Category Archives: Hidden Histories

According to Indian critic Suanshu Khurana, the great Hindustani songstress Kishori Amonkar (1932-2017) “represents the gold standard of musical genius in the country”. She is also regularly described as the ‘diva’ of Indian classical music – which, though a Western term (with etymological origins in the uber-dramatic world of Italian opera), seems to have takenContinue reading “Why oversimplify? Pt. 2: Kishori Amonkar: icon, diva, world-wary genius?”

Subcontinental travellers have been arriving to Britain since at least the early 17th century. In Pt. 1: Early Explorers we met the lascars – local sailors who boarded the return journeys of East India Company ships – and also ‘Mariam’, an Indo-Armenian courtesan from Emperor Akbar’s Agra palace who married an English sea captain andContinue reading “Community roots: snapshots of early Indian culture & music in Britain”

The global Indian diaspora is larger than any other. Successive waves of outward migration have been scattering the sonic cultures of the Subcontinent around the world for centuries, spawning countless offshoots and localised fusions: in Kenya, the Indian taarab genre sets Swahili lyrics to twisting melodies drawn from classic Bollywood hits, and, going the otherContinue reading “Indo-Trinidadian fusions: ‘chutney’ pop music and its Bhojpuri roots”

Humans love to dramatize the lives of our creative torchbearers. Like mosquitoes drawn to exposed flesh, we find ourselves immediately attracted towards the juicy allure of outlandish gossip, revelling in tall tales and wild speculation as to the hidden habits and attitudes of our artistic icons. Even if you scorn ‘celeb culture’, we all haveContinue reading “Why oversimplify? Pt. 1: Unraveling easy archetypes with Charlie Chaplin, Jeff Buckley, JFK, & James Blunt”

Much has been made of the similarities between music and sport. Both are embodied forms of human improvisation, balancing rule-bound restriction with expressive freedom and open-ended creative possibility. We revel in romanticising the stars of both spheres, hailing their technical innovations and heroic feats performed in front of massed stadium crowds. We could muse forContinue reading “Turn up the hype! Global musico-sporting matchups: Maori chants & Muay Thai melodies”

Parameshwari is an idiosyncratic modern raga, brought into being by Pandit Ravi Shankar in the late 1960s. Full of dark, pensive momentum, the new creation enraptured listeners worldwide – and also seems to have played a hidden role in catalysing the first global wave of ‘benefit concerts’: starting with George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh inContinue reading “Did Ravi Shankar’s Raag Parameshwari lead to Live Aid’s creation? Hollywood to Bengal via George Harrison”

“I’d listen to spiritual songs on the way to work…[but] really thought I’d never sing again, because of the things we were facing…but as soon as I heard the word ‘studio’, my heart skipped a beat…” Drupti Vaja, our talented Spiritual Bridges debut single vocalist, discusses her full-time work as an NHS nurse in Birmingham.Continue reading “Drupti Vaja: COVID nursing & musical healing”

We all know that music can make us feel better in ourselves. But the concept of ‘wellness’ relates to something much broader and more fundamental – not just our immediate emotional and sensory states, but also the deeper foundations of our physical and mental health. What have different cultures had to say about the healingContinue reading “Music and wellness: insights through time”

“Consider the flowers of a garden: though they differ in kind, colour, form, and shape, all are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun. Their diversity increases their charm, and adds to their beauty.” Ragatip is founded on a belief inContinue reading “What is ‘unity in music’? Insights from the masters”

Today, nearly two million Indians live in the United Kingdom – around 1 in 40 of the nation’s total population. While the vast majority arrived in multiple waves of post-WW2 migrations, Subcontinental travellers had been reaching and settling in Britain for at least 350 years before this. Here, we take you on a brief tourContinue reading “Early explorers: the first Indian travellers to Britain (1600-1900)”