Please Note – The fact that you have come here indicates that you are academically inclined. To this I say, “bravo!”
Creating this site brought up a fundamental conflict between the academic form and internet style. If I had adhered to a strict academic form, this site would have become buried in the ocean of the “deep web”, and it is unlikely that you would have ever found it. (Google is in the advertising business, not the search engine business).
Faced with this reality, I have adopted a form which is light and accessible. I have very few in-line citations, very few abstracts, and in general, I have been very loose with many academic conventions. For this I apologise, but I really had no choice.
However the lighter style does not mean that there was not a lot of very serious work going on here. I have tried to indicate this in whatever fashion the conventions and business of the internet allows.
This bibliography/ discography is one such indication.
There is another concession that I have hidden in this site; it is the “Other Sites of Interest” section that one finds in many of the pages. These are usually links to “deep web” resources that are of academic interest, but not deemed to be of value to the internet “powers that be”. If you look through these you may find some real “hidden gems.”
Another thing to consider is the way that I have handled the publication dates. I have given these dates according to the editions that I encountered. In some cases (e.g., the multi-volume Bhatkhande magnum opus) I have different volumes listed out of order because I own different editions of each volume. This may also produce unexpected dates that can be a century off of what you may expect; this is simply because I am referring to a different edition.
There is one caveat about the works cited here. I have occasionally included works which are “off the mark” in many ways. They may be flawed, but they can be very useful. This may seem paradoxical, but it isn’t really.
If one examines the flaws and misconceptions of these works, it is very telling as to the world views of the people writing the books, as well as their intended audience. Sometimes these are peculiar to the Indian mindset (e.g., fabricated histories which greatly increase the antiquity of things, spurious etymologies). Sometimes they reflect the peculiar biases of the British colonial mindset of the 19th century. Sometimes they are just simple sloppiness which reflect a disconnect between art and scholarship.
I may have included a title, but this does not mean that the information contained within is accurate. It only means that I found it useful in some way. I am including such titles because you too may find them of value.
I know that some of these decisions may seem to be unconventional. But your understanding in these matters is greatly appreciated.
David Courtney (May 12, 2021)
Links to the Appropriate Sections
Websites and Internet Resources