One can imagine that music is something one would rather listen to than read about. By Peter Lavezzoli’s own admission, “The best books I have read on music have always inspired me to put the book down and go listen to it. Music only becomes real when it is actually heard.” In fact, Lavezzoli’s work which seems heavy and mired in theory at the onset is well worth the initial 27-page struggle. And while it stems from a respect and passion for Hindustani classical music (Carnatic isn’t the focus here), it’s also a work that aims at pluralism and respect for different cultures.

“I was moved to write Bhairavi by the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York, followed by the attack on the Indian Parliament months later in Delhi. Somehow in the midst of such tragedy, I saw something special in the Hindu-Muslim unity of North Indian music and I wanted to explore the possible connection between this music and world peace,” admits Lavezzoli.

Having first heard Indian music at a George Harrison gig, much of this book is dedicated to the influence Hindustani music has had on international artistes like Harrison, Yehudi Menhuin, Philip Glass, John Coltrane among others. A large chunk is also devoted to interviews with Pandit Ravi Shankar, who famously whacked Harrison when he stepped over his sitar to answer a phone and Ali Akbar Khan, whose father Allauddin Khan spent much of his childhood as an urchin on the streets of Kolkata because he had been told ‘all great musicians are found in Calcutta’.

The work derives its name from the Bhairavi Raga which was the first classical piece to be heard on a record in the West. Through its little narratives, the book reveals the harshness of apprenticeship in both Indian and Western traditions. And his book is written with a sense of romance. While a lot of readers appreciate it for its message of peace it is also valued by the layman and the academic world. Lavezzoli however maintains that, “Young people are aware of the need for peace and unity in today’s world, and if they learn something from a Western writer like me about their own classical music tradition and what can happen when Hindu and Muslim musicians work together, then I have done my job.”

THE MUSIC BARREL

Baulsphere
BY MIMLU SEN
(RANDOM HOUSE)
After witnessing a music performance by three mystic minstrels in Paris, Mimlu Sen goes to Kolkata and discovers the itinerant life of Bauls. Through festivals, witch sightings, and encounters with tantrics, Sen weaves an intimate portrait of Bauls living in rural Bengal.

The Music Room
BY NAMITA DEVIDAYAL
(RANDOM HOUSE)
Dhondutai, the only remaining student of the legendary Alladiya Khan, tutors Namita Devidayal. Peppered in equal measure with gossip and anecdotes about legends like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Villayat Khan and Kesarbai, this award-winning book offers insights into the age-old guru-shishya tradition.

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
BY OLIVER SACKS
(PICADOR)
Music seemingly occupies more areas of the human brain than language. In this seminal book Oliver Sacks examines how music influences the minds of people coping with various neurological conditions.

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