While the mandolin is often associated with European folk music, its impact on Indian classical music has been nothing short of remarkable, thanks to the sublimely talented late Mandolin U Srinivas (1969...
Khayal is now the most dominant form of North Indian classical vocal music. The word (also spelt khyal) comes from the Persian for imagination because it offers the performer more freedom and...
The sitar is Hindustani music’s prime plucked string instrument, and the first one to be widely heard and recognised in the West through the appearance of Ravi Shankar. Although its exact origins...
Swami Haridas, a mystic-musician and renowned guru of the early 16th century, is thought to have had an innate knowledge of classical music gained through numerous spiritual and devotional practices. Born around...
The young Bengali sarod star discusses inspiration from nature, music and gender, and the illusory nature of raga. —Part of Living Traditions: 21 articles for 21st-century Indian classical music Debasmita Bhattacharya is...
Live Indian classical music is a transcendent and transformative experience like no other. And while Darbar has made a repository of high-quality content available online—with over 400 videos uploaded on our YouTube...
Aruna Sairam’s performance at Darbar Festival 2016 was a demonstration of how to count the beat with true flair. Fingers flying, heartily slapping her thigh, shooting up and down in a vivid...
Hindustani tabla masters combine jaw-dropping precision with a hugely imaginative approach to improvisation. Here’s a 12-part taster of North India’s most astonishing drum. —Part of Living Traditions: 21 articles for 21st-century Indian...
Thumri is North India’s most popular light-classical song form, developed during the 19th century at the court of Lucknow’s ruler Wajid Ali Shah. It has very strong associations with kathak, North India’s...