Looking for Miss Sargam

‘Set in the heart of the world of Indian music, these are stories with a rhythm entirely their own. They speak of hope and disaster, genius and fakery in surprising ways. And they are wickedly funny.’—JERRY PINTO

After thousands of hours of training and practice, the gods of music smile upon the deserving few. Genius shines; melody and goodness reign supreme; and all is right with the world.

Or is it?

What happens, for instance, when a cunning PR brain brings together two star musicians from India and Pakistan in a concert for peace? Or when a Hindustani vocalist, long denied a foreign tour, flies from Pune to Philadelphia? Or when a small-town music teacher and a big-city businessman team up to plan a hunt for India’s best new classical talent—and make a few crores in the process?

How does it all end when a harmonium player desirous of a Padma Shri award comes to a powerful ustad for a recommendation? Or when a Bollywood director calls a classical singer, offering to make her a sensation, like the mysterious Miss Sargam whom no one hears anymore but everyone remembers?

And is it really a good idea for an old-world recording company to reinvent itself for the twenty-first century, or a devotee of a pious godwoman to compose songs for Hollywood?

In this, her debut work of fiction, one of India’s finest and most original musicians has produced a sparkling collection—utterly distinctive, hugely entertaining and mercilessly funny.