“The Call of Music: 8 Stories of Hindustani Musicians” by Priya Purushothaman
The Call of Music: 8 Stories of Hindustani Musicians ( Hachette India) is gorgeous. It is accessible to even the non-Indian classical music listener. More importantly, the sensitivity, understanding, and empathy with which Priya Purushothaman is stunning. Her elegant writing is gracious and dignified as she profiles a fellow musician. She is right when she says in her introduction that it is critical for the younger musicians to be profiled as well. Here is an extract from the introduction:
During the pandemic, when the transiency of life took on an entirely new dimension, I felt an urgent need to document the inner stories of serious practitioners of music, some of whom are not in the limelight. If you’re part of the music world, chances are that you’ve heard such stories through fellowmusicians, perpetuating the casula culture of sharing oral histories that blur the boundaries between rumour, legend, and fact. I wondered about all the stories I wouldn’t get to hear or read, out of sheer lack of access or documentation. This compelled me to seek these individuals and see if they would give me the privilege of sharing a slice of their lives, coming together as something akin to an ethnographic survey of select Hindustani musicians in the twenty-first century.
Normally, such collections would only feature senior artistes, senior by age, that is. I chose to include a spectrum of ages in this collection. Though the culture of Hindustani music glorifies age as a virtue — and certainly age often comes with wisdom and experience — I have also felt that this confines younger musicians to a permanent place of inadequacy. What a young artiste may lack in experience, they may compensate for in freshness of perspective. It is also not always the case that young artistes lack experience, because many musicians begin training at a very young age. By their thirties, they have been in the business for decades. I believe there is much value in hearing the thoughts of younger generation performers — to inspire other youngsters who may be looking up to them, and also to acknowledge that wisdom is not a function of time but of depth of experience and capacity for reflection.
The first musician featured, Alam Khan, reminds of an old soul trapped in a young man’s body. He is wise beyond his years, having immersed full time in this world since his teenage years. He carries the legacy of his father, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, with tremendous humility, reverence, and responsibility. His deep commitment to musical honesty made me ponder the question of intention and awareness as we make music.
Shubhada Paradkar is an indomitable musical spirit whose music negotiates the lively spirit of the Agra and Gwalior gharanas, while challenging the notions of gender in music.
Kala Ramnath’s journey to becoming a world renowned violinist is filled with a lifetime of consistent effort and a quest for a unique, individual voice by innovating on an instrument that was introduced quite late into the Hindustani music firmament.
Rumi Harish turns all conventions of Hindustani msuci upside down with his radical interrogation of concepts of gender and voice through his lived truths in music and activism.
The youngest musician in this collection is Suhail Yusuf Khan, a sarangi player who has performed around the globe, collaborated across genres, and become the first hereditary musician to earn a PhD in Ethnomusicology. Suhail opened my eyes to issues of caste and discrimination as a Mirasi musician.
Shubha Joshi has dedicated her lifetime to mastering the multitude of forms that comprise Hindustani music, deconstructing notions of the feminine voice while intentionally carving her own unique sound.
Yogesh Samsi speaks a complex language of tabla that has evolved through momentous historical moments of both loss and ingenuity. As a master soloist and accompanist, he shows the path to a future of aesthetic and intellectual music.
It is my hope that those who take the time to read his book will gain an insider’s view into the creative processes of music making — the gruelling effort, dedicatio, and sacrifice that make a musician — as well as the undeniable presence of social issues in the world of classical music. Often, musicians choose their path not out of choice, but from a persistent inner call, a driving necessity for their existence. Perhaps after reading these stories, you, the reader, will appreciate the complex life of a musician the next time you hear a piece of music or attend a concert.
I began flipping through this book on a whim, but before I knew what was what, I was immersed in reading the profiles and was able to shut out the world. It is the rare author who can achieve that with their writing. Priya Purushothaman does. The ability to write about a subject that not everyone is familiar with and yet with such elegance create bridges of communication between Hindustani music and the readers is an extraordinary talent. I sincerely hope that she will write more of these long profiles. These must be taxing to write and emotionally draining but the end result is superb.
Book blurb
The Call of Music traces the journeys of eight singular voices in Hindustani music – some acclaimed performers, others quiet torchbearers who create, teach and sustain the tradition far from the public eye. From the narrow lanes of Kashipur to the sweeping hills of San Rafael, these artists emerge from vastly different worlds, yet each has devoted their life to music with unflinching conviction and artistic courage.
Among them are the heirs of musical legacies, grappling with the weight of inheritance; vocalists who challenge gendered assumptions embedded in the tradition; instrumentalists who reimagine the expressive possibilities of their craft; a sarangi player navigating the complexities of caste and faith; and a tabla maestro bridging a lineage ruptured by Partition.
As these musicians forge their identities within a classical tradition, they reveal an artform not only enduring, but continually transforming – connecting generations, reshaping boundaries and resonating anew. What binds them is a profound surrender to the art, a deep-seated devotion that transcends convention and circumstance. Together, they form a luminous, emotionally textured portrait of a musical legacy – rooted and radically alive.
‘This is a rich and beautiful meditation on the greatest of our art forms. Herself an exceptionally gifted vocalist, Priya Purushothaman writes with elegance and empathy about the life and vocation of eight musicians of different backgrounds, whom she has known or studied with. While attentive to questions of caste, gender and religion, Priya never lets her focus waver from the “practice“ of classical music, of what it means to devote oneself to learning, listening, absorbing, practising and performing. As a lover of our shastriya sangeet I found this book utterly compelling. So will readers with a more general interest in narrative non-fiction, and those seeking to make of their profession a calling.’ – Ramachandra Guha
‘Introducing readers to the lives, personalities, strengths, challenges, and music of eight artists who have inspired her over the years, Priya Purushothaman’s writing reflects in totality the rigour and introspection that has marked her journey as a singer.’ – Shubha Mudgal
‘The Call of Music is one of those rare books that forces us to see ourselves for who we are. In this collection of stories, Priya Purushothaman allows us to accompany musicians and learn from the intricate threads that stitch together their identity and life experience with making music. She brings together musicians from very different social and philosophical spaces and lets each of their stories flow into another, subtly initiating a conversation between them. This book is, in its essence, about finding and retaining one’s own voice. For us, the readers, these are moments of personal reflection.’ – T.M. Krishna
Priya Purushothaman is a reputed Hindustani vocalist. She is trained in the style of the Agra gharana, and has performed in major venues in India and abroad. She is also the author of Living Music: Conversations with Pandit Dinkar Kaikini. Priya is interested in documenting stories of musicians and their creative processes from her perspective as a practitioner. Her music can be heard at www.priyapurushothaman.com.
20 Sept 2025
