Random raga quote: “Ragas may be associated with beauty, romance, heroism, fury, drama, etc. But these sentiments are always illusive: I cannot think of what is beautiful, romantic, or dramatic in an isolated fashion. They need a situation in which to make sense. So the musician’s role is to give shape to these illusory things. It must be part of me too. I must give soul to the raga, then the friendship can happen. Just like a marriage…Half of what emerges is the sentiments of the raga itself, and half is the influence of my own experiences and feelings…And while a raga is always more than the sum of these two halves, it cannot exist independently of them. In this way, raga is an illusion.” (Debasmita Bhattacharya)

Random raga quote: “Ragas may be associated with beauty, romance, heroism, fury, drama, etc. But these sentiments are always illusive: I cannot think of what is beautiful, romantic, or dramatic in an isolated fashion. They need a situation in which to make sense. So the musician’s role is to give shape to these illusory things. It must be part of me too. I must give soul to the raga, then the friendship can happen. Just like a marriage…Half of what emerges is the sentiments of the raga itself, and half is the influence of my own experiences and feelings…And while a raga is always more than the sum of these two halves, it cannot exist independently of them. In this way, raga is an illusion.” (Debasmita Bhattacharya)