Arshad Khan is an accomplished musician known for his mastery of the esraj, a traditional Indian string instrument. The esraj is a bowed instrument with sympathetic strings, creating a unique and melodious sound. Arshad Khan comes from a musical lineage, as he is the son of Ustad Allauddin Khan, ...

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...

Ken Zuckerma performs Raga Rathipathi at the Darbar Festival 2021.

Musicians:
Tabla - Surdarshan Singh

Ken Zuckerma performs Raga Gorakh Kalyan at the Darbar Festival 2021.

Musicians:
Tabla - Surdarshan Singh

Ken Zuckerma performs Raag Kaushi Kanara at the Darbar Festival 2021.

Musicians:
Tabla - Surdarshan Singh

Ken Zuckerma performs Raag Sindih Bhairavi at the Darbar Festival 2021.

Musicians:
Tabla - Surdarshan Singh

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...

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...

The northern-most state of Jammu which is the native region of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, has one of the richest folk cultures in India. Jammu is a colourful platter of music, art, crafts and agriculture that constitute the main livelihood of its people.

Raag Pahadi is based on the folk melodies o...

Introducing Raag Puriya Kalyan with a sparkling alap, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma builds the evening raga bridging the lower and middle octaves with the lower Ni and anchoring on Pa, its dominant note. Raag Puriya Kalyan is performed during the time of ‘deep-jyoti’. ‘Deep’ means earthen lamp and ‘jyo...

Raag Kaushik Dhwani was previously known as Bhinna Shadaj. ‘Bhinna’ means differentiated and ‘Shadaj’ means the first note or Sa. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma performs a lighter piece based on this raga. He bases the main melodic lines on Kaushik Dhwani and introduces an element of surprise in almost ...

Raag Bhoopkali is also known as Bhoopeshwari. It is believed to be a creation of Ustad Alladiya Khan of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. However, its emergence almost forty years after his death (1945) makes this information confusing. In the subsequent years of its soaring to popularity in music frat...

Raag Shudh Sarang is a derivative of the ‘Sarang’ family of ragas that reside in the cluster of afternoon ragas in the Hindustani system. Sarang itself was born out of the rustic folk melodies of India and hence, any sarang-raga is inevitably influenced by the unpretentious simplicity of folk.

I...

Pandit Kushal Das's performance of raag Jaunpuri from the Darbar Festival 2021

Shot in an opulent heritage palace in Bawali located about 35 kilometres outside the periphery of Kolkata, this video seeks to bring the intimate ambience of a ‘baithak’ - a private soiree – to audiences. Till the earlier part of the 20th century, Indian classical music was a key element that con...

Parvez begins with a serene alap of this morning raga, delineating its contours with expressive embellishments over his murkis and meends of varying weights. From the calming effect of the alap, he traverses towards a stunning jod, combining the technical virtuosity of tantrakari with profound an...

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...

Abhisek Lahiri concludes his performance at the Darbar Festival 2011 with the sweet raga, Chayanat. His exposition of the melody is serene as well as a welcome choice after a majestic Shree which precedes this piece.

Lahiri performs a gat (composition) in medium tempo in Rupak taal (7 beats) in ...

Panesar plays Raag Puriya, an evening melody belonging to the parent scale Marwa. This is a courageous choice as Puriya is wrapped up in complex layers which make the raga inaccessible even to senior and seasoned artists at times.

Puriya’s revealing phrases reside in the lower and middle octav...

Parvez’s portrayal of Bhairavi is deeply profound; In this piece from the Darbar Festival 2007, he concludes his recital with this composition set to a rhythmic cycle of 6 beats (Dadra). Pandit Yogesh Samsi gives a mellowed accompaniment on the tabla, suited against the devotional mood and pathos...

Alam Khan’s portrayal of Raag Bhimpalasi takes an unassuming quality with the serene tonality of his sarod and the confident cadence of his introductory phrases.

He explores the lower octave with sustained notes, delineating a haunting and sweet portrait of the melody. Gradually, he approaches ...

In an impromptu sitting in Italy, Debasmita Bhattacharya plays Raag Jog on her sarod accompanied by two of India's finest percussionists, Patri Satish Kumar (mridangam) and Ghatam Giridhar Udupa (ghatam).

Jog comprises one of the most enduring musical mysteries of all time in Hindustani classi...

This is the second piece from Purbayan Chatterjee’s performance at the Darbar Festival 2011. He introduces Darbari Kanada with a comprehensive alap, traversing both the lower and upper octaves. The composition is a legendary tarana in ektaal (12 beats) immortalised by the late Ustad Amir Khan of ...

Purbayan Chatterjee plays the much loved, Raag Maru Bihag as the opening melody of his performance at the Darbar Festival 2011. He opens the recital with an alap, jor and jhala and then plays two compositions. He is accompanied by Anubrata Chatterjee on the tabla who gives commendable support, ma...