nautch dance

In particular, it becomes apparent that the ways in which Indian music has been perceived in the West have reflected wider social and cultural movements in the history of the West's relationship with India.' Not surprisingly, Farrell finds that 'from the beginning of the West's encounter with Indian music, there have been cultural confusions and misunderstandings'; it is particularly these confusions and misunderstandings that attract his attention, because they contribute to 'the colonial re-creation of India' - the development in the West of an imagined India that, like the young Impey's parody of a nautch dance, bears only partial resemblance, at best, to the reality.