Searching for satyam

Indian music set the stage for the world-music phenomenon back in the 1960s when the Beatles learned to meditate. But it's largely been eclipsed by African-derived genres. With the success of bhangra along with fusion discs by Joi, Jai Uttal, and Trilok Gurtu, Indian music is finally moving into the spotlight. South African-born Deepak Ram yokes his supple bansuri flute to a San Francisco Bay Area-based combo, mixing North Indian classical styles with jazz, funk, and even flamenco. The acoustic-instrument setting delivers a high pleasure quotient. Eduardo Niebla trills his guitar like an African kora on "Danse Pour Kooksie Aux Ben," and tabla player Partha Sarathi Mukerjee throws a delicate spell on the swirling title cut. But Deepak Ram is a force of nature unto himself, variously fluttering through passages in butterfly fashion, bending notes so far you expect to hear the wood crack, and burrowing deep down into the soul, making magic of everything his breath touches.