Indian classical music is much like the country it originates from—diverse and full of contrasts. Sandwiched between euphoric highs and devastating lows, there’s sadness, happiness, excitement and everything in between. It can be set to hundreds of different musical scales (ragas) and rhythmic patterns (talas) in two different major subgenres (Hindustani and Carnatic), sung in one of nearly a dozen languages and performed on dozens of traditional musical instruments. It can amaze you with its simple and lilting melodies and confound you with its overwhelming technicalities. But ask Indian classical music aficionados, and they’ll tell you that you needn’t know any of this to fall in love with the genre—the secret is to let go of technical comprehension and lose yourself in the music. An Indian classical music performance typically features compositions and extempore improvisation in almost equal measure. If you don’t understand the meaning of a composition, safely assume that it's describing the glory of one of Hinduism’s many gods. When not about deities, compositions concern other aspects to nourish the soul: nature, philosophy, social issues or romance. In improvising, musicians often walk a tightrope, showcasing their creative prowess while at the same time maintaining aesthetics—a skill developed through years of intensive training. This training was done until the mid–20th century through gurukuls, an effective system in which students lived with their teacher and helped with household chores while learning from and listening to them all day long. As with all other craft, an Indian classical musician can never really stop learning—the genre is constantly expanding under the influence of the many other subgenres of Indian music such as Bollywood, semi-classical, devotional and folk.