Copyright by Jeffrey Michael Grimes 2008 - The University of Texas ...

distinctly different generations of musicians, as Ramji was 38 during my visit (only seven
years my senior), while Deepakda is elder to him by some 20 years.
My primary source of data for the present study, though, is the 50 odd
ethnographic interviews I conducted mostly during my official period of research in 2005
(although a handful were done in Pune in 2002-2003). My subjects for these interviews
included scholars, music critics, and connoisseurs who were not active performers, but
the vast majority (approximately 45 of the 50 I interviewed) were. The views of current
performers are especially critical in this particular case, for two broad reasons. The first
is that, as explained above, secondary sources (in both English and the two Indian
languages of which I have working knowledge, Hindi and Marathi) that deal with
Hindustani music in the context of region and/or regional culture are greatly limited. Of
course, as this project has a substantial historical component, a number of historical
accounts (including biographies) have proven useful. Even then, though, it was the
opinions, views, and theories of my informants which guided me in understanding how
this body of history, including both general political information and history and history
specific to the Hindustani music tradition, had impacted the music and its performers.
The second reason for the crucial importance of my interviews is that my focus is not
only on musical style but also on understanding how and why musicians make the
creative and stylistic choices that they do. As I will reiterate at several point throughout
the following chapters, it is through such choices that musicians reveal their regionally-
based aesthetic preferences, much as audiences make their preferences known by the
performers whose performances they attend and/or whose recordings they purchase.
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