Based on extensive field research in India and Pakistan, Richard K. Wolf’s The Voice in the Drum is a unique examination of  how drumming and voices interconnect over vast areas of South Asia and considers what it means for instruments to be voice-like and carry textual messages in particular contexts.

Written in the form of a novel, the book examines the ways drumming and voices interconnect over vast areas of South Asia and considers what it means for instruments to be voice-like and carry textual messages in particular contexts.

Wolf tells the story of a family led by Ahmed Ali Khan, a North Indian ruler who revels in the glories of 19th century life, when many religious communities joined together harmoniously in grand processions. His journalist son Muharram Ali obsessively scours the subcontinent in pursuit of a music he naively hopes will dissolve religious and political barriers. The story charts the breakdown of this naiveté.

Book Trailer: The Voice in the Drum by Richard K. Wolf from Richard Wolf on Vimeo.