Interview Questionnaire

Could you briefly explain what defines the aesthetic and philosophy of Dhrupad, especially in terms of voice, discipline, and training?

How is Dhrupad traditionally taught, and to what extent is knowledge transmitted through embodied practices like repetition, breath, and voice rather than written forms?

Dhrupad is often associated with royal courts, how did court patronage shape its development and performance contexts?

Within courtly settings, were there distinctions between formal performances and more intimate or semi-private musical gatherings?

In historical contexts, were access and training in traditions like Dhrupad limited to certain lineages, or did different performer communities interact with these traditions?

In my research, I’ve encountered hereditary performance communities with rich musical repertoires outside formal classical lineages, how do you see their relationship with what is recognized today as classical music?

In contemporary classical training, how are students introduced to the history of the tradition—does it include broader social and cultural contexts, or is the focus mainly on musical aspects?

Do you feel there are aspects of historical performance cultures or communities that are less discussed in today’s classical spaces, and how does that shape our understanding of tradition?

I’m working on hereditary nautch communities, examining how gesture, voice, and repetition function as embodied archives of caste and gendered labour, how might your framework of sensory politics help conceptualize these as constitutive fields rather than metaphors, especially in performance traditions?

How can we study embodied labour that has been historically stigmatized or rendered invisible without flattening or over-theorizing lived experience?

In your work on olfactory hierarchies, do you see parallels with embodied hierarchies in performance, where movement, voice, or gesture may signal caste, status, or training?

What methods can we use to capture and document ephemeral knowledge such as gesture, sound, or repetition that does not leave stable archival traces?

When working with marginalized histories and communities, how can researchers avoid exoticizing, aestheticizing, or unintentionally reinforcing marginalization?

Your work shows how caste is mediated through the senses; in my own research, I’ve explored how visuality mediates sexuality, do you see sensory politics as fundamentally social, or also deeply psychological in its functioning?

As a young researcher working on themes that may be socially sensitive or uncomfortable, what ethical or intellectual guidance would you offer in navigating such work?

Many forces that shape social hierarchies, like smell, sight, or gesture, remain invisible or uncodified; how can researchers learn to perceive and analyze these subtle, often unarticulated structures?