ABSTRACT
Indian musicians do not verbalize their theory. They play the notes and learn the melodic ornamentations in complex phrases until these become their alter ego. In Western music, two or more melodies may be going on at the same time, so creating counterpoint. This is not to say that the same is not happening in Indian music, even if in an elementary form; it actually does, but it is more by accident than design. Indian music can therefore be said to rest on these 22 foundationstones, the srutis upon which 7 great blocks have been placed. These are the notes of the octave corresponding to our keyboard scale of C–the 7 svaras. Decoration is not an extraneous part of Indian music. It is fundamental to it. It is this very factor, the determination of mood, which makes the raga form unique to music.
