In an age of instant messaging and breaking news, it comes as a
bit of a surprise that it took some 13 years for the papers
presented at a music symposium to be edited and compiled in the
form of a book. However, it is a matter of relief that, at least
in some areas of study, such academic values as painstaking
effort, meticulousness, and commitment to authenticity hold
sway. One could not expect any less from the field of Indian
classical music. In addition to the papers presented at the
symposium held in the Netherlands on“The History of North Indian
Music: 14th to 20th Centuries”, the volume has features that
give it an encyclopaedic character. In the preface, the editors
do mention that “many obstacles arose to delay this
publication.” But the best part of it all is that they
persevered, even in the face of such setbacks as the death of
certain personalities whose support to the project was
considered key. Thus the volume is dedicated to four eminent
scholars — Prem Lata Sharma, Shahab Sarmadee, Harold Po