About this Collection
Throughout the late 20th century, some of India's most marginalized communities in the desert region of Western Rajasthan created and carried on a variety of musical and oral traditions such as ballads, oral epics, and storytelling by hereditary musician castes. These traditions are disappearing. Komal Kothari, a pioneer scholar who put the practices of Western Rajasthan communities on the world music map, worked for roughly 25 years in researching and recording this local culture. In order to preserve the auditory and oral heritage, the Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology (ARCE) at the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) has digitized a collection of Kothari’s recordings.
Collection Overview
Date Created
1980-2003
Access Condition
Rights Holder
Rupayan Sansthan, rupayansansthan@gmail.com
Funding Note
Digitization for the Recordings of Hereditary Musicians of Western Rajasthan collection was sponsored by the Modern Endangered Archives Program with funding from Arcadia.
Notes
Description
This digital collection consists of approximately 1,200 sound recordings and audio cassettes, including ballads, oral epics and storytelling recorded from 1980 to 2003. The recordings not only capture an array of unique performances and musical practices, but also the social connections that were made by performing.
Keywords
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Subject Geographic
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