Documenting the rich and distinct traditions of the Santhal tribe, an ongoing exhibition at the National Museum here, shows these musical traditions and their expression in a changing landscape.
National Museum, Crafts Museum, Museum Rietberg (Zurich) and the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sanghralaya (Bhopal) have collaborated for the show "Cadence and Counterpoint: Documenting Santal Musical Traditions."
The Santhals comprise the single largest tribal community in India. Although spread across several states in eastern part of the country, Santhals seem to unify in a distinct geography and culture.
The central narrative of the exhibition, besides showcasing this culture, is also to draw attention to the dilapidated state of the Santal culture which is on the wane.
"Many santhal instruments are becoming rare if not extinct and are being replaced today by officially sponsored mainstream instruments like harmonium, tabla and synthesizer," says Jayshree Banerjee, a professional sitar player and musicologist.
Charting out the quintessential traits of the tribal music, Banerjee says, "Santhal music has a distinct intonation pattern, resonate structure and metrical note as well as autonomous aesthetics."
However, she says, "Unthinking substitution of santhal musical instruments by other instruments often leads to start musical incompatibility."
Banerjee has also worked on Adivasi music and musical instruments, and undertaken extensive fieldwork, documentation and advocacy of endangered musical genres.
The exhibition documents the journey of the tribe in a series of photographs, from 1950s till 2014, by several photographers including Banerjee, complemented with a plethora of illustrations and stories associated with the tribe.
Curated by Ruchira Ghose, Mushtak Khan, Krittika Narula, Marie-Eve Celio-Scheurer and Johanne Beltz, the show also displays a massive collection 92 string instruments out of which 44 are banams.
