The music of South Asia, particularly that of the
Indian
classical-music traditions, has evolved a unique relationship with the West: it “is the only major system outside the West that has succeeded in maintaining its traditions largely unmarked by the West . . . and that has journeyed away from its cultural home to be welcomed elsewhere
” (Neuman 1990:17). This very strength of tradition accounts in part for the success Indian music has enjoyed in the West. On the one hand,...
