i wouldn't count on it. consider: you can have a few songs under your belt on guitar or piano in a matter of months. in indian music, you are considered a beginning (maybe intermediate) student after 10 years of practice, if you practice hard. at my university, the beginning sitar class spends an entire quarter on one raga, and at the end they are just playing a form, not actually improvising.
if your desire is just to learn how it works, there's some resources out there like the ones already mentioned. most simply put, a raga is a set of notes that have a hierarchy of importance and a specific ascending and descending pattern. this, with a lot of study, you could learn and incorporate into your own music. what you will be missing however, and what only a teacher can show you, is the true essence of the raga; each has it's own phrasing tendencies, ornamental nuances, and characteristic motifs.
