It was only in subsequent years that I had built up enough immunities to function properly. If you are a healthy individual and have figured a certain amount of time lost due to ill health, than by all means have at it. However if you feel that it is a risk you cannot take, then you had better not go. Obviously if you have never touched a sitar , you are not going to go over and come back in a month playing like Ravi Shankar. This is a totally unrealistic expectation.
Indian music is a complex interplay of fixed composition and improvisation.
This requires a certain cultural sensitivity which is difficult to get outside of India. Although the technical side of the training may be ever so good in Europe, there are numerous musical aspects that simply do not make sence outside of the cultural framework of the rural American South. The financial considerations for study in India are mixed. If one has outside funds, an extended period of time in India can be very economical. This is especially true if one is able to devote years of time to the study.