India, Nov. 30 -- "You must be seated by 9," instructed our tickets to a dinner performance at Minton's, the legendary jazz lounge in Harlem. It was a stroke of luck that allowed us entry many years ago, before the place temporarily shut for the millionth time. The history of these temporary closures is no less interesting than that of the birth of modern jazz here. But that's for another time. Today, it's about how a recent trip to Lucknow reminded me of the etiquette of jazz learnt at Minton's.

Across the world, certain art forms survive not merely because of virtuoso performers but because their audiences understand the subtle power of participation. They know when to lean in, when to recede, and when to let their sighs become part of...