More from Paolo Pietropaolo

The Subcontinental, Episode 1: Bollywood (00:53:48)
From: Paolo Pietropaolo

All aboard The Subcontinental, your South Asian music train! First stop: Mumbai and the music of Bollywood.

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2010 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann, who struggled with mental illness for his entire life. This piece, part radio essay and part musical ...

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From: Paolo Pietropaolo

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Temporary Hearing Loss (00:07:07)
From: Paolo Pietropaolo

Is our society suffering from a sort of collective temporary hearing loss? Acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton of Port Angeles, WA, thinks so. He also believes that learning ...

The Sound and the Sea (00:20:40)
From: Paolo Pietropaolo

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Ode to the Salish Sea (00:08:42)
From: Paolo Pietropaolo

In the state of Washington and in British Columbia, Canada, some people are using a new, collective name for the waters now known as the Strait of Georgia, Juan de Fuca ...

Related Pieces

Broadcast History

First broadcast nationally across Canada on CBC Radio, August 30, 2009

Intro and Outro

From the Western perspective it's maybe easy to make the mistake of lumping Indian music into one genre - but if you think about it, the Indian Subcontinent is a vast area spanning five countries, dozens of languages and well over a billion people. It's also home to many styles of music, from traditional to classical to pop.

This series, The Subcontinental, takes a deeper look at that rich array of musical styles.

Last week, the Subcontinental took us inside the world of Bollywood music in Mumbai. Today, we'll travel north to Punjab and hear about how Bhangra music has been transformed from a traditional folk dance to a genre heard in nightclubs around the world.

The Subcontinental is presented by Raakhi Sinha. She's a dancer and choreographer in Vancouver, Canada where she teaches Bhangra dance and directs an arts production company called South Asian Arts.

Here she is with Part 2 of The Subcontinental: Bhangra.

N.B. PRONOUNCERS:

Raakhi Sinha -
RAH-key (rah like in Ravi Shankar - not like "Rocky" - more like Ravi with a K instead of a V)

SIN-huh (aspirate the first h)

(listen to the beginning of the show for an example of how she says it)

Mumbai -
mum-BYE

Punjab / Punjabi
pun-JAAB & pun-JAAB-ee

barely pronounce the "pun" - not "poon" nor the word "pun" - use a schwa sound

Bhangra -
hard B almost like a P
BUNG-rah (this time very like the word "pun")

You’ve been listening to Part 2 of The Subcontinental.

It was presented by Raakhi Sinha - she's a Bhangra dancer, choreographer and broadcaster in Vancouver, Canada.

The Subcontinental was produced in Vancouver by Paolo Pietropaolo.

N.B. PRONOUNCER:
Paolo Pietropaolo-
POW-lo pee-EH-tro-POW-lo
(pow rhymes with cow)

Images

• "Host Raakhi Sinha in Bhangra dancing action."
  Credit: 
  
  original
• "Raakhi Sinha, host of The Subcontinental, with comedian Russell Peters and fellow Bhangra dancers at Canada's Juno Awards, 2009"
  Credit: 
  
  original