Recorded at Darbar Festival 2013, on 21st September, at London’s Southbank Centre.

Musicians:
- Anupama Bhagwat (sitar)
- Gurdain Rayatt (tabla)

Raag Jhinjhoti; Thaat: Khamaj; Samay: Night

“So exhilarating has been the beauty of my journey in the realms of music, that the destination is no longer important” (Anupama Bhagwat)

Anupama Bhagwat’s sitar style combines the best elements of the Imdadkhani gharana - structured alap playing, rapid taans, and a detailed master of gayaki ang [singing style]. Her varied approach reflects the eclecticism of her guru Bimalendu Mukherjee, a sitarist who also played veena, surbahar, sarod, sursingar, mandra bahar, dilruba, esraj, tar shehnai, and pakhawaj. She won All India Radio’s sitar competition in 1994, and has participated in fusion projects such as Global Rhythms and Shanti. Now based in Bangalore, she continues to refine her style while touring to acclaim.

Jhinjhoti is a light and playful raga of the late night, popular in classical instrumental music as well as semi-classical genres such as tappa and thumri. It is commonly used in mangalashtak [Hindu wedding rituals]. It ascends pentatonically with the swaras SRmPDS, sometimes allowing a touch of shuddha Ga, and descends with SnDPmGRS. Ga and Ni are the vadi and samvadi [king and queen notes], although Ga is typically used as a resting note in the descent only. Low Dha is often used to begin ascending melodies, and performers typically focus on mandra and madhya saptak [low and middle octaves]. Dhrupad musicians sometimes refer to it as Khamboji, and Abdul Karim Khan's rendition is said to have left a strong impression on the young Bhimsen Joshi.

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