This book is an attempt at a rational reconstruction of the fundamental principles of Indian Musicology and tries to indicate how the basic aesthetic appeal of the Ragas could be best interpreted. Challenging the idea that Indian music is a closed orthodox set of so-called rigid rules and principles, it treats Indian music as rooted in man's spiritual vision. Music unfolds this vision spontaneously thought proportionate note-sequences and it is the unending pilgrimage of man which opens richer and greater horizons where man can find his home to be a hermitage of abiding peace and blissful joy.

Throughout the book there runs a single thread, namely, the transcendental dimension of the spiritual vision in aesthetic enjoyment, as reflected in the musical creativity of India, from the ancient period. The criticism of the so-called gharana system together with a criticism of the traditional tala system and other allied issues regarding the concepts of raga and rasa will be helpful to the scholars and researchers in this field.

The distinctive feature of this book is the treatment of the revolutionary experiments of Rabindranath Tagore on Indian music and its musicology. This section will stimulate specialists and general readers alike. This book is a must for western readers.

Born on January 1, 1934, Pradip Kumar Sengupta M.A., P.R.S., Ph.D. is the seniormost Professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Vidya Bhavana) of Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India. He is at present working in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Visva Bharati.

Professor Sengupta has been the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Adhyaksha, Vidya Bhavana) during 1984-86 and the Head of the Department of Philosophy and Religion during 1982-85. He was appointed National Lecturer by the University Grants Commission during 1984-85. He was a member of the Institute Board of Sangeet Bhavana (Faculty of Music) and also of Siksha Bhavana (Faculty of Science), Visva Bharati. He was associated with the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics for higher research in the year 1971.

With the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta and with Sangeet Bhavana, Visva Bharati, Professor Sengupta has been associated for a long time in various administrative and academic capacities. He has lectured at different national level seminars organized by Indian Universities and Research Institures. Apart from his professional expertise in Logic and Philosophy of Science, he has done intensive research in Musicology and is actively engaged in supervising doctoral research in visual art and in music at Visva Bharati.

His other publications include: An Introduction to Philosophy (Progressive Publishers, Calcutta, 1966); Demonstration and Logical Truth (Academic Publishers Calcutta, 1968); The Logical Structure of Science (Centre of Advanced Study, Visva Bharati, 1970); Anumiti Pariksha (Scientific Book Agency, Calcutta, 1978).