New audio series excavates history of sound in South Asia

KARACHI:

A new audio series about South Asian music and Islamic sound arts is aiming to change the way we think about our artistic heritage.

'Sounding Board' features readings of essays by influential scholars, musicologists, poets and critics from the 19th and 20th centuries, exploring themes of identity, inheritance and imagination.

These essays, which cover a wide spectrum of intellectual, political and cultural debates, are part of a near-forgotten canon of both Urdu and English writings.

Written largely in the 'Inshiyah' style, these works present arguments and narratives as springboards, aiming to develop a critical appreciation of issues and concerns in Indo-Islamic aesthetics, and invite commentary and critique.

The series is narrated and produced by Ali Raj, an award-winning journalist and scholar based in New York. Raj is a PhD candidate in communications at Columbia University, where his research focuses on the intellectual history of sound and aesthetics in the Indo-Islamic tradition.

"The goal is to bring to life ideas about music and sound that will help restore connection with our sonic and literary heritage," he said.

Created primarily for podcast streaming platforms, episodes of 'Sounding Board' can be accessed also on YouTube. So far, one season has been released, while a second season is near completion. The episodes cover topics such as Pakistan's first patriotic song from 1946 to the tradition of 'Naat' and 'Tarannum' recitation. Each episode features a full reading of the original text, alongside numerous snippets of relevant archival songs and recitations.

The episodes are also accompanied by detailed writeups on the writers and the background of each essay.

'Sounding Board' is supported by Columbia University Society of Fellows and Humanities New York, the New York State affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.