Is the time-raga theory still relevant in Hindustani music?

‘Kedar at sunrise is an outrageous idea for a majority of Indian connoisseurs’

There are several issues in Hindustani classical music that have remained unresolved for decades because of a host of reasons, foremost among them being the heavy weight of tradition and an unwillingness to face the ever-changing reality. However, this does not mean that those who are deeply interested in this art form are not grappling with these issues at all. What is the relevance and importance of the famed ‘gharana’ system today and what changes have taken place in the last century and more? What does the term ‘gharana’ connote these days? Is the time-raga theory still relevant and should it be adhered to when Hindustani classical music can be accessed any time on the Internet? How has social media impacted this music? What is the raga-ness of a raga? All these issues and more have been discussed threadbare by sitar and surbahar player and musicologist Deepak Raja who is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and Watford College of Technology, U.K., besides being a former Editor of Business India and Secretary General of Indian Newspaper Society. Raja has authored many articles and books, including Hindustani Music: A Tradition in Transition, Khayal Vocalism: Continuity with Change and The Musician and His Art: Essays on Hindustani Music. Top musicians like vocalist Ulhas Kashalkar and santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma, and musicologist Lyle Wachovsky have written forewords and introductions to them. And, they bring us the happy revelation that the leading lights of Hindustani classical music like Kashalkar and Sharma do think about the theoretical as well as practical problems that crop up from time to time.