I have conducted research on drummers and drumming in Tamilnadu (see Ritual and Everyday Life in South India) as well as in other parts of South and North India and in Pakistan.  My work focused on 1) the linking of different kinds of drum patterns to particular rituals; 2) representations of drumming and rhythm through language and syllables; 3) religious and political controversies over drumming; 4) the spread and local contextualization of the tāsha drum; 5) broadly shared ideas of rhythmic organization that cross-cut language, region, and culture.

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