Ecology of the Global Tabla Industry

Building on colloquial understandings of improvisationjugadkarna, which roughly translates "to make do," and Sunil and Chitra Sahasrabudhey's concept of lokavidya, or "people's knowledge," this article introduces readers to the rich life-world of musical artisans in India, the challenges they face, and the creativity with which they meet those challenges. Growing global demand for sets of drums, called tabla, has transformed business practices among instrument makers in Banaras, also known as Varanasi, India. It has inspired innovation, increased competition, and opened new opportunities for makers on the global marketplace. Changes in instrument manufacture ultimately impact the sound musicians can create from them. By thinking about the tabla industry as an ecosystem in which artisans, instruments, musicians, workshops, and retailers all interact and contribute, this article uses actor-network theory to demonstrate the contributions of a wide variety of actors to musical production.