Alghoza Lost

Author(s): Vathsal Kumar Gupta

Type: Photograph

Department: Department of Economics

Exhibit no: 8


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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.