“Indian Music and Dance” is taken from Capra’s book The Uncommon Wisdom (1988). The essay gives an account of the writer’s meeting and interaction with Bismillah Khan and Sanjukta Panigrahi. The author is a lover of art and music. He visited Mumbai and got an opportunity to enjoy Bismillah Khan’s concert in one session.

In another session he enjoyed the Odissi dance by Sanjukta Panigrahi. The author got the most beautiful musical experiences of his life from the shehnai performance of Bismillah Khan. He was enchanted by the master’s brilliant performance. Bismillah Khan produced the most exquisite variations of melodic patterns evoking shades of mood ranging from light-hearted joy to spiritual serenity.

The author was deeply affected by the haunting sound of Bismillah Khan’s shehnai and the wide range of human emotions they evoked.

The author enjoyed Sanjukta’s dance in the next evening. Odissi comes under the category of classical dance. Every performance of classical dance is a dance drama in which the artists enact well-Known stories from Hindu mythology communicating a series of emotions through an elaborate language of stylized body postures, gestures and facial expressions. Both Sanjukta and the Guru danced. The writer was deeply impressed by their magical performance.