Welcome to the Music Archive by Rajan Parrikar. The resources within this repository are housed in the Vault, while the Vijaya Parrikar Library forms an integral part of the archive.
Rajan Parrikar with niece Saraswati (2024)
The monographs in the Ragas of Hindustani Music section encompass the full spectrum of ragas and raga groups encountered in the contemporary praxis of North Indian Classical Music (also known as Hindustani Music). This exploration is enriched by a trove of over 2000 audio clips, meticulously handpicked to illuminate the structure, character, and essence of each raga. Notably, a significant portion of these audio treasures remains commercially unavailable.
In March 1999, I authored the first article of its kind on the ragas of Indian Classical Music, pioneering the integration of embedded performance samples as heuristic aids, on the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.indian.classical. The advent of desktop streaming technology made it possible to enhance commentary with illustrative audio examples, transforming the way this music could be engaged with.
By early 2000, at the prompting of a couple of friends seeking a deeper, ‘under-the-hood’ understanding of the music, I began informally crafting a series of essays on rec.music.indian.classical. My impetus was partly a response to the glaring void of rigorous treatments of this subject in English. Modern, educated Indians had largely abdicated the serious study of their own traditions, leaving the field open to second-rate Western dilettantes (it must be said, the number of first-rate Western scholars investigating Indian traditions remains minuscule).
Shortly thereafter, Anita Thakur of the now-defunct South Asian Women’s Forum (SAWF) offered to format the material and host it on her website. This collaboration continued until 2005, during which the entire domain of Hindustani ragas was systematically surveyed. Throughout this journey, I was sustained by the encouragement and counsel of my guru, Ramashreya Jha ‘Ramrang’ (1928–2009).
The Vijaya Parrikar Library, named in honour of my mother, was inaugurated in November 2003 with the aim of bringing rare, often jealously hoarded recordings to a wider audience—recordings that might otherwise have been consigned to oblivion by self-important philistines. [Added: That was then. The landscape has shifted. Post-2013, a stampede of private collections has been unleashed onto YouTube and other online platforms.]
The ancient Indian sages understood that the pursuit of music leads the seeker toward paramānanda (Supreme Bliss). The profundity of music unveils itself through manan-chintan (reflection) and anubhava (wisdom born of experience). Appreciation of the finer points of raga does not come easily; it is purchased through considerable training and musical maturity. Be that as it may, there is a great deal on tap here for the earnest habitué. The cornucopia of audio material offered brings the Beauty and Bliss of Indian Classical Music, mirabile dictu, within reach of all sentient beings.
And on that suitably pompous note,
Adios.