ABSTRACT
At this point in my ethnographic narrative I have to declare a change of direction and emphasis. By 2005 I felt that the AMU's main objectives had been accomplished. AMU had documented the return of music after the Taliban, and had helped to secure the future of Kabul's art music by setting up the AKMICA Tradition Bearers’ Programme. At this point in my narrative I do not feel it necessary to discuss political events after my visit in 2004, except to mention Karzai's re-election for a second (and final) term as President, the resurgence of the Taliban and the fighting with NATO forces in Helmand and other regions of southern Afghanistan. But these events have had little direct impact on the lives of musicians.
