Sitarist Niladri Kumar plays Mishra Bhairavi, named for the goddess of destruction, replete with chromaticism, double-stops, and extraordinary string bends.

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Niladri Kumar is known for his expansive modern sitar style, stretching the boundaries of classical music. Trained under his father, a disciple of Ravi Shankar, he was recognised as a prodigy. He has since developed an extraordinary technical command of his instrument, complete with dextrous double stops, whispering string bends, and rapid taans [fast improvised lines]. He makes forays into film composition and is the inventor of the ‘zitar’ - a curious hybrid of electric guitar and sitar. Today he tours extensively with Zakir Hussain’s groups as well as a solo artist.

“In Harry Potter, there’s a wand choosing scene where the wand and its user need to have a connect. The sitar too broadly works in a similar style. Only after the instrument and the artiste warm up to each other, the musical spark begins and the magic starts to flow.” (Niladri Kumar)

Bhairavi is often described as the ‘queen of rāgas’. It takes its name from the Hindu goddess of destruction, and conjures versatile moods. To some it can evoke ‘awe, terror, and chaos’; to others ‘a pleasant sobering atmosphere of love and piety’. It is played at sunrise, or alternatively as the final piece in a concert. Understanding the raga in depth is crucial to Hindustani learning - bansuri master Rupak Kulkarni recounts the approach of his guru Hariprasad Chaurasia: “Guruji taught me Raag Bhairavi for five years. When I complained about the repetition, he said: ‘You have to practice Bhairavi until your last breath’. That is what made me realize what swarabhyas [the study of notes] means”.

It is based on the form SrgmPdnS - all swaras [notes] are komal [flattened] except Sa, Ma, and Pa, like the Western Phrygian scale or Carnatic Raga Hanumatodi. The vadi and samvadi [king and queen notes] are typically taken to be Ma and Sa. The raga commonly takes a versatile mishra (‘mixed’) form - all 12 notes are allowed, thus injecting some comparatively rare chromaticism into Hindustani music. Its flexibility is unmatched in the raga pantheon.

Recorded for Darbar on 21 Sep 2014, at London’s Southbank Centre
- Niladri Kumar (sitar)
- Subhankar Banerjee (tabla)

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