The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma Ep 430: Aneesh Pradhan: A Life in Hindustani Music
History Informs Performance Curation
- Researching historical musical ecosystems grounded Aneesh and informed modern curation and programming.
- Studying archival materials enabled reconstructing lost repertoires and staging historically rooted concerts.
Tradition Means Continuous Reinvention
- Tradition is reinvention: preserving music requires creating it afresh, not fossilizing the past.
- Distinguish living tradition from orthodoxy; history shows continual fusion and change.
Tech Accelerates Musical Change
- Technology and rapid dissemination changed music faster than earlier eras; speed of change alarms older generations.
- Access and curation now matter: past artists curated quality, today mass availability demands discernment.
When it comes to Hindustani music, he is both a doer and a thinker. A great tabla player, he has written books about the history and theory of music. Aneesh Pradhan joins Amit Varma in episode 430 of The Seen and the Unseen to chat about his life, his music and this world we inhabit. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Aneesh Pradhan on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Scroll, Amazon, Spotify and his own website. 2. Chasing the Raag Dream: A Look into the World of Hindustani Music -- Aneesh Pradhan. 3. Hindustani Music in Colonial Bombay -- Aneesh Pradhan. 4. Tabla: A Performer's Perspective -- Aneesh Pradhan. 5. The Life and Music of Shubha Mudgal -- Episode 426 of The Seen and the Unseen. 6. The Light in Winter -- Episode 97 of Everything is Everything. 7. From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life -- Arthur Brooks. 8. The Heckman Equation — a website based on James Heckman's work. 9. The Instagram reel about The Godfather. 10, The interview with Vasant Pradhan. 11. Dehachi Tijori -- Sudhir Phadke. 12. Chal Chal Chal Mere Saathi -- Song from Haathi Mere Saathi. 13. Categories of Music -- Ashok D Ranade. 14. Nationalism Is Bad for the Nation -- Episode 122 of Everything is Everything. 15. The Populist Playbook -- Episode 42 of Everything is Everything. 16. Tawaif — Episode 174 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Saba Dewan). 17. The Refreshing Audacity of Vinay Singhal — Episode 291 of The Seen and the Unseen. 18. Stage.in. 19. How Music Works — David Byrne. 20. The Changing Forms of Creativity -- Episode 72 of Everything is Everything. 21. Em and the Big Hoom — Jerry Pinto. 22. The Life and Times of Jerry Pinto — Episode 314 of The Seen and the Unseen. 23. The War Against Cliche — Martin Amis. 24. Bridge of Dreams -- Various artists. 25. Out of the Shruti Box -- Anuja K's YouTube channel. 26. Malini Goyal is the Curious One — Episode 377 of The Seen and the Unseen. 27. The Disciple — Chaitanya Tamhane. 28. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha Is the Impartial Spectator — Episode 388 of The Seen and the Unseen. 29. Why Hindustani Musicians are Good Cooks: Analogies between Music and Food in North India -- Adrian McNeil. 30. Sangeet Kosh. 31. Begum Akhtar, Siddheshwari Devi, Kesarbai Kerkar, Faiyaz Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Sharadchandra Arolkar, Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Amir Hussain Khan, Alla Rakha, Kishan Maharaj, Samta Prasad, Zakir Hussain, Anindo Chatterjee, Swapan Chaudhuri, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis on Spotify. 32. Music Contexts: A Concise Dictionary of Hindustani Music -- Ashok D Ranade. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new course called Life Lessons, which aims to be a launchpad towards learning essential life skills all of you need. For more details, and to sign up, click here. Amit and Ajay also bring out a weekly YouTube show, Everything is Everything. Have you watched it yet? You must! And have you read Amit's newsletter? Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It's free! Also check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: 'Play' by Simahina.