Music Technologist, Percussionist, Researcher
Shashank Aswathanarayana
SHASHANK ASWATHANARAYANA
Hi!! I am Shashank Aswathanarayana and I'm a music technologist, percussionist and researcher from Bengaluru, India. I'm currently an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Heritage Management and the School of Arts & Sciences at Ahmedabad University. My interdisciplinary research explores the relationship between the acoustics, architectural design, and religion of heritage worship spaces in Southern India. My research interests include archaeoacoustics, aural heritage, spatial/3D audio, psychoacoustics, soundscape studies, music and religious studies.
LATEST RESEARCH: ACOUSTICS OF HINDU TEMPLES
People often wonder what it would be like to have an immersive sonic experience or hear a historic musical event. For example one might wonder what it would have been like to hear J.S Bach play at the church he composed his most famous choral pieces for.
Similarly, what might it be like to hear Carnatic music in the temples where the tradition grew? Or just experience the every day soundscape of a temple in South India?
Todays cutting edge acoustics research has made it possible to preserve and recreate contemporary and historical acoustic experiences particularly those in churches in Europe. But differences in the nature of worship might mean that these methods and methodologies will not be universally applicable to the acoustic analysis of worship spaces across religions.
Thus, in my current project I attempt to build a complete acoustic image of five Hindu temples across Southern India. In the process of doing this using the existing methods of acoustic characterization, I also plan to develop and define new methods of acoustic characterization that would be more apt for Hindu worship.