Improvisation can improve emotional resilience – it can help us learn to ‘go with the flow’ Learning music –of any genre – has proven to have direct positive impacts on students....
Mental health issues are on the rise amongst children and young people. Is raga music from India the best natural anti-depressant? Parents are notorious for being worrywarts about their children. Is my...
When you think of the violin, you might envision an older gentleman in a tuxedo playing in a grand concert hall. But in Indian classical music, the violin takes on a whole...
The heart of qawwali with one of the most illustrious qawwals alive today “Is this Aysha-ji speaking?” The honeyed voice probes through static on my phone, dripping with a politeness it doesn’t...
Move over, Cinderella. The humble pumpkin has a higher purpose to fill. As a small team working to push the boundaries of Indian art, Darbar recognises that many musical milestones are only...
In the centuries-old tradition of Indian classical music, few living legends can claim to have single-handedly made history. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was one of those few. An exponent of the dulcimer-like santoor,...
“I focus on the first Dha which will compel you to listen to the tabla!” Pandit Subhankar Banerjee. Note: Dha is a syllable in the spoken language of tabla created by playing...
1976 In a Southall ravaged by fascist attacks, the unassuming Ramgharia Sabha Southall sits nestled on Oswald Street, amid flickering kaleidoscopic images of British-Asian duality. ‘Little India’, they call it, but the...
Devotional music has played a profound role in the history of Indian classical music, deeply intertwined with spiritual and religious traditions. Rooted in the sacred texts and practices of Hinduism, Sikhism, and...
The Sarangi is a bowed string instrument known for its deeply emotive and vocal-like quality, often considered the closest instrument to the human voice in Indian classical music. It has a short,...