Shahid Ahmad Dehlvi (1906-1967) was a renowned editor and musicologist. The essay featured in this episode was published in August 1948 by the journal "Adab-e Lat̤īf" (Literary Subtleties). It focuses on the state of North Indian music on the cusp of Partition, delving into the historical origins of Indian music, its standardization in the modern period as a ‘classical’ art, its basic constituents of melodic modes and fixed compositions, and its associated mythologies and metaphysical dimensions. Dehlavi also elaborates on the causes of its 'decline' in the modern period, and suggests ways in which the music and its traditional practitioners can be saved. Dehlvi's historical account recalls familiar trappings of Urdu music scholarship and its 19th century inflections.

Featured music:

1. Ustad Nathu Khan - Jaijaiwanti2. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan - Bahar