Music in Colonial Punjab: Courtesans, Bards and Connoisseurs, 1800-1947

Contents: Introduction. 1. Of Musicians, Dancers, and the Maharaja: Gender, Power, and Affect in Ranjit Singh's Lahore. 2.Mirasis, Missionaries, and Memsahibs: Folklore and Music in Colonial Punjab. 3. Gender, Reform, and Punjab's Musical Publics: Colonial Lahore, Amritsar, and Jalandhar, 1870s-1930s. 4. Princely Patronage and Musicians: Modernity and Circulation in Colonial Patiala and Kapurthala. Conclusion. Bibliography.

This book offers the first social history of music in undivided Punjab (1800-1947), beginning at the Lahore court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and concluding at the Patiala royal darbar. It unearths new evidence for the centrality of female performers and classical music in a region primarily viewed as a folk music centre, featuring a range of musicians and dancers -from 'mirasis' (bards) and 'kalawants' (elite musicians), to 'kanjris' (subaltern female performers) and 'tawaifs' (courtesans). A central theme is the rise of new musical publics shaped by the anglicized Punjabi middle classes, and British colonialists' response to Punjab's performing communities. The book reveals a diverse connoisseurship for music with insights from history, ethnomusicology, and geography on an activity that still unites a region now divided between India and Pakistan.