely guarded and protected by her husband. The problem with living in Lalamusa was that it was a very small town that lacked the a very small town was that it was with living in Lalamusa The problem it’s true she could Yes, required for appreciation of her art. cosmopolitan atmosphere her riyaaz have continued with even find a basic accom- truth of the matter was that she could not but the opportunities, tabla player was willing No her singing with. panist like a tabla [drum] player to practice her with the accompani- of Lalamusa from Lahore to provide to travel to the backwaters was one tabla master who did go there Actually, . her riyaaz ment she needed to continue found Lalamusa unbear back to Lahore in a matter of days as he out to her but he ran singer on her husband. Indeed, he argues the opposite, writing that any respect that the singer he argues the opposite, Indeed, singer on her husband. conferred on “respectability” commanded in Pakistan was in large measure due to the aura of the Pakistani state was the real culprit: For Khan, her by her husband. Despite being acknowledged as the leading classical female singer of the entire subcontinent, entire subcontinent, female singer of the the leading classical acknowledged as Despite being Ara After praising Roshan respectability. codes of honor and submission to ashrafi we see her decades he observed it during describe her life as Khan continues to decorum,” “wifely for her Ara and her husband: with both Roshan of close friendship Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on02 October 2021 Times of Pakistan) 14 Fawzia Afzal-Khan of the creation of “Yaad Bagh” Figure 4: Roshan Ara Begum Pakistan at Radio Lahore in 1976, on the occasion ies ofbothMuslimPakistanand HinduIndia(Kalra2014). music. Virinder Kalrapointsoutthat thisviewofmusicwasthesameinnationalimaginar ers whoseideologywasrooted inaparticularunderstandingofIslamasantitheticaltoclassical Ara issomeoneforwhomfreedom/agency iscontingentuponthedemandsandvaluesofoth mation andguidancetoensure thatsheremainswithintheambitofrespectability. Roshan even whenhegrantspermission, atherconcertsRoshan Ara looksatherhusbandforaffir to Khan’saccount, itisonlybecauseotherspersuadeher husbandtoallowherdoso. And not hearherexercisingagencyaswedointhePTVinterview. Ifsheisabletosing, according (albeit sympathetictoRoshan Ara’s situation), wedo not hearfromthesingerherself;wedo mit toandupholdashrafi a praiseworthywomanbecauseofherfemininesweetnesstemper, andherwillingnesstosub- acterized asbothavictimoftheashraficodesandherhusband’s adherencetothem, andalsoas ashrafi codesofrespectablebehavior. ulations establishingasingingcareerintheculturalethosofPakistanisocietydominatedby sympathetic PakistaniMuslimmanbelongingtothemiddle-class urbanbourgeoisie respectability. Roshan Ara, forherpart hertoperform,permitting participatinginhisownnegotiationswiththecodesofmiddle-class ing ashrafi were foldedintoareligiousidentity. Thus, Roshan Ara’s husbandisdepictedasbothuphold- the PakistanistateincontradistinctiontoperceivedHinduethos, wherethemusicalarts In thisaccount, writtenbyamanwhoacknowledgesthat heisafriendofherhusband Khan givesusamaleculturalcritic’spointofviewregardingRoshan Ara’s trialsandtrib- my translation) seclusion, cutofffromthemusicalworldthatnourishedhersoulandart. (188–90; ist ofRoshan Ara’s statureandcaliberwasforcedtoliveouttheremainderofherlifein proportions thatcanneverbeforgottenandwillforevermourned. A classicalvocal- discourse bycontrollinghowandwherehiswifeperformedalso, intheveryactof — a Garden of Memories. of the (Courtesy norms. The ashrafiethos — and again, asseenfromKhan’spointofview, thatofa Friday itself waspartofanefforttodefine national andinternational It wasaculturaltragedyof early retirementinLalamusa. public performanceandinto was forcedtowithdrawfrom culture becauseRoshan Ara tating blowtoourmusical arts. The resultwasadevas- city ofstatesupportforthe for musicians, andthepau- for thismusic, lackofrespect the lackoftrueappreciation finally couldnotputupwith particular. However, evenhe and ofhiswife’ssingingin of thisartformingeneral, his besttopromotethecause of classicalmusicwhotried band reallywasatruelover I cantellyouthatherhus- society wouldhavevanished. tion ofrespectsheheldin money offherart, theposi- strange menlookingtomake — is char - - - - Roshan Ara Begum 15 - - - - raga No one is circles. But it is also circles. a style of raga performance — music in India and Pakistan has: 2 and her interviewers suggest as much — all “illustrate the continuation of multiplicity, heterogeneity and “illustrate the continuation of multiplicity, all — as shrugging off her responsibility, as one of the last of classical vocal- as shrugging off her responsibility, —

It is therefore possible to read Roshan Ara’s remarks toward the end of her interview with toward the end of Ara’s remarks Roshan possible to read It is therefore [melodic pat- through my ragas Allah and praise time in prayer, I now just spend my music]. basis of improvisation in North Indian classical tern of notes used as as an art form. It’s just too demanding this music anymore. really interested in learning (in in a matter of days. able to master what took years to learn want to be Youngsters Mustafa 2014) Roshan Ara’s second remark, which might be read Ara’s second remark, Roshan 2. “Clessicul” is used by Kalra to differentiate the term from the Western musical genre of “classical” music. “classical” of genre musical Western the from term the differentiate to Kalra by used is “Clessicul” 2. Ahmad and Iqbal in at least two ways. Responding to her interviewers’ leading questions that leading questions that to her interviewers’ Responding ways. Iqbal in at least two Ahmad and - (the interview for her music in Pakistan of a lack of support be unhappy because (1) she must that (2) she teach arts); and to their urging negligence of the to criticize the state’s ers want her of classical music to keep the tradition she knows in order of pupils what younger generations she replies: alive in Pakistan, but from two modernity, understood as a strategy for resisting colonial This response can be Let me explain. different perspectives.

cising this agency within Islamic ashrafi norms, the “Islam” she invokes by linking her she invokes by linking “Islam” the norms, cising this agency within Islamic ashrafi speaks to, heterogeneous space that heteroreligious, practice to singing the praises of God is a unlike the nar diverse religious communities from Madras and Bombay, and is inclusive of, recalls on She promoted by the Pakistani state. rowly dogmatic interpretation of Islam being India, concert after Partition took place in Madras, Pakistani state television that her favorite responded with great love and passion to her music. listeners despite linguistic barriers, where, of both the Pakistani state’s lack of support/encour Her gestus here is thus a political critique In linking raga sing- and its dogmatic interpretation of Islam. agement of singers and music, which has remained her, Ara is responding to the milieu around Roshan ing to Muslim prayer, Ara cleverly shifts the signified from Roshan suspicious of this music as Indian Hindu–derived. thus muting its negative association in Pakistani ashrafi Hindu to Muslim, “clessicul” Kalra reminds us, Virinder as worth noting that, Colonial Modernity Ara claims an Islamic religious Roshan practice, By conjoining raga singing with devotional and in contradistinction to the dominant cultural space for Indian classical music in Pakistan, This could classical music as essentially Hindu. political discourse in Pakistan that sees Indian her time as she claims she spends over singing, be read as in fact privileging religious prayer her music is at the service of praising God. and even when she sings, now mostly just praying, Although she is exer also be read as an exemplary act of agency. her statement could However, “In practice [...] remained resistive to attempts of standardization and sacralisation, far out- of standardization and sacralisation, “In practice [...] remained resistive to attempts ultimately to service the needs of modernity, side the attempts of moulding it during colonial Ara’s comment Roshan In this light, (2014:161). the postcolonial states of India and Pakistan” remembering and prayer can be read as another ges- about singing ragas at home as a ritual of her musical practice to the norms of her social and adapting tus marking her religious identity, the melodic and rhyth- a site where the lyrics, while simultaneously signaling political domain, the kirana gharana the fact of her training in mic structures, heteropraxy” (161). (161). heteropraxy” tracing its lineage to India in their comments moder be seen as resisting the colonial instead, can, to train future singers, ists in Pakistan, Narayan Vishnu nity that can be traced back to the late-19th-century Indian musicologist William Bhatkande who took his cues from the British colonialist philologist and administrator Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on02 October 2021

16 Fawzia Afzal-Khan Qureshi writes about thisfeudalstructureand itspatronageofclassicalmusicians: capitalist economyonwhichentry intothecommunityofnation-statesispredicated. Regula back onsystemsofpatronagethat wereevisceratedwiththechangefromafeudalsocietyto a narrow obsessionwith “theory” andwritten “notation.” verse. Suchauniverse, predatingtheBritishcolonialintervention, should notbereducedtoa of transmissionandperformance. creating classicalgharanas, orclassicalmusicmodes, eachwithitsownmethodology andsystem Bhatkande denigratedthenon-notationaloraltraditionsused forcenturiesbyMuslimustadsin that wereanecessaryprerequisiteforachievingnationaltradition ofclassicalmusic. Thus, “order, disciplineandtheory,” hefoundtheMuslim of notation” (inBakhle2005:259). BecauseforBhatkande(followingJones), “classical” meant bonafide nationalclassicalmusic, withhistoricalpedigree, theoreticalcomplexity, andasystem such a “modern” systemofnotation, orelseresistantto “progress” (Bakhle2005). was squarelythepurviewofMuslims)whoareseenaseitherignorantandincapabledevising subjects communicatebetterislaidonMuslimustads(sinceclassicalIndianmusicatthistime blame forlackofanotationsystemthatcouldhelptheBritishandtheirIndian(read:Hindu) Jones1799:421). between thetwo( India andEnglandmightcommence. This, inturn, wouldcontributetoa “harmonious accord” ernist projectofmusicalnotationsothatapropercomparisontraditionsbetween recover those “scanty remnants” andencouragetheso-callednativestocommencemod- It fallstosomeonelikeJoneshimself, aculturedcolonialadministratoroftheBritishRaj, to hasresultedinformalnotationdisappearing,ture” (!) ifiteverexisted. Hetellsus: of conquestIndiasincethetime Alexander theGreat, combinedwitha “want ofduecul- cannot findanyevidenceofnotationclassicalformsmusicheconcludesthatthehistory the Hindusbelieve, bytheirGods, andadaptedtomysticalpoetry” (1799:442). Butbecausehe sand years, religionwould, nodoubt, havegivenpermanencetosystemsofmusickinvented, as modes ofIndianmusic: “Had theIndianempirecontinuedinfullenergyforlasttwothou- 2014; Bakhle2005). For, asJonespontificatesaftercursoryresearchintothehistoryandmusical ular Indiannation-statethatneverthelessrestedontheideologyofHindureligion(Kalra led toasystematizationofmusicthroughwrittennotationaskeycomponentnascentsec- Jones (1746–1794). Joneswasthefatherofacolonialmodernizingprojectthat, asweshallsee, for singerslikeRoshan Ara toemergewithinitsownhighly ist projecthasbeenresponsibleforthedemiseofveryheterodoxy thatonceaffordedspace classical musicservesinstrumentalendsthatlinkittocolonial modernity. Suchamodern- aspiring youngsingersisarefusaltoparticipateinprojectof modernnation-buildingwhere Against thisbackground, wecanseethatRoshan Ara’s refusal to “teach” classicalsingingto Refusing Postcolonial Modernity Roshan Ara’s rejectionofcolonial modernity’shegemonyseeksalsotocastanostalgicgaze Mimicking Jones’sprojectofcolonialmodernity, V.N. Bhatkandecreated “for Indiaa It isclearfromthistreatisethatJonesseesthemusicofIndiaaslargely “Hindoo” andthe preserved. (421) has fadedforwantofdueculture, thoughsomescantyremnantsofitmay, perhaps, be born: fromallthisIcollect, thattheart, whichflourishedinIndiamanycenturiesago, Gitagovinda mustexist, ifanywhere, inoneofthesouthernprovinces, wherethePoetwas Cashmir, declaredthattheyhadnoancientmusick, butimagined, that thenotesto west wouldhavesentmetothoseofthenorth;whilethey, ImeanthoseofNepaland but thePanditsofsouthreferredmetothosewest, andtheBrahmensof the mode, inwhichitwasancientlysung, Ihadhopesofprocuringtheoriginalmusick; When Ifirstreadthesongsof JAYADEVA, whohasprefixed toeachofthemthename ustads “lacking instandardsandquality” — but differently — disciplined uni- Roshan Ara Begum 17

- “Bhairavi” on on “Bhairavi” raag , seen as having evolved from the the from evolved having as seen khayal, could be archived, passed down in a systematic passed down in a systematic could be archived, 3 Figure 5: Roshan Ara Begum performing Begum the Ara Roshan 5: Figure Imtiaz) (Courtesy years. Shahid later of her in Television Pakistan form, mentioned in the ancient Hindu Sanksrit text, the Natyashastras (200 BCE–200 CE). CE). BCE–200 (200 Natyashastras the text, Sanksrit dhrupadHindu ancient the in mentioned form,

is also a critique of a present and future world ruled by monolithic nation-state or post- present and future world ruled by monolithic is also a critique of a

ancient Adarang), (aka Khan nephewhis and Firoz Sadarang) (aka Khan Niyamat by popularized was singing Khayal impute some though (1719–1748) Rangile Shah ruler Muhammad courtthe in musicians both the Muslim of (1253–1325). Khusrau Amir poet, and musician Muslim another to creation its Up until the early twentieth century hereditary musicians were the sole guardians and were the sole hereditary musicians early twentieth century Up until the to deliver music exclusive purview India; it was their of art music in northern exponents oral world, a participant in their As economy [...] in a feudally based to their patrons they showed me a In the process, to be a musician. about music and how I was taught patronage musicians recalled courtly Many older by feudal associations. world marked was a way of under feudal patronage making music musical practices: and corresponding past that made me real- and detailed experiences of that still-vivid It was their vivid life. its personal transmission spontaneously improvised music and ize how enmeshed their by the bourgeois and how thoroughly they were challenged were with feudal patronage, to preserve their art. despite overt government efforts life, transformation of musical (Qureshi 2009:81) Ara’s gestus can be Roshan 3. Both of these are Indian classical music genres, with the more recent, recent, more the with genres, music classical Indian are these of Both 3. While on the one hand Qureshi’s own nostalgic description helps us recognize that a gesture Qureshi’s own nostalgic description helps While on the one hand us in her article that life for is a backwards glance (and Qureshi reminds Ara’s such as Roshan Ara’s Roshan nonetheless, feudal patronage could also be precarious), classical musicians under gestus music needs to be a commodity, As where music is a commodity. national global ideologies reduced to what can be learned and mastered in the shortest This possible time. Roshan Ara, vehemently devoted to North Indian/Pakistani classical music, her refused to do: per Sjöholm, “radi- gesture was “antiheroic” Arendtian instantiating an cal,” concept of freedom grounded in a space different from that of either the nation-state or the postnational globalized culture. tellingly compared and con- trasted with the negotiations “sister-pupil” enacted by her the daugh- Hirabai Barodkar, Ara’s ustad and ter of Roshan Abdul Karim Khan. cousin, These two women sing- “the ers’ careers shed light on “the sine qua non that emerged as and religion” notation, “nation, of three modern concepts” early 20th century in India (Bakhle 2005; see par toward the end of the 19th and of music” ticularly chapter 2). Thanks to several British colonialists’ treatises on Indian music, Hindu Thanks to several British colonialists’ treatises on Indian music, ticularly chapter 2). “classical nationalists were quick to latch on to the (faulty) orientalist British call for a Hindu this classical tradition? “modernize” how could they The question they posed was, tradition.” system so that the classical ragas of Indian music and Western Their answer: by adopting the and dhrupad their performance forms of khayal

and orderly fashion from ustads to pupils, and thence circulated within an emerging educated and orderly fashion from ustads to pupils, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on02 October 2021

18 Fawzia Afzal-Khan music anymore” (75). Furthermore, thefoundingofthesenewmusicsocietiesbegan tofulfill duced middle-class “respectable” Hinduwomensingerswhodidnotfeara “stigma attachedto as GUMcameintobeingthanks totheeffortsofbothBhatkandeandPaluskar. These pro- the British. abi orrulingelitecultureoftheMughal empireofIndiapriortothecolonialtakeoverby “debauched women” wereassociatedwiththecourtesans whowerepartoftheMuslimnaw- gious devotion” andhadbeenclearedof “the elements ofdebauchery” (Bakhle2005:71). These Mandali (GUM) Kabraji ofBombay, whofoundedthepioneeringmusic appreciationsocietyGayanUttejak singing notatedscores, thefoundersofmusicappreciation societies (Bakhle 2005:62). “to embarkonabhakti-influenceddevotionalpath” undertheguidanceofmenlike Paluskar where, wasthat “it fosteredanevangelicalHinduism,” whichinturnledIndianclassicalmusic missionary activityinIndia, whichundergirdedtheBritishcolonialist enterprisethereaselse- standing was. ItisinterestingtonotethatoneoftheunintendedconsequencesChristian these colonial/Hindunationaliststandards. Ara Begumwouldhavebeenseenbyothersandunderstoodherselftobeheldto/debased tuality, andhistoricaltiestoarchaiccourtcourtesanculture” (1996:126). Certainly, Roshan icized Muslimperformersfortheirilliteracy, ignoranceofwrittentheory, allegedlackofspiri- music [has]oftenbeendevaluedbymodernHinduwriters, someofwhomhavepointedlycrit- explicated, boththeseMuslimwomenperformers’andtheirustads’ “contribution to the MuslimMughalcourts(Bakhle2005:71). As theethnomusicologistPeterManuelhasalso native Hindumaleeliteas “debased” duetoitscontrolby “women ofillrepute” become ­ to alargerpublic, includingto “respectable” middle-classwomenwhocouldbeencouragedto tion, itwasarguedina­ public sphereviawrittennotation. Embracingsucha “scientific” methodologyofmusicnota- suspicion foritsconnectionstoHinduism wonder then, thatinMuslim-majorityPakistan, classicalmusicstartedtoberegardedwith after the1947Partition, affectingbothmaleandfemaleperformers(Qureshi1991:159). Small of IndianclassicalmusicinitsturncastalongshadowonthefatePakistan ­religious-minded Hindumusicologist V.D. Paluskar. This ironicre-cast(e)ing(punintended) ation ofmusicacademiesacrossIndiaknownasGandharvaMahavidyalayas, spearheadedbythe centuries ofMuslimrule. This processbeganinearnesttheearly20thcenturywithcre- India, whichhadbeenfirmlyinthehandsofMuslimmalemusicians/ustadsforpastseveral the renewedHinduizationofIndianclassicalmusic, especiallytheHindustanimusicofNorth could provide “companionate marriages” fortheirmodernizingmenfolk(Bakhle2005:62). nationalist aspirationscastinthecolonialmoldof “Western-educated Indianwomen” who epistemology” (1999:121). The idealof “the pureIndianHinduwoman” revealsIndian/Hindu theoretical treatises, anditstraditionalassociationswithHinducosmology, mythology, and been “linked invariouswaystoHinduism, withits[devotional]texts, quasi-religiousSanskrit both purityandantiquity, sinceHindustanimusic, asManuelreveals, hasalwaysforHindus learning becameanimportantgoalforHindumalenationalists, linking “their” womenwith learn musicintherespectableconfinesoftheirhomesorchasteschools. Suchmusic the introductionofanotationsystemwouldmakeiteasierformiddle-classHinduwomento dered respectabilitywerecentraltothecreationofapublicculturaldomain” (Bakhle2005:52), turies (includingtheso-calledsecularmusicologist V.N. Bhatkande)forwhomnotionsof “gen- Over thespanoffirstquarter ofthe20thcentury, musicclubsandassociations such Because women’seducationcouldnowencompasslearningmusic byreading, playing, and Thus, torecap:forIndian Such anavowedlysecularIndiannationalistgoalalsobecameironicallyintertwinedwith singers inthisgreattradition. At thetime, thismusic(andalsodance)wasseenbythe — promoted amusicthatwas “overtly linkedtothe[Hindu]temple andreli- colonial-derived nationalistdiscourse, wouldmakethemusicaccessible — read Hindu — — however historicallyinaccuratesuchanunder nationalists ofthelate19thandearly20thcen- — such asKaikhushroo

— courtesans of - Roshan Ara Begum 19 -

- — Roshan Ara and Champakali Khan Roshan —

Thus we see how Champakali’s mother, herself a Hindu aspiring singer and the daughter Thus we see how Champakali’s mother, (associations/societies) was mostly was mostly samajs (associations/societies) after by these music sought audience” “wide The a transition from Hindustani music successfully underwent In the twentieth century, The concurrent patronage. to predominantly Hindu bourgeois Muslim feudal patronage whether allied, music has derived largely from its becoming renaissance of Hindustani Inspired by nationalism. with modern Indian [read: Hindu] cultural overtly or implicitly, Bhatkhande, V.N. Paluskar and V.D. proselytizing efforts of the early twentieth-century as an important cultural class came to regard traditional art music the emergent middle and a network of institutions. private sources, from the state, heritage worthy of support become to some extent a been inevitable that Hindustani music has it has In the process, (1996:125) redefinition of national culture. contested entity in the and an overwhelmingly Hindu pub- In the face of the juggernaut of musical modernity can perhaps the reticence of Muslim musicians lic sphere that received colonial approval, withdrawal from a movement that so be read not as inexplicable but as an understandable (Bakhle 2005:82) pointedly ignored them. , or courtesan, who in her early youth had run away with a Muslim musician (Abdul or courtesan, of a baiji, taking her chil this time from her Muslim husband, ran away a second time, Karim Khan), ing Hindu national public sphere in the early to mid-1900s, the disreputability of women ing Hindu national public sphere in the early to mid-1900s, and married a middle-class “Hirabai” became “Champakali” Once singers was on the wane. dren along with her. By giving them Hindu monikers she reintroduced them to the possibility dren along with her. Due to the newly emerg of becoming professional singers and actors on the Marathi stage. Adding gender respectability, or the “woman question,” to this mix, the contrast between the the contrast to this mix, “woman question,” or the Adding gender respectability, Abdul Karim Khan two female star pupils of Ustad Gender and Nationalism Hindu, and to a lesser extent, Parsi and Sikh. Muslims, both as musicians and pupils, were and pupils, both as musicians Muslims, Parsi and Sikh. to a lesser extent, and Hindu, As Manuel underscores: excluded. made up the boards and com- Brahmin musicians and musicologists” “Upper class Parsis and Muslims were absent not only as while associations, “reform” music mittee members of the Bakhle points out of these societies but also as students. and authors” lecturers, “organizers, there were virtually no “while there were many Brahmin students of Muslim teachers, that included in the And since Muslims were not (2005:81). Muslim students of Brahmin teachers” own musi- they therefore did not develop the wherewithal to form their educational reforms, as many have samaj (music society) was thus not, gayan The lack of any Muslim cal associations. “secretiveness and unwillingness to the result of the Muslim musician community’s claimed, what seems more probable is that: Rather, (81). share musical knowledge” one could characterize the efforts to as ethnomusicologist Max Katz notes, At the very least, “undermining the tradition of Muslim heredi- as modernize Hindustani (North Indian) music, (2012:280). tary musicians” the more famous of the two at the Ara, Roshan On the one hand, could not be more telling. Muslim embraced the life of a respectable middle-class beginning of their respective careers, sacrificing her career to the Muslim ashrafi norms married woman after migrating to Pakistan, became a Hindu, born a Muslim, Karim Khan’s daughter on the other hand, of respectability. changing of a variety of music genres, married singer-performer respectable, middle-class, The differing fates of these two women singers can be directly her name to Hirabai Barodkar. music that emerged in the and religion, nation, linked to the imbricated discourses of gender, “Muslim” lines. and “Hindu” late 19th century and shaped the public sphere along communal a more ambitious Indian nationalist agenda of seeking “colonial approbation to secure a wide to secure a wide “colonial approbation agenda of seeking Indian nationalist a more ambitious audience” (76). Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on02 October 2021

20 Fawzia Afzal-Khan Waseem Anwar) onset of spring, on PTV, circa of Ghulam late 1960s. (Courtesy Haider and Figure 6. Roshan Ara the raag Begum performing “Bahar” to celebrate the on the “road torespectability” forwomensingersofIndianmusic, whoseemergenceasasuc belied acompletebreakwith “bai” culture. Nonetheless, weseehowHirabaiisakeyfigure became ahallmarkofthecolonial-derivedandculturallyblessedIndiannationalmodernity. (252). This roadtorespectabilitywastraveledbyHinduwomenalone, astheirmusicalprowess ity” throughhermarriagestatus, butalsoa “total breakwithherMuslimmusicianfather” cessful womanperformerrestednotonlyonheracquisitionof “gendered casterespectabil tem reliedonmusicbeingtaught andlearnedone-on-one, theartpassedonby Bakhle 2005;Katz2012). These musiciansweresidelinedbecausetheMuslimgharana tributions toIndianmusicbyMuslim ustadsandperformers(seeQureshi1991;Manuel1996; ity, andasystemof notation,” (259)wasthusbuiltonthedenial and erasureofthecrucialcon- the emergingIndiannation-state, completewitha “historical pedigree, theoretical complex- The successofthelatter’seffortsincreationa “bonafide nationalclassicalmusic” for tricably linkedtoHindudevotionaltexts ogy ofPaluskar, which, aswehaveseen, promotedtheideathatIndianclassicalmusicwasinex- Hinduization ofIndianclassicalmusic the Hindupublicsphere. The Muslimintelligentsiahad mostunfortunatelyboughtintothe to Pakistan, fellpreytoaMuslimrespectabilityethosthat hadevolvedasacountertothatof he andothergharanamusicianshadknown, Roshan Ara Begum, afterhermarriageandmove Hinduization” (Bakhle2005:252)thatwasradicallyalteringthe sociologicalmilieuoftheIndia India. While thelattermanagedto “maneuver his waythroughthethicketofmusicologyand male Muslimsingersandmusicianssuchasherustad, Hirabai’s father, Abdul KarimKhanin (pupil), througharigorousapprenticeship thatlastedfordecades. This wayoftransmitting Muslim womensingerslikeRoshan Ara Begum, bycontrast, sufferedthesamefateas — — both theonepromotedbyovertlyHindumusicol- and toBhatkande’smoresecularnationalistagenda. credentials viahermar performer withcaste a respectablebourgeois Barodkar whobecame exemplified byHirabai sister.” This changeis “tai,”meaning “older increasingly replacedby prostitutes, wasnow self, oradescendantof, referred toiseitherher cate thatthewomanthus is oftentakentoindi notes disreputabilityand suffix “Bai” whichcon 2005:248).(Bakhle The ent wasunquestionable” ingly, asingerwhosetal daughter, andmosttell ter, afriend, aneighbor’s was perceivedasasis ­baijis weresaidtobe, but as a “sexual figure, as she wasnolongerseen arranged byhermother, Hindu maninamatch though her­ (254) —even man Hindu riage toa­ ustad middle-class moniker to ­ sys- shagird ------Roshan Ara Begum 21 - - when con- — male and female musicians gestus can be read further as a gestus can be read further ustad. Her ustad. does not take into account the complexity of the imbricated does not take into account the complexity — musicians like her own

She went to Pakistan out of her own free will. Had she remained in India, she would Had she remained in India, will. She went to Pakistan out of her own free

Oxford University Press. Very unfortunate that PAKISTAN couldn’t maintain the HUGE legacy of Roshanara that PAKISTAN unfortunate Very not to Ara was wasted in Pakistan... Roshan No one really cared for her... Begum... in a she used to live in United India (Bombay), When she was use stronger language... of Police who was a Commr. Dy. Mumbai... huge bungalow (and not an apartment) in Respecting He was from Lala Musa... her... Chaudhry Saheb proposed to her and married her settled life in Mumbai...and went to the vil- Ara left Roshan her husband’s wishes... lage Lala Musa...where she is now buried. (Das 2012) her death in 1982. have reigned in Hindustani Classical Music...until Linking this nationalization and modernization of Indian classical music to Roshan Ara to Roshan classical music modernization of Indian nationalization and Linking this ent script for her “pupil-sister” Hirabai in a supposedly secular, “modern” India than it did for a “modern” in a supposedly secular, Hirabai “pupil-sister” ent script for her Muslim woman performer such as she. challenge to the Hinduization of female singers, a cultural intervention that wrote a very differ a cultural intervention that wrote challenge to the Hinduization of female singers, References Chicago: University of Chicago Press. The Human Condition. 1958. Hannah. Arendt, Oxford: . Tradition Men and Music: Nationalism in the Making of an Indian Classical Two 2005. Janaki. Bakhle, joined with the notion (also expressed in the same quote), that she could have led a far more that she could have led the same quote), joined with the notion (also expressed in fulfilling life as a singer in India that I’ve been explor and national identity religion, class respectability, discourses of gender, interaction that we can achieve some clarity about a It is only by attending to their complex ing. suffered postcolonial Muslim Pakistani state where music and the performing arts have indeed must be traced however, This decline, a decline that has especially impacted female musicians. Hindutva- which enabled the creation of a back to the machinations of colonial modernity, the decline Indeed, fare well. and did not, inspired India where Muslim musicians could not, affecting the careers of both music in Pakistan, “Indian” of classical Indian “modern” must be understood in the larger context of a Hindu-dominated negatively, cultural nationalism. On a website devoted to Roshan Ara Begum, one fan posted: Ara Begum, On a website devoted to Roshan for its indifference to Roshan the criticism leveled at the Pakistani state as I’ve shown, However, female artists like her by extension) Ara Begum in the above quote (and to other Postcolonial Modernity and Its Discontents Postcolonial “Bombaywali” (an appellation carrying a connotation similar to “bai”), we can understand that we can understand “bai”), similar to carrying a connotation (an appellation “Bombaywali” just a gendered retreat “wife”) is not for (the appellation “Begum” Ara Roshan her becoming a retreat initially but mirrors space, private/domestic sphere into a woman’s from the public Muslim community of India as and later adopted by the male musicians, forced upon Muslim were foisted particularly upon codes of propriety and honor that a gesture signifying Islamic male Muslims and upper-class Middle- to upward class mobility. Muslim women aspiring This retreat from music.” “Hindu be secluded and free of the taint of needed their wives to upon which these politics” “respectability performance signaled the the world of music and contrasted to the supposedly secular which had to be nationalist agenda, men built their ashrafi notation and systematization of who promoted the men like Bhatkande, Hindu nationalism of Hindu woman. “respectable” the to simultaneously construct an ideal of Indian music as a way Pakistan “modern” classes in to teach classical music to others via music Ara’s refusal Roshan of musicology that was as a gestus of resistance against the modernity can therefore be seen gharana thrust upon Muslim - to the improvisa was seen as anathema which rely on notation, knowledge did not ­performance of the music. tional mandate Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on 02 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00790 by guest on02 October 2021

22 Fawzia Afzal-Khan Jamal Mustafa. 2014. Gaekwad, Manish. 2015. “That timewhenRoshanaraBegumalmostupstagedNoorjehanwithhersong.” Das. 2012. “Thoughts on ‘Roshan Ara Begum.’” Sarngi.info, 3January. Accessed 20July2018. https:// Brecht, Bertolt. (1935)1957. “Theatre forPleasureor Theatre forInstruction.”on Theatre: The InBrecht Brecht, Bertolt. (1930)2008. “The Modern Theatre istheEpic Theatre.” InTheaterin 1900–2000: Theory Sjöholm, Cecilia. 2015. Doing Aesthetics with Arendt: HowtoSee Things. Rancière, Jacques. 2006. ThePolitics of .Aesthetics Trans. GabrielRockhill. London:Continuum. Qureshi, RegulaBurckhardt. 2009. “Mode ofProductionandMusicalProduction:IsHindustaniMusic Qureshi, RegulaBurckhardt. 1991. “Whose Music?SourcesandContextsinIndicMusicology.” In Pukhraj, Malka. 2003.SongSung True: A Memoir . Ed. andtrans. SaleemKidwai. NewDelhi:ZubaanBooks. Manuel, PeterL. 1996. “Music, theMedia, andCommunalRelationsinNorthIndia, PastandPresent.” Khan, Katz, Max. 2012. “Institutional CommunalisminNorthIndianClassicalMusic.” Ethnomusicology56, Kalra, Virinder S. 2014.Sacred andSecularMusics: A Postcolonial Approach . London:BloomsburyPublishing. Jones, William. 1799. “On theMusicalModesofHindus.” InThe Works ofSir William Jones, vol. 1, ed. Jestrovic, Silvija. 2006. Theatre ofEstrangement: Theory, Practice, Ideology. Toronto:of TorontoUniversity -roshanara-begum-almost-upstaged-noorjehan-with-her-song. The Ghazal, 7November. Accessed 16November2015. http://thereel.scroll.in/1399/that-time-when sarangi.info/vocal/roshanara/. Development ofan Aesthetic, ed. andtrans. John Willett, 69–77. New York: Hill& Wang. An Anthology, Press. Routledge. Feudal?” InMusicandMarx:Ideas, Practice, Politics, ed. RegulaBurckhardtQureshi, 81–103. London: and Philip V. Bohlman, 152–68. Chicago:ChicagoUniversityPress. Comparative Musicologyand Anthropology ofMusic:Essays ofEthnomusicology, ontheHistory ed. BrunoNettl WorksCUNY Academic , 2:279–98. Lord Teignmouth, 413–44. London:G.G. andJ. Robinson. Press. 2015.30 December www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjstjdxlVhE. & MIqbal-PTVClassic.” YouTube, 12September. Interviewconducted5December1982. Accessed Lutfullah. 1997. SurKi Talaash [InSearchofMelody]. Karachi:FazleeCenterPublications. ed. DavidKrasner, 171–73. Oxford:BlackwellPublishing. “Roshan Ara Begum-oldinterview1of2ProgramMulaqatbyKhalil Ahmad 119–39. Accessed 12June2017. http://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_pubs/87. New York: ColumbiaUniversity