"You mean he creates a new composition each time he plays?"
"Not precisely. But his handling of the specific notes of a raga must speak to his mood, mv mood. These vary, why not his art?"
"But what is a raga then, if not a song?"
"That's always difficult to explain. At some rudimentary level you might say it's simply a melody form, a fixed series of notes around which a musician improvises. But although a raga has a rigorously prescribed ascending and descending note sequence and specific melodic motifs, it also has its own mood, 'flavor.' What we call its rasa. How could one possibly write down a mood?"
"I guess I see your point. But it's still confusing." Hawksworth took another sip of wine. "How many ragas are there?"
"There are seventy-two primary scales on which ragas are based. But some scales have more than one raga. There are ragas for morning, for evening, for late at night. My Ustad is playing a late evening raga now. Although he uses only the notes and motifs peculiar to this raga, what he does with them is entirely governed by his feeling tonight."
"But why is there no harmony?"
"I don't understand what you mean by 'harmony.'"
"Striking several notes together, so they blend to produce a chord."
Mukarrab Khan studied him, uncomprehending, and Hawksworth continued.