The Practice: Listening to Ragas ( A list of 10 raga recordings)
Ragas were introduced in the West during the 1950s, and grew in popularity in the United States with Ravi Shankar performing both Indian classical music recitals and performing in pop-rock music festivals. His musical relationship with George Harrison also brought the sitar and ragas to public prominence in the West. Today, ragas come in many guises, from pure and sacred to pop and jazz fusion. A variety of young talent emerges from India these days blending raga traditions from the South and North of the Subcontinent. Western instruments were introduced as well, such as the saxophone and slide guitar, though the Indian slide guitar is different in that it contains sympathetic strings much like an Indian sarod or sitar. Any fan of world music has come across Indian ragas in one form or another. I pulled out a random stack of CDs from my Indian music collection. You can use these recordings as a jumping off point or you can visit a public library and check...