Author(s):
Vathsal Kumar Gupta
Type:
Photograph
Department:
Department of Economics
Exhibit no:
8
LSE Life Prize Highly Commended
Alghoza, a wind instrument with two reeds of which one produces high or male notes while the other produces low or female notes, is a tough instrument to master. A rural art form of Rajasthan and Sindh is believed to wade away ghosts owing to its varying rhythms and irregular beats.
It is seeing a decline due to the increasing popularity of western musical instruments owing to a fast urbanising and “Westernising” India. The Alghoza-Nawaz melancholic tunes echoing out of the shadows remind us of the haunting death of traditional art forms.