Final Year Project

Project Title

Life of Tabla in Karachi: A phenomenological ethnography of tabla players in Karachi

Description

This research seeks to address the dearth of documentation of tabla players; their lives, craft, practices, and norms within the larger context of musical culture in the country and, specifically, the cosmopolitan context of Karachi. It explores the socio-cultural dimension of tabla; the perceptions of the art and its practitioners, the patrons of the art, the influence of political, religious, economic institutions on them. The thesis also looks at the distinct cultural dynamics of the community and its practices of transmission and dissemination of knowledge, configuration(s) of the community and its socio-cultural identities. By doing so, it historicizes the practice of this art form in the city, trace the trajectory of its cultural evolution through the eyes of practitioners (how meanings and practices have evolved across generations), while simultaneously juxtaposing it with contemporary dynamics.