'Supple, intricate and uncompromising, full of delicate observation andinsight, Amit Chaudhuri's Finding the Raga immerses us in the rigorousbeauty and cosmology of Indian classical music. It is also a loving memoirabout relationships and places, dedication and vocation.' - Geoff Dyer

By turns essay, memoir and cultural study, Finding the Raga is AmitChaudhuri's singular account of his discovery of, and enduring passion for,North Indian music: an ancient, evolving tradition whose principles and practices will alter the reader's notion of what music might - and can - be.

Tracing the music's development, Finding the Raga dwells on its most distinctive and mysterious characteristics: its extraordinary approach to time,language and silence; its embrace of confoundment, and its ethos of evocationover representation. The result is a strange gift of a book, for musicians andmusic lovers, and for any creative mind in search of diverse and transforminginspiration.