Katherine Schofield on The Hidden History of Music in Mughal India

Ideas of India

Today my guest Katherine Butler Schofield who is a professor of South Asian Music and History at King’s College London. She is the author of the recent book Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748–1858. She also hosted a podcast series called The Histories of the Ephemeral on the same theme.

We talked about the history of classical music in India - from Natyasastra to Dhrupad and to khayals and qawallis. about Aurangzeb’s relationship with music, the sacking of Delhiand it’s influence on hindustani classical music, the powerful tawaifs of that time, and much more.

Recorded January 24th, 2025.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:17) - The Nāṭyaśāstra and Tasting Music

(00:09:29) - Raga Style and Persian Influences

(00:18:35) - The Influence of Intoxicants

(00:19:42) - Aurangzeb and Other Courtly Characters

(00:33:37) - Aurangzeb’s Demise and Its Effect on Music

(00:43:15) - Traveling Musicians and the Spread and Rise of Different Forms

(00:49:49) - Development of Tomri

(00:55:37) - What Makes Punjab So Different

(00:59:17) - The Tawaif

(01:02:06) - The Stories of Sophia Plowden and Khanam Jan

(01:18:07) - Outro