The Music And Musical Instruments Of North Eastern India

The North-Eastern region of India which is composed of seven States (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) possesses a variety of cultural treasures. It is a meeting place of different ethnic groups since time immemorial. The book is a treatise which comprehensively deals with music of North-Eastern India with special emphasis on musical instruments of Assam. The material presented in the book is the product of indepth and extensive research conducted into the origins, sequences of development and cultural practices of music of the different ethnic groups living in this part of the world.

Dilip Ranjan Barthakur (b. 1947) (son of Padmanath Barthakur, freedom fighter and a noted litterature) of Dibrugarh, Assam, is an M.Sc. in Statistics, who is better known as in Statistics, who is better known as a noted Table exponent with a Master of Music degree in Tabla. Dibrugarh University awarded the Degree of Ph.D. in 1997 for his work o ‘The Musical Instruments of Assam with a Statistical Note.’ He had his early education in music from Kogen Das, a discipe of Pandit Anukhelal Mishra of Banaras, a noted Tabla exponent of India and later took his higher education from Ustad Munne Khan, a renowned Tabla exponent of Farukhabad Gharana at Lucknow for about 25 years. Dr. Barthakur’s wife Nilima Barthakur is also a Sitar exponent of renown. Dr Barthakur is the founder Principal & Secretary of Chaulkhowa Music College, a reputed institute of Music and Dance, in an area inhabited by the rural and the tea-tribe popualtion. He is recognised as one of the eminent experts on music. Dr. Barthakur also authored authoritative and informative books like Tabla Vigyan, Bibaru Parar Sangit, Sangit Vigyan besides a number of articles on music and musical instruments. He also made a remarkable contribution by introducing ‘Sura-bandha Khol’ (Tuning Khol), a modification of the original Khol of Assam the ‘Sura’ (tune) of which can easily be regulated to the desired finer pitch (like in Tabla or Pakhawaj) at the time of accompaniment. That Dr. Barthakur is a devout musicologist is also reflected in this interesting and informative book.