Classical India

Classical Indian music is the bridge that connects the present with the great civilizations of India's past. World Musicians crosses this bridge back to the 60's when, through the Beatles, Ravi Shankhar became a pop star, opening the door for the west to classical Indian music. We travel to the North, New Delhi and to the South, Chennai (ex Madras) and meet some of the most important musicians of India, like the percussionist Zakir Hussain, the daughter of Ravi Shankhar, Anoushka, the violin player L. Subramaniam, the master of sarod Amjad Ali Kha, Chitravina Ravikiran, and many more musicians and performers.

With the artists themselves as our guides, this tour takes us into the history of Indian music and explains its two systems: the "Hindustani" tradition of the North, influenced by Islam and Mongolian conquerors and the "Carnatic" tradition of the South, the oldest and most "original" system.