A Note on Music
I will continue to play a music video before every lecture. The purpose is to introduce you to some of the bands/musicians/DJs well before I start lecturing on music in week 10. I am hoping it will give you a the range of the music that is classified as “Asian Underground” or “Asian Massive.”
In week 4, we listened to Karsh Kale and MidiVal Punditz (featuring Vishal Vaid).
If you’d like to listen to some radio shows dedicated to Asian Underground music from the UK, have a look at the links to the New Sounds of Asian Britain:
This week we heard “Rebel Warrior” by the Asian Dub Foundation.
New Sounds of Asian Britain: Underground
New Sounds of Asian Britain: Home Page
My favorite DJ is Pathaan—I recommend his show called the “Musical Rickshaw.” Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the music. Many thanks to those of you who have sent me links to songs that you like.
Enjoy.
vc
In case you’d like further information about some of the artists, see the links to Wikipedia entries, MySpace pages, online articles, and songs below. If you would like to hear a bit more Bollywood or Bhangra music, check out Bally Sagoo. For harder sounds, Asian Dub Foundation won’t disappoint. If you’d like to explore different genres of music, the home page for the New Sounds of Asian Britain also has many useful links.
V. D. Savarkar, Selections
from The Indian War of
1. Which historical event (or events) is Savarkar writing about in his book? Why does it matter to Savarkar that the events of 1857 be classified as a war of independence?
2. (196) Why has Savarkar written this book?
3. (196) Who is the intended audience of Savarkar’s book?
4. (197, also 199) According to the Publisher’s Preface, why was Savarkar’s book translated into English? Who translated the book?
5. (198) According to G.M. Joshi and Bal Savarkar, the authors of “The Story of this History,” why does Savarkar write the book?
6. (198) In the following sentence, who are the moralists?
“The very mention of [armed national revolt] was brushed aside as chimerical by the then extremists, was denounced as criminal by the loyal moderates and was even anathematized as immoral by the half-witted moralists!”
7. (199) Savarkar originally wrote his book in which language?
8. (200) Why is it significant the book was proscribed even before it was published? (Define proscribed)
9. (206)What is Savarkar’s problem with English historians?
10. (206) What is Savarkar’s problem with Indian historians?
11. What were the “real” causes of the revolution?
Discussion questions:
Discussion questions:
1. M.K. Gandhi and V.D. Savarkar provide contrasting interpretations about the idea of swaraj. Do you agree (or disagree) with this statement? Provide examples from the text to support your claim.
2. Why does Savarkar write history? What would Gandhi say about Savarkar’s interpretation of history?
3. What does Savarkar mean by the following:
The nation that has no consciousness of its past has no future. Equally true is that a nation must develop its capacity not only of claiming a past but also of knowing how to use it for the furtherance of its future. The nation out to be the master and not the slave of its own history. (196)
4. Why do individuals like Savarkar and Gandhi refer to slavery when talking about the colonial experience?
5. What would Savarkar say to Michael Kohlhaas?
6. Use the arguments in Chapter 26 (“Writing and Translation) of the Course Guide & Writer’s Handbook to discuss the issue of translation in “The Original Publisher’s Preface.” (197)
7. Are Savarkar and Gandhi trying to reach the same public/counterpublic through their writings? Does it help the public/counterpublic to have contrasting interpretations of swaraj?