Comprehension
The teaching and transmission of North Indian classical music is, and long has been, achieved by largely oral means. The raga
and its structure, the often breathtaking intricacies of tala or rhythm, and the incarnation of raga and tala as bandish or
composition, are passed thus, between guru and shishya by word of mouth and direct demonstration; with no printed sheet of
notated music, as it were, acting as a go-between. Saussure’s conception of language as a communication between addresser
and addressee is given, in this model, a further instance, and a new, exotic complexity and glamour.These days, especially with the middle class having entered the domain of classical music and playing not a small part in
ensuring the continuation of this ancient tradition, the tape recorder serves as a handy technological slave and preserves, from
oblivion, the vanishing, elusive moment of oral transmission. Hoary gurus, too, have seen the advantage of this device, and
increasingly use it as an aid to instructing their pupils; in place of the shawls and other traditional objects that used to pass
from shishya to guru in the past, as a token of the regard of the former for the latter, it is not unusual, today, to see cassettes
changing hands. Part of my education in North Indian classical music was conducted via this rather ugly but beneficial rectangle of plastic, which I carried with me to England when I was an undergraduate.
One cassette had stored in it various talas played upon the tabla, at various tempos, by my music teacher’s brother-in-law, Hazarilalji, who was a teacher of Kathak dance, as well as a singer and a tabla player. This was a work of great patience and prescience, a one-and-a-half hour performance without any immediate point or purpose, but intended for some delayed future movement when I’d practice the talas solitarily. This repeated playing out of the rhythmic cycles on the tabla was inflected by the noises – an irate auto driver blowing a horn; the sound of overbearing pigeons that were such a nuisance on the banister; even the cry of a kulfi seller in a summer – entering from the balcony of the third floor flat we occupied in those days, in a lane in a Bombay suburb, before we left the city for good. These sounds, in turn, would invade, hesitantly, the ebb and flow of silence inside the artificially heated room, in a borough of west London, in which I used to live as an undergraduate. There, in the trapped dust, silence and heat the theka of the tabla, qualified by the imminent but intermittent presence of the Bombay suburb, would come to life again. A few years later, the tabla and, in the background, the pigeons and the itinerant kulfi seller, would inhabit a small graduate room in Oxford. The tape recorder, though, remains an extension of the oral transmission of music, rather than a replacement of it. And the oral transmission of North Indian classical music remains, almost uniquely, a testament to the fact that the human brain can absorb, remember and reproduce structures of great complexity and sophistication without the help of the hieroglyph or written mark or a system of notation. I remember my surprise on discovering that Hazarilalji – who has mastered Kathak dance, tala and North Indian classical music, and who used to narrate to me, occasionally, compositions meant for dance that were grand and intricate in their verbal prosody, architecture and rhythmic complexity – was near illiterate and had barely learnt to write his name in large and clumsy letters. Of course, attempts have been made, throughout the 20th century, to formally codify and even notate this music, and institutions set up and degrees created, specifically to educate students in this “scientific” and codified manner. Paradoxically, however, this style of teaching has produced no noteworthy student or performer; the most creative musicians still emerge from the guru-shishya relationship, their understanding of music developed by oral communication. The fact that North Indian classical music emanates from, and evolved through, oral culture, means that this music has a significantly different aesthetic, and that this aesthetic, has a different politics, from that of Western classical music.
A piece of music in the Western tradition, at least in its most characteristic and popular conception, originates in its composer, and the connection between the two, between composer and the piece of music, is relatively unambiguous, precisely because the composer writes down, in notation, his composition, as a poet might write down and publish his poem. However far the printed sheet of notated music might travel thus from the composer, it still remains his property; and the notion of property remains at the heart of the Western conception of “genius”, which drives from the Latin gignere or ‘to beget’. The genius in Western classical music is, then, the originator, begetter and owner of his work – the printed, notated sheet testifying to his authority over his product and his power, not only of expression or imagination, but of origination. The conductor is a custodian and guardian of this property. Is it an accident that Mandelstam, in his notebooks, compares – celebratorily – the conductor’s baton to a policeman’s, saying all the music of the orchestra lies mute within it, waiting for its first movement to release it into the auditorium. The raga – transmitted through oral means is, in a sense, no one’s property; it is not easy to pin down its source, or to know exactly where its provenance or origin lies. Unlike the Western classical tradition, where the composer begets his piece, notates it and stamps it with his ownership and remains, in effect, larger than, or the father of, his work, in the North Indian classical tradition, the raga – unconfined to a single incarnation, composer or performer – remains necessarily greater than the artiste who invokes it. This leads to a very different politics of interpretation and valuation, to an aesthetic that privileges the evanescent moment of performance and invocation over the controlling authority of genius and the permanent record.
It is a tradition, thus, that would appear to value the performer, as medium, more highly than the composer who presumes to originate what, effectively, couldn’t be originated in a single person, because the raga is the inheritance of a culture.
One cassette had stored in it various talas played upon the tabla, at various tempos, by my music teacher’s brother-in-law, Hazarilalji, who was a teacher of Kathak dance, as well as a singer and a tabla player. This was a work of great patience and prescience, a one-and-a-half hour performance without any immediate point or purpose, but intended for some delayed future movement when I’d practice the talas solitarily. This repeated playing out of the rhythmic cycles on the tabla was inflected by the noises – an irate auto driver blowing a horn; the sound of overbearing pigeons that were such a nuisance on the banister; even the cry of a kulfi seller in a summer – entering from the balcony of the third floor flat we occupied in those days, in a lane in a Bombay suburb, before we left the city for good. These sounds, in turn, would invade, hesitantly, the ebb and flow of silence inside the artificially heated room, in a borough of west London, in which I used to live as an undergraduate. There, in the trapped dust, silence and heat the theka of the tabla, qualified by the imminent but intermittent presence of the Bombay suburb, would come to life again. A few years later, the tabla and, in the background, the pigeons and the itinerant kulfi seller, would inhabit a small graduate room in Oxford. The tape recorder, though, remains an extension of the oral transmission of music, rather than a replacement of it. And the oral transmission of North Indian classical music remains, almost uniquely, a testament to the fact that the human brain can absorb, remember and reproduce structures of great complexity and sophistication without the help of the hieroglyph or written mark or a system of notation. I remember my surprise on discovering that Hazarilalji – who has mastered Kathak dance, tala and North Indian classical music, and who used to narrate to me, occasionally, compositions meant for dance that were grand and intricate in their verbal prosody, architecture and rhythmic complexity – was near illiterate and had barely learnt to write his name in large and clumsy letters. Of course, attempts have been made, throughout the 20th century, to formally codify and even notate this music, and institutions set up and degrees created, specifically to educate students in this “scientific” and codified manner. Paradoxically, however, this style of teaching has produced no noteworthy student or performer; the most creative musicians still emerge from the guru-shishya relationship, their understanding of music developed by oral communication. The fact that North Indian classical music emanates from, and evolved through, oral culture, means that this music has a significantly different aesthetic, and that this aesthetic, has a different politics, from that of Western classical music.
A piece of music in the Western tradition, at least in its most characteristic and popular conception, originates in its composer, and the connection between the two, between composer and the piece of music, is relatively unambiguous, precisely because the composer writes down, in notation, his composition, as a poet might write down and publish his poem. However far the printed sheet of notated music might travel thus from the composer, it still remains his property; and the notion of property remains at the heart of the Western conception of “genius”, which drives from the Latin gignere or ‘to beget’. The genius in Western classical music is, then, the originator, begetter and owner of his work – the printed, notated sheet testifying to his authority over his product and his power, not only of expression or imagination, but of origination. The conductor is a custodian and guardian of this property. Is it an accident that Mandelstam, in his notebooks, compares – celebratorily – the conductor’s baton to a policeman’s, saying all the music of the orchestra lies mute within it, waiting for its first movement to release it into the auditorium. The raga – transmitted through oral means is, in a sense, no one’s property; it is not easy to pin down its source, or to know exactly where its provenance or origin lies. Unlike the Western classical tradition, where the composer begets his piece, notates it and stamps it with his ownership and remains, in effect, larger than, or the father of, his work, in the North Indian classical tradition, the raga – unconfined to a single incarnation, composer or performer – remains necessarily greater than the artiste who invokes it. This leads to a very different politics of interpretation and valuation, to an aesthetic that privileges the evanescent moment of performance and invocation over the controlling authority of genius and the permanent record.
It is a tradition, thus, that would appear to value the performer, as medium, more highly than the composer who presumes to originate what, effectively, couldn’t be originated in a single person, because the raga is the inheritance of a culture.
Question: 1
The author holds that the “rather ugly but beneficial rectangle of plastic” has proved to be a “handy technological slave” in
The author holds that the “rather ugly but beneficial rectangle of plastic” has proved to be a “handy technological slave” in
Show Hint
Look for the underlying metaphor in the passage when a term like "technological slave" is used. It often describes the role of technology in preserving ephemeral experiences.
Updated On: Mar 7, 2025
- storing the talas played upon the tabla, at various tempos.
- ensuring the continuance of an ancient tradition.
- transporting North Indian classical music across geographical borders.
- capturing the transient moment of oral transmission.
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: The phrase "handy technological slave" refers to a device that captures a fleeting moment of oral tradition, such as the performance of music.
Step 2: The correct inference is that this technological "slave" preserves the transient moments of oral traditions, which would otherwise be lost.
Step 3: Hence, option (D) is the correct choice.
Step 2: The correct inference is that this technological "slave" preserves the transient moments of oral traditions, which would otherwise be lost.
Step 3: Hence, option (D) is the correct choice.
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Question: 2
According to the author; the inadequacy of teaching North Indian classical music through a codified, notation based system is
best illustrated by
According to the author; the inadequacy of teaching North Indian classical music through a codified, notation based system is
best illustrated by
Show Hint
When identifying the main critique in a passage, focus on how the author describes the impact of a system or method on the essence of the subject.
Updated On: Mar 7, 2025
- a loss of the structural beauty of the ragas.
- a fusion of two opposing approaches creating mundane music.
- the conversion of free-flowing ragas into a stilted set piece.
- its failure to produce any noteworthy student or performer.
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: The passage mentions that no noteworthy students or performers have emerged due to the inadequacy of the codified teaching system.
Step 2: The failure to produce talented students and performers is directly pointed out as the consequence of the teaching method.
Step 3: Therefore, option (D) accurately reflects the author's view on this issue.
Step 2: The failure to produce talented students and performers is directly pointed out as the consequence of the teaching method.
Step 3: Therefore, option (D) accurately reflects the author's view on this issue.
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Question: 3
Which of the following statements best conveys the overall idea of the passage?
Which of the following statements best conveys the overall idea of the passage?
Show Hint
When asked for the overall idea of the passage, focus on the key themes or contrasts introduced and select the statement that encapsulates them.
Updated On: Mar 7, 2025
- North Indian and Western classical music are structurally different.
- Western music is the intellectual property of the genius while the North Indian raga is the inheritance of a culture.
- Creation as well as performance is important in the North Indian classical tradition.
- North Indian classical music is orally transmitted while Western classical music depends on written down notations.
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: The passage discusses how North Indian music values the performer and tradition, with the raga being inherited culturally.
Step 2: Option (B) captures this by contrasting Western music’s focus on individual genius with the cultural inheritance aspect of North Indian music.
Step 3: Therefore, option (B) aligns with the overall theme of the passage.
Step 2: Option (B) captures this by contrasting Western music’s focus on individual genius with the cultural inheritance aspect of North Indian music.
Step 3: Therefore, option (B) aligns with the overall theme of the passage.
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Question: 4
The author’s contention that the notion of property lies at the Western conception of genius is best indicated by which one of
the following?
The author’s contention that the notion of property lies at the Western conception of genius is best indicated by which one of
the following?
Show Hint
When analyzing the passage, focus on how the author describes the relationship between creators and their creations, particularly in cultural contexts.
Updated On: Mar 7, 2025
- The creative output of a genius is invariably written down and recorded.
- The link between the creator and his output is unambiguous.
- The word "genius" is derived from a Latin word which means "to beget".
- The music composer notates his music and thus becomes the "father" of a particular piece of music.
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: The passage discusses the idea that in Western culture, the composer’s act of notating their music makes them the "creator" or "father" of that music.
Step 2: The word "genius" in this context refers to the Western idea of creation, where the composer is seen as the originator of a piece.
Step 3: Option (D) best supports this argument about Western conceptions of authorship and creation.
Step 2: The word "genius" in this context refers to the Western idea of creation, where the composer is seen as the originator of a piece.
Step 3: Option (D) best supports this argument about Western conceptions of authorship and creation.
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Question: 5
Saussure’s conception of language as a communication between addresser and addressee, according to the author, is
exemplified by the
Saussure’s conception of language as a communication between addresser and addressee, according to the author, is
exemplified by the
Show Hint
In questions about communication systems, focus on methods that involve direct interaction or transfer of knowledge between individuals.
Updated On: Mar 7, 2025
- teaching of North Indian classical music by word of mouth and direct demonstration.
- use of the recorded cassette as a transmission medium between the music teacher and the trainee.
- written down notation sheets of musical compositions.
- conductor’s baton and the orchestra.
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Saussure’s concept of language as a communication system emphasizes the importance of interaction between the addressor and addressee.
Step 2: The teaching of North Indian classical music by word of mouth and direct demonstration is a direct example of this dynamic exchange, where the teacher imparts knowledge to the trainee through a personal, direct interaction.
Step 3: Option (A) best exemplifies this idea in the passage.
Step 2: The teaching of North Indian classical music by word of mouth and direct demonstration is a direct example of this dynamic exchange, where the teacher imparts knowledge to the trainee through a personal, direct interaction.
Step 3: Option (A) best exemplifies this idea in the passage.
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Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
“Why do they pull down and do away with crooked streets, I wonder, which are my delight, and hurt no man living? Every day the wealthier nations are pulling down one or another in their capitals and their great towns: they do not know why they do it; neither do I. It ought to be enough, surely, to drive the great broad ways which commerce needs and which are the life-channels of a modern city, without destroying all history and all the humanity in between: the islands of the past.” (From Hilaire Belloc’s “The Crooked Streets”)
Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?
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