The surbahar’s deep-toned strings are set on a broad neck, allowing the musician to explore the entire octave within a single fret simply by bending the strings - a technique that is notoriously painful and also requires strength and endurance, apart from laser-like focus and precision. A fine exponent of both the surbahar and the sitar, Ustad Irshad Khan hails from the illustrious Etawah (‘Imdadkhani’) gharana alongside greats such as Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Vilayat Khan (1928-2004) and his father, Ustad Imrat Khan (1935-2018). Khan’s ancestors also gave shape to the modern sitar, customising the design and mastering gayaki ang (vocal style).

In this concert from 2008, he performs Raag Darbari Kanada on it and switches to the sitar to perform another major movement in Raag Bihag followed by a folk miniature.

Partnering with him on the rhythms is Sukhwinder Singh ‘Pinky’ on the jori- an instrument that was created by the 5th Sikh saint Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606) when kirtans (spiritual hymns) were transforming from classical style to more of devotional.

Ustad Khan performs alap (rhythmless introduction), jod (rhythmless expansion with a linear pulse) and a composition in medium tempo (madhyalay) in Darbari Kanada. Evoking a sombre mood of the midnight raga, he explores its terrain in depth, his blistering fingers strumming the surbahar with patient and rapid movements to lay down the various shades, structures and emotions of the raga.

From a solemn mood, Khan swiftly shifts to one of heady romance with his sitar taking playfully to a radiant, joyful composition in medium tempo (madhyalay) Teental. The speed builds up to a fast one (drut) and yet faster (ati drut) where he plays a powerful jhalla or crescendo – the highly energetic segment with a strong rhythmic accompaniment where the main string is strummed rapidly with the chikari, an onomatopoeic word denoting the top-most string on the surbahar, strummed to maintain pulse and add to its polyphonic sound.

Ustad Khan demonstrates his concluding miniature with a short vocal presentation and follows with his sitar. A folksy tune from northern India, the first sentence of which centres around Raag Khamaj and then plays out into shades of other ragas, Khan tapers the energies beautifully from serious and heavy-set to romantic and finally to a playful, light-hearted melody.

Singh’s broad-based approach in this concert opens with a robust accompaniment of probing, dense bols attuned to the frosty, numbing strains of Darbari Kanada. The thicker textures shape-shift in joyful discontinuities to nimble, chirpy delineation of complex improvisations to suit the romantic behaviour of Bihag. The final folk piece leads to a heart-warming, extraordinary trade of crisp energies with Ustad Khan’s sitar.

Musicians

Ustad Irshad Khan (surbahar)

Sukhwinder Singh ‘Pinky’ (jori)

Debipriya Das (tanpura)