Nishat Khan | Raag Bhairavi
Morning Ragas
•
8m 29s
Ustad Nishat Khan presents two ragas – Darbari Kanada and Bhairavi in this concert. He represents an unbroken lineage of 7 generations of sitar and surbahar players. His father is the legendary Ustad Imrat Khan, a surbahar maestro and his uncle is none other than Ustad Vilayat Khan.
Ustad Khan begins Darbari Kanada with an alap. He traces the foundational elements of the raga - komal Ga and komal Dha - with meends, subtly suspending the notes in mid-air in a sustained sway of oscillations. He lustily portrays the withdrawn yet potent personality of the raga with consummate command over technique and emotions. The grace notes of komal Dha during descent and of komal Ga during both ascent and descent are captured with an enduring elegance. A vibrant jod and jhalla follow the alap, creating premonitions of the exciting rhythmic journey that is to follow.
In his sonorous voice, Ustad Khan demonstrates the composition, ‘Tumsa Karim Hakim Rahim’, (You are the compassionate one, the healer, the Almighty) before he begins the same on his sitar on a rhythmic cycle of 16 beats or Teental in madhyalay.
Shahbaz Khan plays a restrained accompaniment with Ustad Khan’s elaborations. He brings in flashes of deeply complex and energetic patterns during intervals accorded to him between the melodic development of the raga.
The faster composition, also in Teental, is decorated with intense laykari where the notes are bound in clusters of five, six and seven over the 16-beat cycle. Darbari Kanada is concluded with a dazzling jhalla in an upward tempo where Ustad Khan’s display of tantrakari (instrumental nuances) is well-complemented by Shahbaz Khan’s tabla.
Ustad Khan winds up his performance with a Dadra in Raag Bhairavi, “Saiyyan More Jaan Gaye Preetam,” of which, he also gives a vocal demonstration. The composition is set to a swaying lit of six beats – also known as Dadra, a folksy rhythm that is mostly used in sensuous, romantic songs derived from folk music of central and western India. Shahbaz Khan’s intonation of the romance and drama in this composition is heart-melting.
Music
Ustad Nishat Khan (sitar)
Shahbaz Hussain (tabla)
Emmanuel Masongsong (tanpura)
Up Next in Morning Ragas
-
Jyoti Hegde | Raag Basant
Dhrupad is the foremost improvisational classical system from India, rooted in its micro tonal slow to fast development. The primal sounds of the rudra veena comes alive in the hands of Hegde as she micro bends the raga (melody) notes. One of the slowest forms of Indian classical music styles, al...
-
Rakesh Chaurasia | Ahir-Bhairav
Special performance filmed in an empty auditorium during Darbar Festival.
Chaurasia is a true exponent of the therapeutic impact of the bansuri, “The notes have to do something within your system so it affects your chakras and your mind frame,” he explains, adding that the correct timing (also kn... -
Kaivalya Kumar Gurav | Full Concert
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...
