The tastes for music have changed so much over the past decade that the forms that one was familiar with are disappearing at a rate faster than feared.

One indicator, and a significant one, is that the awards which are announced nationally now feature mostly folk artistes and those engaging in forms that are of very recent origin. In the past few years, the names of performers of the kheyalandthumri and those playing the traditional instruments have all but disappeared from the list of the award winners.

It could be that the practitioners of those forms and instruments are rare to find because these are not heard and the forms cannot possibly exist without a proper system of patronage. The forms like kheyalwere always at risk since the creation of Pakistan; more so after the dismemberment of the country in 1971. The cultural environment imagined was not considered worthy of it, the changing nature of patronage and the changing tastes of the newgeneration placed the classical forms in the niche category.The other, more heard, forms were slotted as popular.

Of course, the debate started, especially, in the late 1960s as to how the niche musical expression be saved, preserved and its continuation sustained and many came forward with the argument that it was essential to the interiority of our culture and therefore needed to be preserved and promoted. Its value must not be sacrificed at the altar of popularity.

Older forms of music were brushed up and reinvented and placed on the front burner and people relished in the reworked folk format by adding lyrics that addressed the topicality of the emerging situations.

The greatest challenge suddenly thrust upon all was the introduction of technology in the making of music. It happened at both ends, the recording technology totally changed gear and imposed its own requirements; while the instruments, too, became digitalised and the computer generated sound changed or transformed the entire matrix of intonation.

Ghazal emerged after the film music as a significant form. It was appreciated among the urban classes of the country. Then the more rustic and people friendly form of the qawwali took over and for reasons yet to be fully accounted, swept the musical taste off its feet.

Though the technological changes have always been around and have made their imprint under different labels, the changes in the last five decades or so have been at a furious pace. Before one can artistically cope up with a change, another is upon us. The process of music making is now a series of adjustments as the familiar technological compulsions are rendered obsolete and hence useless as we go by.

The mobile phone has brought us the technological ability to hold the world inthe palm of our hand. The bombardment is forcing us to try to make sense of it all and likewise make quick adjustments and readjustments. It must be stressed, however, that the tonal pattern and intonation of the now developed societies has been dominant.

Ghazal emerged after the film music as a significant form.It was appreciated among the urban classes of the country.Next, the more rustic and people friendly form of the qawwali took over for reasons yet to be fully accounted and swept the musical taste off its feet.

Ghazal, at least it seems, has become passé and the numbers by Mehdi Hassan, FareedaKhanum and Iqbal Banoare now considered classical,a term that was earlier reserved for the kheyal. Even the thumri did was then labelled as semi classical. The film songs were categorised on the basis of where they were drawing their inspiration from as was the tying up to a situation, a character or a story. It helped in eroding the edges of abstraction which the less initiated had difficulty in grasping.

The songs in the films, too, have become less dominant, though, they are still there.Perhaps the tradition of song, dance and drama being an integral act to perform according to the Natshastra runs in the proverbial blood. Now many teleplays, which are abundant in number, have songs or smatterings of it.

But the intonation has changed so much that the musical response and appreciation need to be re-schooled. The previous variables of what constitutes a good piece of music would be seen to be redundant these days.Therefore, a new set of rules need to be formulated. They are there in the making and it requires a concerted effort to make these a critical tool leading towards a new canon.

This can happen so fast that it is upon us before we realise it. The gathering for our calibration of markers may still be in progress as the new reality hits us. The laidback reconsideration of the cultural practice too is needed. It seems that the flow is so strong that it does not afford the audience the chance to stop and ponder and evaluate.

The writer is a culture critic based in Lahore.