Last night, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain performed at Roussel Hall as a night of Indian Classical Music presented by the Indian Arts Circle of New Orleans and Loyola. Not surprisingly, Zakir’s explosive statements on tablas lit up the audience – drummers are drummers – but the beauty and mystery of the evening rested in Sharma’s ragas. As he explored the possible variations on simple melodies on the santoor, it became clear that by refocusing attention at almost any moment in the melody, there was an galaxy of relevant improvisations to pursue within the family of related notes. When he incorporated a new note into the vocabulary of the piece, it was melodically right and as startling as pyrotechnics under the circumstances. Sharma’s performance suggested a universe of infinite possibilities.