Recorded on location at Mahabalipuram Tiger Cave, Tamil Nadu, India.

Musician:
- J.A. Jayanath (bansuri)

Raag Sindhu Bhairavi, Thaat: Asavari, Samay: Early Morning

Set amongst the stunning Tiger Caves said to have been built in the 8th century AD, Jayanth plays Sindhu Bhairavi. As a child his grandmother V.S. Sundar gave him a grounding in Carnatic vocal music, and his grandfather T.S. Sankaran taught him the venu (bamboo flute). Over the years he developed his own techniques, allowing him to play deep-bass flutes with ease. Renowned for his mastery at playing ragam-thanam-pallavi at all variety of speeds, Jayanth cites musical greats of the North and South as influences - Flute Mali, Hariprasad Chaurasia, N. Balasubramanian, and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. He won ‘Carnatic Idol’ in 2007.

Sindhu Bhairavi is a versatile Carnatic raga. It is popular for bhajans and lighter song forms - performers enjoy the rare freedom of being able to use all 12 notes (known as Bhashanga), allowing for a wide range of ornamentations. The core scale ascends as SR₂G₂M₁PD₁N₂S and descends as SN₂D₁PM₁G₂R₁S, with the characteristic use of two different Ri swaras. It may have origins in the Middle East, and has strong links to North Indian music, although should not be confused with the related but distinct Hindustani Raag Bhairavi.