Finding the Raga

Amit Chaudhuri's Finding the Raga moves between essay, memoir and cultural study as he recounts how he came to North Indian music and why it has held him ever since. He describes an old, still-changing tradition whose principles and practices may change how a reader thinks about what music can be.

As he follows how the music developed, he lingers on its most unusual and elusive qualities: its distinctive handling of time, language and silence, its willingness to embrace confusion, and its preference for evoking over representing.

The book is offered as a strange and generous gift for musicians and music lovers, and for any creative person looking for new and transforming inspiration.