For some years as a lad, I spent my winter holidays in Allahabad. The GT Road, that fabled Grand Trunk, ran right in front of our compound, rumbling all day and night with the slow grinding gears of overloaded lorries, groaning buses, awkward three-wheeled Tempos and the unceasing march of walking humanity.
I never tired of watching this epic ebb and flow. I studied the licence plates painted on the lorries and longed to hitch a ride to Punjab or West Bengal, between which most of the traffic travelled. The geographic extremities of India, one to the west (turn right out of our gate), the other to the east (take a left), beckoned me like the sea. On that thin, wavy black strip that ran across northern India for 2,500 kilometers, I sensed a world of adventure. The creaking Tatas substituted for the clippers that once carried boys from England to the Coromandal coast. Oh, how I wanted to start moving!
As kismat would have it, my youthful longing was fulfilled. After university I studied in Lahore and then returned to Pakistan to work. My international career allowed me, over a few decades, to eventually explore most of that most famous of Indian highways, from Dhaka to Peshawar.
Over the years, my fascination with the GT has remained as strong as ever. Today, I’m less fascinated by the lorries, though. What grabs my attention is the music of the many communities and people that live along the road that has been connecting eastern and middle India with the northwestern outposts along that other magical trail, the Silk Road.
Here are six videos of contemporary music you’re likely to hear if you travel the Grand Trunk in the near future.
Pashto film song
Har Dum Khair
Let’s start our journey in Peshawar. The Pashto speaking people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are (unfairly) infamous in the 21st century for their censorious attitude towards entertainment and music. But everyone in Pakistan knows that if you want to have a fun and raunchy night out, the place to head is the cinema halls of Peshawar. The film industry is alive and well here. Sit back and enjoy the gyrating hips and bosoms of the Northwest Frontier.
Talwandi Brothers
Raga Chandni Kedara
As your head stops spinning, we roll into the old Mughal capital of Lahore. Exquisite Lahore has seen a minor cultural renaissance in the past decade, exemplified by the Lahore Music Forum. Classical music concerts are again part of the night life and musicians are delighting audiences and patrons. Reactionary political winds may blow across Pakistan but Lahoris will never abandon their culture and it’s wonderful to see sprouts breaking through the ground. Here, the fantastic Talwandi Brothers, guardians of the dhrupad tradition, bless us with a gorgeous rendition of Raga Chandni Kedara.
Midival Punditz (with Karsh Kale)
Har Ek Baat
Next stop (a quick PIA flight away these days) is Delhi, another hoary urban mass from whence countless great musicians have emerged. India’s capital is today also the hometown of a lively electronic-dance-club scene, many bands of which have already received an international following. Here, Delhi’s beloved Midival Punditz rock a festival in Geneva.
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
Raga Hansadhwani
A hard drive down the highway you’ll be welcomed by India’s smallest big city, Allahabad. Holy to Hindus as the site of the sangam, strategic for the Mughals who built a large fort along the river and made into a city of learning and law by the British, Allahabad (my old hometown) has given birth to many luminaries including the Badshah of the Bansuri Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. In this video he introduces and performs the evening raga Hansadhwani.
Debashish Bhattacharya
Raga Yaman
Before Bombay came into its own as Mumbai and the world’s mecca of film, Calcutta (or Kolkata) was where most films were made. But long before celluloid captured India’s masses the Bengalis had developed a deep cultural tradition which continues to evolve. Debashish Bhattarcharya and his laptop guitar mark your entry to eastern India with Raga Yaman.
Shah Abdul Karim
Baul Song
Well, many hours and bumps later we arrive at last in the heart of what is now Bangladesh. Here is the eastern terminus of the Grand Trunk Road. As you search out your lodgings and perhaps a cool drink, a wandering mendicant sits down under a tree and sings a Baul song for you.
Until next week, safar bakhair.
Nate Rabe was born and raised in India. He comments on South Asian culture and music from Kuala Lumpur. He also nurtures two blogs dedicated to music: The Harmonium Music Blog and Washerman’s Dog.
I never tired of watching this epic ebb and flow. I studied the licence plates painted on the lorries and longed to hitch a ride to Punjab or West Bengal, between which most of the traffic travelled. The geographic extremities of India, one to the west (turn right out of our gate), the other to the east (take a left), beckoned me like the sea. On that thin, wavy black strip that ran across northern India for 2,500 kilometers, I sensed a world of adventure. The creaking Tatas substituted for the clippers that once carried boys from England to the Coromandal coast. Oh, how I wanted to start moving!
As kismat would have it, my youthful longing was fulfilled. After university I studied in Lahore and then returned to Pakistan to work. My international career allowed me, over a few decades, to eventually explore most of that most famous of Indian highways, from Dhaka to Peshawar.
Over the years, my fascination with the GT has remained as strong as ever. Today, I’m less fascinated by the lorries, though. What grabs my attention is the music of the many communities and people that live along the road that has been connecting eastern and middle India with the northwestern outposts along that other magical trail, the Silk Road.
Here are six videos of contemporary music you’re likely to hear if you travel the Grand Trunk in the near future.
Pashto film song
Har Dum Khair
Let’s start our journey in Peshawar. The Pashto speaking people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are (unfairly) infamous in the 21st century for their censorious attitude towards entertainment and music. But everyone in Pakistan knows that if you want to have a fun and raunchy night out, the place to head is the cinema halls of Peshawar. The film industry is alive and well here. Sit back and enjoy the gyrating hips and bosoms of the Northwest Frontier.
Talwandi Brothers
Raga Chandni Kedara
As your head stops spinning, we roll into the old Mughal capital of Lahore. Exquisite Lahore has seen a minor cultural renaissance in the past decade, exemplified by the Lahore Music Forum. Classical music concerts are again part of the night life and musicians are delighting audiences and patrons. Reactionary political winds may blow across Pakistan but Lahoris will never abandon their culture and it’s wonderful to see sprouts breaking through the ground. Here, the fantastic Talwandi Brothers, guardians of the dhrupad tradition, bless us with a gorgeous rendition of Raga Chandni Kedara.
Midival Punditz (with Karsh Kale)
Har Ek Baat
Next stop (a quick PIA flight away these days) is Delhi, another hoary urban mass from whence countless great musicians have emerged. India’s capital is today also the hometown of a lively electronic-dance-club scene, many bands of which have already received an international following. Here, Delhi’s beloved Midival Punditz rock a festival in Geneva.
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
Raga Hansadhwani
A hard drive down the highway you’ll be welcomed by India’s smallest big city, Allahabad. Holy to Hindus as the site of the sangam, strategic for the Mughals who built a large fort along the river and made into a city of learning and law by the British, Allahabad (my old hometown) has given birth to many luminaries including the Badshah of the Bansuri Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. In this video he introduces and performs the evening raga Hansadhwani.
Debashish Bhattacharya
Raga Yaman
Before Bombay came into its own as Mumbai and the world’s mecca of film, Calcutta (or Kolkata) was where most films were made. But long before celluloid captured India’s masses the Bengalis had developed a deep cultural tradition which continues to evolve. Debashish Bhattarcharya and his laptop guitar mark your entry to eastern India with Raga Yaman.
Shah Abdul Karim
Baul Song
Well, many hours and bumps later we arrive at last in the heart of what is now Bangladesh. Here is the eastern terminus of the Grand Trunk Road. As you search out your lodgings and perhaps a cool drink, a wandering mendicant sits down under a tree and sings a Baul song for you.
Until next week, safar bakhair.
Nate Rabe was born and raised in India. He comments on South Asian culture and music from Kuala Lumpur. He also nurtures two blogs dedicated to music: The Harmonium Music Blog and Washerman’s Dog.
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