A Brief Description of the Unit

In a recent brief journey across a part of the vast sub-continent of India, my senses were assailed, my visual, tactile, olfactory, aural and even, arguably, my spiritual. Unfortunately, for a whole range of reasons, some of these sensory responses were difficult to record.

The pages which follow document those parts of the journey where aural and, to a lesser extent, visual senses played the role of 'vehicle' to my sensory travel. As each new page focuses on a facet of the journey it might also draw the attention of students to the ways in which not only our aural, but a variety of our senses can engage us with music.

This brief series of pages cannot capture such a huge canvas of history and culture. Instead it offers brief personal reflections which sample the many sensory 'flavours' of India.

India's diverse people are often stereotyped in ways which do little justice to the wealth of social, spiritual and cultural activity in which they may engage.

Gardens before the entrance to the Taj Mahal

In the South of India, such significant aspects of living as food, clothing, building structure, the arts, are influenced by many regional factors. Here the climate is generally warmer and the people claim an ancient Dravidian heritage, manifest in their languages and culture. Further north there is increased evidence of external influences. Over thousands of years countless invasions and incursions by 'foreign' peoples have impacted on the ways in which people go about living.

A religious festival in a hill country village in western Tamil Nadu