Books on Indian Classical Music
Introductions, memoirs and histories, from a first book on ragas to the stories of the great gharanas.
Finding the RagaAmit ChaudhuriPart listening guide, part memoir, by a novelist trained as a khayal singer.Amazon ›
The Music RoomNamita DevidayalA memoir of growing up in lessons with Dhondutai Kulkarni of the Jaipur gharana.Amazon ›
Music in North IndiaGeorge E. RuckertA short introduction with listening exercises, by a student of Ali Akbar Khan.Amazon ›
Music in South IndiaT. Viswanathan and Matthew Harp AllenThe Carnatic companion to Ruckert's book, by a flute master and his student.Amazon ›
My Music, My LifeRavi ShankarRavi Shankar's memoir, which also explains how the music works.Amazon ›
Indian SunOliver CraskeThe first full biography of Ravi Shankar, from more than 130 interviews.Amazon ›
The Dawn of Indian Music in the WestPeter LavezzoliHow the music reached America, starting with Ali Akbar Khan's 1955 concert at MoMA.Amazon ›
Zakir Hussain: A Life in MusicNasreen Munni KabirConversations with Zakir Hussain about his training and his teachers.Amazon ›
M.S. Subbulakshmi: The Definitive BiographyT.J.S. GeorgeThe standard biography of M.S. Subbulakshmi, first published as MS: A Life in Music.Amazon ›
My Name is Gauhar Jaan!Vikram SampathThe life of the first Indian singer recorded on gramophone disc.Amazon ›
Raga'n JoshSheila DharFunny, affectionate essays on Begum Akhtar, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and others.Amazon ›
Two Men and MusicJanaki BakhleHow Bhatkhande and Paluskar shaped Hindustani music into a national classical tradition.Amazon ›
From the Tanjore Court to the Madras Music AcademyLakshmi SubramanianHow Carnatic music moved from royal courts to the Chennai sabhas.Amazon ›- Rāgs Around the ClockDavid Clarke with Vijay RajputRāgs Around the ClockDavid Clarke with Vijay RajputAn open-access khayal handbook with recordings online.Free
- A Southern MusicT.M. KrishnaA Southern MusicT.M. KrishnaA Carnatic singer on the music's aesthetics, and on caste and gender within it.Amazon ›
- The Raga GuideJoep Bor (editor)The Raga GuideJoep Bor (editor)74 Hindustani ragas in notation, each with a recording on the CDs.
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