Film music and the mediation of everyday aurality in private buses: Field notes from Kannur, Kerala

Abstract

This is a field note from my research project that aims to study the practice of playing film music on the commuter buses operated by private owners in Kannur district of Kerala. The practice became prevalent during the early 2000s with the advent of compact discs and portable music libraries of film songs in MP3 format, despite the prohibiting passenger buses from playing music or videos during daily commutes. This field note proposes that the practice of playing the songs becomes part of an aural network that places itself through its (mere) presence as something not to be consciously attentive to and be affected by.