Recorded at Darbar Festival 2015 on 20th September, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's Southbank Centre.

Musicians:
- Kaushiki Chakraborty (khayal vocal)
- Satyajit Talwalker (tabla)
- Milind Kulkarni (harmonium)
- Ranjana Ghatak (tanpura)
- Gunwant Dhadyalla (tanpura)

Raag Bhimpalasi; Thaat: Kafi; Samay: Afternoon

Kaushiki Chakraborty sings the romantic afternoon Raag Bhimpalasi, showcasing the ornaments and rapid-fire melodies of her Patiala khayal gharana.

Kaushiki’s virtuoso technique is the result of years of intense training, primarily from her esteemed father Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty. She hails from the Patiala gharana, known for a strong Islamic influence and elaborate ornamentation when singing taan [fast improvised melodies]. She describes her approach: “It’s all in the mind. One has to mentally align oneself to the form...My training has taught me two approaches to music – to do music and or to become it. The latter gives you the fluidity to transcend form and become one with it.”

Milind Kulkarni, also featured, is a modern exponent of Hindustani classical harmonium. Starting at the age of seven, he learned fast under the tutelage of successive gurus - Vasantrao Gurav, Anna Diwan, and Pramod Marathe. He still studies under the latter, and also receives accompaniment instruction from leading non-harmonium artists too, including vocalist Ulhas Kashalkar and tabla maestro Suresh Talwalkar.

Bhimpalasi is an afternoon raga, said to evoke sringara [attraction, romantic love]. It uses the notes of Kafi thaat, with an aroha [ascent] of nSgmPnS and an avroh [descent] of SnDPmgRS. Characteristically, Dha and Re only appear in the descending line, and are approached from the notes above. Ma is the vadi [king note]. The raga uses the notes of the Western Dorian mode, and the closest Carnatic raga is Abheri