Title: The Madras Corporation Band: A Story of Social Change and Indigenization
Abstract: Wind bands in South Asia are a ubiquitous and sometimes perplexing phenomenon. Their continued presence as musical symbols of status and prestige in public and private settings demonstrates an ongoing relationship with the region's colonial past, but simultaneously expresses the ability of South Asian cultures to refashion external cultural influences in ways that fit their own patterns of social organization and suit regional cultural needs. As the political and social realities of the subcontinent have changed, so naturally, have cultural needs and behaviors. This study presents a brief history of a particular wind band and considers that history in relation to changes in the band's surrounding cultural context. It raises questions regarding the processes of cultural interaction and the nature of attempts at adaptation or indigenization of foreign cultural elements in a specific South Asian culture area. In early 19th-century India, the long-term presence and might of British interests were impinging with increasing force on South Asian consciousness. Many dependent and independent South Asian rulers sought to imitate the military and cultural attributes of the new power in the land. Military bands, and sometimes household wind bands as well, began to appear in the musical establishments of Indian royal courts. To be sure, these groups were often quite small, sometimes no more than a few bugles, fifes, and drums; such groups, nevertheless, form one important strand in the historical development of modem South Asian wind bands.
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 17
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