Rethinking Musical Pasts: The Harballabh Festival of Punjab, c. 1875-1950

‘‘But isn’t this place, Harballabh, in the Punjab, near Jullundur of all places?’ my father had asked patronizingly, as though serious music and Punjab were incompatible.

‘I could never have imagined how sensitive and sophisticated the musical tastes of the regular listeners at this festival are. And most of them are Punjabis’, Kesar Bai had said with the air of someone who has witnessed a miracle.

—Sheila Dhar