Ian Thomson

It takes a trained ear fully to appreciate Indian music

Amit Chaudhuri sees the classical raga as the closest music comes to human speech — a weave of rhythmic cycles that is not a melody but a musical ‘essence’

Ravi Shankar playing the sitar in California in 1967. Credit: Getty Images
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  • Finding the Raga: An Improvisation on Indian Music

    Amit Chaudhuri

    Faber, pp. 258, £12

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