concepts of Hindustani sangeet (music,rhythm, and Kathak dance) against the art theories of Susanne K.Langer, an eminent aesthetician of the recent past; but nowherewithout meticulous attention to the text of her writings. Theexpression theory of art has for long dominated the history ofaesthetics. At the hands of Langer, however, the theory takes a newturn. She conceives of art not as a direct self-expression of theartists immediate affective state, but as a symbolic expression ofhis knowledge of what she terms variously as felt life, sentience,or forms of feeling. Drawing freely upon examples from the regionof Hindustani sangeet, the present book accepts Langers protestagainst the popular view of artistic expression, but contends thatthere is a good deal in our music and dance which has nothing to dowith feeling, and is admired simply because of its sweetness,clarity, shapeliness, and accordance with grammatical norms. In thechapter on music, while discussing Langers emphasis on commandingform in a total performance, the author proposes a quite newdefinition of raga which seeks to integrate the various points inits traditional characterizations. The third chapter too, whichdeals with Langers view of rhythm, is not merely explanatory, butventures to propose a fresh and fairly defensible definition ofrhythm. The closing chapter, devoted to dance, not only essays tomeet some key objections to Langers writing on this art, butclarifies some atypical language that she uses in this context:apparition of vital powers; the dynamic image; virtual realities;and the created, superhuman dance-personality. But perhaps thetwo most striking features of the book are: first, a lucidexposition of the essentials of Langers aesthetics in the openingchapter; and, second, abounding illustrative references toHindustani sangeet.