Art for art's sake or art for life's sake? Is the question that may arise the moment we think of music, dance, drama and other fine arts. There can hardly be two opinions about the fact that most of the people pursuing these arts basically do so because of their natural inclination, talent, or family background. History bears testimony to the fact that most of the renowned musicians, dancers, dramatists and other artists mastered the art through their genuine interest, devotion, dedication and hard work. But things have changed now. Unlike earlier times when artists had to be patronised by zamindars and kings, today those having an interest in these fields have to think of taking them up as a means of their sustenance as well.

In today's competitive scenario, these arts provide lucrative returns to many. In this volume our focus is on career opportunities, i.e., institutions, courses and job potentials of these arts. There are many students who would like to go in for a career in music, but in the absence of proper guidance and literature, they seem to lack enthusiasm.

Indian has a precious heritage of music and fine arts and we owe it to our present and coming generations to help cherish, propagate and develop this heritage. Having published directories on a wide variety of subjects, we at SAP thought our task would be incomplete without a title on music and performing arts.

Thankfully, music now generally forms a part of our school curriculum. A number of universities offer different courses at Certificate, Diploma, Degree, MA, M. Phil, and Ph. D. level. These have been included in this Directory.

This book, we hope, will encourage students to take up the subjects and eventually take their place among Ustad Alauddin Khan, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Mallikarjun Mansur, Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussain Khan, Balamurali Krishna, Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur and so on.

Vande Maataram and with best wishes for a bright career,

-Editor