Let's journey back in time to Darbar Festival 2022 when we were graced by the exceptional talent of Sabir Sultan Khan, accompanied by the very talented Aneesh Pradhan on Tabla.
Khan is the musical genius son of legendary sarangi player and vocalist Padma Bhushan Ustad Sultan. The sarangi is one India’s oldest instruments mentioned first by Śārṅgadeva (1175–1247) and has been used in classical music since at least the 17th century. It is the vocalist’s choice of accompaniment, and also stands proud as a solo instrument. Khan explores ragas through the lilting and captivating sounds of the sarangi weaving and bending raga notes to a hypnotic trance. Khan has developed a style which gives the audience deeply stirring and richly coloured sounds. A global traveller, he regularly accompanies Ustad Zakir Hussain. Pradhan is a disciple of the late illustrious tabla maestro Pandit Nikhil Ghosh from whom he inherited a rich and varied repertoire of traditional tabla solo compositions from the Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad and Punjab gharanas. He provides sensitive and roaring tabla accompaniment to match the power of the sarangi. Pradhan’s latest book is entitled Chasing the Raag Dream: A Look into the World of Hindustani Music. He has also directed and produced a short film entitled Pratidhvani: Reverberations of the Nanasaheb Panse Pakhawaj Tradition.