In 2003-04 India’s Ministry of Culture introduced the Guru Shishya Parampara scheme. Guru means teacher, and shishya means disciple. The scheme aims to “preserve and promote rare and vanishing art forms” in classical, folk and tribal arts. A master teaches pupils, and the guru receives a monthly payment under norms set by the ministry.
The Musical Family
Gharana means family or lineage. In Hindustani music, a gharana is a community of performers who “share a distinctive musical style that traces to a particular instructor or region,” in the words of Britannica. Traditionally, disciples moved into the home of their teacher.
A study of how Hindustani vocal music is passed on, from Macquarie University, found that teachers instruct their students “largely without the aid of writing or notation.”
Work to Rule
On August 10, 2018, the motormen of Mumbai’s suburban trains on Central Railway protested by working to rule and refusing overtime. They did what the rules required and nothing more. Between 100 and 200 local trains were cancelled that day, the Press Trust of India reported.
In May 2026 the train managers of Central Railway used the same method to protest a safety circular. They began “strictly adhering to rulebook procedures,” the Free Press Journal reported. This led to the cancellation of three local train services.
Knowledge Transfer
In Indian IT, KT stands for knowledge transfer. HRKatha, an Indian HR news site, reported on a laid-off developer whose main task during his notice period was KT, “training other developers to take over his work.”
IT professionals in Pune complained to the Free Press Journal about notice periods of 90 days. One of them said: “The maximum time it takes for Knowledge Transfer (KT) can be 15–20 days.”
By Estimate
Andaaza. An estimate. The Rekhta dictionary gives its meanings as “estimation, rough estimate, guess,” among others.
The Bengal Story remembered one woman as a traditional cook, “all instinctive estimates or ‘andaaz’ and the sniffing of the frying masala.” A Penguin India book on family food says of another household: “No one used a recipe book or measured quantities when cooking.”
The Family Registers
In Haridwar, around 2,000 pandas, priests of the holy city, “preserve the lineages of their clients in the ‘Bahi khatas’,” the registers they keep. “The clientele of a particular panda is decided on the basis of the village, district and the state they come from,” DT Next reported in 2021.
Before written records, the pandas “used to memorise the names, clans and places of origin, and pass down the information orally to their next generations.”
The Tied Thread
In May 2006 the singer Girija Devi tied a sacred thread on the wrist of the singer Malini Awasthi at her home in Varanasi. The ceremony is the ganda bandhan. “Gandabandh is a traditional knot-tying ceremony, which cements the relationship between a guru and his shishya,” wrote The Tribune. “Usually performed on an auspicious day, it heralds the beginning of teaching.”
Pandit Jasraj, the newspaper reported, holds the other side of the bond. A guru cannot demand respect. He has to command it with his conduct.
Vedic Chanting
The most authoritative Hindu scriptures are called shruti, “that which is heard.” Texts of the second rank are smriti, “that which is remembered.” The Vedas are the core of shruti. Traditions of Vedic chant are “often considered the oldest unbroken oral tradition in existence.”
UNESCO first proclaimed the tradition of Vedic chanting a masterpiece of oral heritage in 2003. It inscribed it on its list of intangible heritage in 2008.
In Search of a Guru
In 1933, at the age of 11, Bhimsen Joshi left his home in Dharwad to find a music teacher. He traveled to Bijapur, Pune, Gwalior and across North India, until his father found him in Jalandhar.
In 1936 the singer Sawai Gandharva accepted him as a student. Joshi lived in his teacher’s house, in the guru-shishya tradition, the bond of teacher and disciple. He later received the Bharat Ratna.