Radhika Joshi Ray

Dr Radhika Joshi Ray is a Hindustani classical vocalist belonging to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. She is also in the process of setting up the ‘Jaipur Gunijankhana’ archive in Pune which was inaugurated in February 2018.

Radhika has always had a keen interest in studying and documenting the journey of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. This gharana, founded by Ustad Alladiya Khan is one of the ‘newer’ gharanas of Hindustani Music. Yet, despite being a recently developed style of singing which has many uncommon ragas and new compositions, there is no written record of the lyrics or notation of these musical pieces. Hindustani music is primarily an oral – guru-mukhi – tradition. It is in its essence that after years of learning, the artist adds her own dimension to the existing tradition. Thus there are many versions of the same raga and compositions that are sung by different artists. Radhika is eager to compile an important resource that not only traces the journey of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, but also studies how different ragas and bandishes have evolved over generations across the different streams within the tradition.  

While this documentation will be mainly for music practitioners, she is also keen to share her work with students and other audiences through four public events planned during the duration of the fellowship. The outcomes would include an exhibition on the emergence of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, audio-visual presentations on the life and music of select musicians, guided listening sessions on ragas and compositions of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, and a live concert by the musician herself displaying the gayaki of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.

The Fellow’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a book, CD or website, together with images of the exhibition and audio-visual sessions, audio recordings of listening sessions if possible and process images if any.

This fellowship is made possible with support from Tata Trusts.