Last Friday, Allen gave a lecture on his fieldwork and preliminary dissertation findings at the India International Center in Delhi.
He said that his talk was very well received and he got a lot of constructive feedback on his work. This lecture was also the "world premier" of a 15min documentary we made of the tabla makers' shops and artisan skills... future productions, hopefully, will include the work of the other material producers (wood workers, leather workers, etc).Below was the description that was sent out announcing the talk, for your perusal.d
--------------------------------------------------
As a part of the ongoing AIIS-IIC lecture series, AIIS will be organizing the 18th lecture on Friday, June 17th, 2011at 6.30 pm at IIC Conference Room no.1. Mr. Allen Roda, Ph. D Candidate in Ethnomusicology at the New York University will be talking on ‘Making of Banaras Tabla A brief synopsis of his talk is given below. Noted Tabla artist Dr. Aneesh Pradhan has kindly agreed to chair the talk.
Synopsis:The primary site of analysis for musical production is often thought of as a performance either on a stage or in a studio. In the instrument building workshop, performances of a different nature have profound impacts on the sounds produced in these other settings. From the qualities of wood, leather, iron powder, and brass, to consistencies of pressure in the hands, arms, and fingers of the makers, countless variables contribute to the production of each and every tabla built in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, North India making them each unique in and of themselves. Through an exploration of the materials involved in tabla making, the networks of craftsmen whose hands they pass through, their effect on the final product and the artistry through which they are rendered into their final form, this paper explores sonic capacity as a commodity which is scripted onto objects and exchanged in the form of a musical instrument. In short, customers do not shop for drums, but for the sounds those drums are capable of making. Subsequently, getting “the right sound” is negotiated through performances of players and makers on the workshop stage and variations in hands and ears play an important role in that negotiation.
Dr. Aneesh Pradhan:
Dr. Aneesh Pradhan started his training in tabla at an early age. A disciple of the revered tabla maestro the late Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, Aneesh has gained recognition both as a soloist and an accompanist to vocal and instrumental music as well as dance. In addition to being an accomplished performer, Aneesh was awarded a doctoral degree in History from the University of Mumbai. A successful composer, Aneesh has also written on music and has been involved as a contributor to and editor for websites on Indian music.
Aneesh remains a keen student of music, despite the acclaim he has received over the years from the cognoscenti and general public and by way of awards like the scholarship for advanced training in tabla instituted by the Government of India and the Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award.
Aneesh has performed extensively and has been featured at major events nationally and internationally. He has also participated in several cross-cultural musical collaborations, prominent among which were his performances as part of the Asian Fantasy Orchestra since 1998 and his interaction as composer and performer with the Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt. Prominent among his concerts overseas are the Second Biennial Oriental Festival in Martinique, Melbourne Festival and World of Music Festival in Brisbane, Australia . Aside from his performing distinctions, Aneesh Pradhan has been artist-in-residence at the University of New England, Australia, and on the visiting faculty of the Music Department, University of Bombay.
He along with Shubha Mudgal is co-director of Underscore Records, a label and a website on Indian music which also hosts the Baaja Gaaja festival, both initiatives which celebrate Indian music in all its diversity.
