Dharwad is regarded as the Mecca of north Indian classical vocalists. The father of the Kirana gharana, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (1872-1947), settled here and nurtured many musical luminaries and created a deep connection between north Indian and Carnatic music. Hailing from the same region, Pandit...

Renowned for a strong social conscience that advocates respectful treatment of women in Indian classical music, Shubha Mudgal’s performances are the result of an eclectic and magnificent repository harvested from a wide range of gurus - notably, Ramashreya Jha ‘Ramrang’, Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya,...

In this exciting presentation, two evening ragas are portrayed in two different styles. Pravin Godkhindi performs Raag Maru Bihag in the gayaki ang – a style where an instrumentalist tries to bring the recital closest to a vocal presentation by incorporating sustained notes, slow oscillations and...

Pandit Kushal Das, a master of sitar and surbahar, follows in the footsteps of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee's Maihar tradition. Despite growing up in a family of accomplished musicians, he was given the freedom to explore music at his own pace, initially finding solace in playing film songs. But Kushal...

Rahul Sharma acquired the fundamentals of Hindustani classical ragas first on a harmonium. It was only after he turned 13 that he was allowed to switch to the 100-stringed santoor (Indian hammered dulcimer). He imbibed the best from his father and built upon it to create his own style. Today, he
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Sudha Ragunathan's performance from the Darbar Festival 2019

Music Pieces:
Daru Varnam in Raga Vasuntha
Virtam in Raga Varali
Kriti in Raga Kalyani by Saint Thyagaraja
Ragam Thanam Pallavi in Raga Madimavati
Killikani in Raga Senjuruthi
Tillana in Raga Brindanavi by Dr M Balamuralikrishna

Musi...

Each raga evokes a definite emotion or rasa, but according to Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, this concept is relative. He states that the emotions of a raga are subject to the mood, temperament and personal taste of the musician who is interpreting it. Before he begins his first item Puriya Kalyan, he ...

In 2006, the Darbar Festival featured eminent vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty in two sessions. The first recital was a pure Hindustani classical presentation. However, the multi-talented Pandit Chakraborty comes with vast and authoritative experience in various semi-classical forms, naturally st...

Raag Jhinjhoti exudes a folksy charm. It expands best in the lower and middle octaves with happy, vibrant strides. Debasmita Bhattacharya chooses Jhinjhoti for her sarod recital at the Darbar Festival 2017. The forebearers of this stringed lute weighing almost 10 kilograms (22 lbs) is a largely a...

In this video, the versatile flute exponent Ronu Majumdar, widely known for his lively and engaging renditions in classical and cross-over music, presents a bouquet of breath-taking ragas on the bansuri (bamboo flute). Accompanying him on the tabla is Pandit Subhankar Banerjee who delves soulfull...

Kala Ramnath's performance at the Darbar Festival 2019

Music Peices:
Raag Jogkauns
Raag Tilak Kamod
Raag Bhairavi

Musicians:
Kala Ramnath (violin)
Yogesh Samsi (tabla)
Srutti Suresan (tanpura)

During the earlier part of the 19th century, the sursingar was born in India as a modified version of the seniya rebab. The moisture-laden air of the intense Indian monsoons affected the gut strings and membrane-covered sound-box of the seniya rebab, taking away the crispness of its sound. Therea...

Ken Zuckerman's performance at the Darbar Festival 2021

Music Peices:
Raag Kaushi Kanara
Raag Chandranandan
Raag Gorakh Kalyan
Raag Sindih Bhairavi

Musicians:
Ken Zuckerman (sarod)
Surdarshan Chana (tabla)

Manjiri Asnare-Kelkar performing at the Darbar Festival 2019

A decade after selling out her concert at the festival, one of the finest sitar maestras returns. Roopa Panesar performs captivating and soul-stirring ragas from the Hindustani tradition of north India, accompanied on the tabla by Shahbaz Hussain, one of the UK’s master Indian musicians. Savour t...

Sanju Sahai and Ravi Shankar Upadhyay give a stunning performance, merging the tabla and pakhawaj – the two fundamental percussion instruments of Hindustani Indian classical music into a spectacular duet. In a light-hearted announcement to the audience, Sahai informs that although they had never ...

Hailing from the Senia-Maihar gharana, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar fuses gayaki (lyrical vocal imitation) with tantrakari (intricate instrumental playing) in a complex and refined style. A versatile musician who has studied under various gurus including his grandfather, Bibhuti Ranjan (mando...

In this concert from the Darbar Festival 2021, Dr. Srikanth offers a deluge of beautiful ragas and compositions.

Ragas:
Raga Hamsadhvani
Raga Darbar
Raga Malea Marta 14:02
Raga Nalina Kanti
Raga Vajaspathi
Tillana in Raga Rathipathi Puja

Musicians:
Dr Jyotsna Srikanth (violin)
B C Manjunath ...

In this enthralling performance, the amazing percussionist Sukhvinder Singh will take you on a breathtaking journey. We hope you enjoy his presentation recorded at the Darbar Festival 2021.

Musicians:
Sukhvinder Singh (tabla)
Milind Kulkarni (harmonium)

Raag Khem Kalyan is a variant of Yaman Kalyan. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande describes it as “Yaman Kalyan with a twist”. She sings a brief alap and then the vilambit bandish which is set to taal Addha – a variant of Teental. She offers a similar description for Addha, calling it “Teental with a twist....

Located in the north-western part of south-west India, Dharwad emanates the rich essence of a culturally fertile past. Pandit Vinayak Torvi comes from Ranebennur in the Dharwad belt – a territory that was home to some of the greatest Hindustani classical vocalists like Mallikarjun Mansur and Pand...

A pioneer of his generation, Abhishek Raghuram seeps his performances with intellect and artistry. He comes from a widely respected lineage steeped in the rich tradition of Carnatic music. Critics have lauded him as an artist who uses form and grammar to create unprecedented techniques in roller-...

Ken Zuckerman gives an immaculate performance at the Darbar Festival 2007. He performs a long piece in Raag Bhimpalasi and then concludes his recital with Durgeshwari, a favourite raga of his guru – Late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

With his extraordinary talent, tenacity and musicianship, Zuckerman ha...

Harjinderpal Matharu's intuitive tuning and re-tuning of his santoor on stage is reflective of the years of training he has had under the legendary Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Matharu is a quiet in nature but a very well-spoken musician brimming with infectious confidence on stage. His chiseled proj...