Rickshaw-wallah: “Sir? Auto sir?” Sagar: “No” R: “Auto! Auto! Sir?” S: “No, boss” R: “Taxi, Sir?” S: “Nahi, bhaiyya” (No, brother) R: “Sir?” [Khaki-uniformed Rickshaw driver shaking his head laterally with superhuman frequency] S: “No! I want to wal-NO! Why am I explaining myself to you…$*#@(&!!!!” Any composer trying to capture the aural assault of a typical Indian road would [...]

Upon entering the Indian territory known as Pondicherry (or Pondy), one is immediately aware of a shift in form and feel. I’m reminded of the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s explanation of ragas and improvisation in classical Hindustani music. He said that a raga is like a woman without jewels or ornamentation, the musician’s improvisation is what adorns the woman [...]

“We will go to Vandalur Zoo. You are here in Chennai; it is my duty to take you. I will take you.” If Murugan, my Keralan colleague deems it, then it must be so. Several days later, I was on the back of a Honda motorcycle, leaving my pied-à-terre for a ride through the entropic roads of Chennai. One delicious [...]

After a long day of sleepless travel, I got to the Park Sheraton in Chennai and immediately fell asleep. While the rest was needed, and it transitioned me perfectly to the time change, I will be working US hours here, so I had to spend Sunday trying to convert back. I explored the absurdly posh hotel, ate dinner at Dakshin [...]

For the coming months, I will be travelling back-and-forth from Orlando to Chennai, India. I’ve taken a project where I will be training eight individuals for Pershing, LLC. Seventy-five percent of my time will be spent in Chennai, with the remainder being in Orlando.Being an American-born Indian, I’m sure that I’ll experience some culture shock personally and professionally. I envision that this period of time will be one of syncretization, which brings me to this blog.