The violin has held a storied place in much of European classical music.

But sometime in the 17th century, it began to intrigue maestros from a very different and ancient musical tradition who then adopted it.

This is the story of one American violinist who sought to explore what's become known as the Carnatic violin.

Fred de Sam Lazaro has that report from southern India for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

The violinists come from musical traditions as distant as their respective hometowns.

Sumant Manjunath's home is right here in Mysur, a rising star in Carnatic music, who was performed across the world.

Ariana Kim from St. Paul, Minnesota, Grammy nominated a violin professor at Cornell University, far more familiar with the musical scores of Bach or Handel than this Raga in the Carnatic tradition, improvised entirely.

Kim is spending a sabbatical in India, learning a very different adaptation of her instrument,

learning that's taken some unlearning, like posture. One of the hard things is to resist the temptation to do

what my Western sort of muscles and ear want to do,

like learning how to use these muscles differently,

and using this muscle differently.

The instrument sits like an inverted cello, resting on the foot,

artists seated on the floor.

The traditional tambura strings here replicated via a phone app.

You just plug it in and it makes this beautiful drone to play against.

And wherever they set that up is their sa.

The sa, another adjustment for Kim, tuning her instrument to the Karnatak scale, or Raga.

So doori me fasso lasi is sadega ma padani.

So they all have a direct equivalent. Not quite that simple.

The scales are, as she puts it, ornamented.

It might sound... Carnatic music is played mostly in South India,

...