Why do Hindustani classical musicians of middling talent hog India’s mainstream when more meritorious names get relegated to the margins? Why does popular acclaim often evade the sincerest practitioners of this art, even as those indulging in packaged theatrics reap rich rewards? Is it down merely to “naseeb” – destiny – or are there more malign systemic forces at play?

In The Secret Master: Arun Kashalkar and a Journey to the Edge of Music, journalist Sumana Ramanan unpeels these big questions, using the unsung performing career of her guru Arun Kashalkar as a springboard to launch a scathing critique of our musical ecosystem that obscures the real treasures of the tradition to the fringe while giving repeated spotlight to a limited roster of superstar musicians, often with suspect credentials.

“Naseeb”, writes Ramanan, “is like a black box in an air crash. It needs to be opened and examined, and not accepted stoically.

Over 400 pages, the author does precisely that – forensically investigating the “invisible hand” of the market in pushing honest musicians to the brink of survival while making celebrities of those who pander to the demands of the masses.

In doing so, Ramanan courageously takes on powerful establishments and apathetic patrons; the impresarios who indulge in gaudy variety...

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