The sarod is a plucked string instrument, now as popular and predominant in North Indian classical music as the sitar. Compared to the sitar, it produces a sound that is somewhat weightier,...
Sukhdeep Dhanjal is an eminent UK-based tabla player, and son-in-law to Bhai Gurmeet Singh Virdee, in whose memory Darbar Festival was founded. He has performed at WOMAD, Reading Festival, and the BBC,...
Aayush Mohan is today considered one of the finest Sarod players on the global scenario of Indian Classical music. Along with his brother, Sitar Player Lakshay Mohan, the two are known as...
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...
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...
Indian classical music has a built-in pecking order, not only based on the seniority or ability of musicians but also by drawing a clear distinction between vocal and instrumental music. Vocal performance...
A very gradual and long-drawn out evolution through complex historical and social factors eventually led to two distinct traditions associated with two different ethnicities. The people of North India are, broadly, defined...
The lifeblood of all Indian classical music, whether Hindustani (North Indian) or Carnatic (South Indian), is the concept of raag (in English, spelt and pronounced ‘raga’ after its Sanskrit form – although...
Breaking down the origins and shapes of Raag Malkauns, an auspicious form with dark, divine origins. —Part of Living Traditions: 21 articles for 21st-century Indian classical music Raag Malkauns is often said...
The Patiala khayal superstar discusses her unique cultural heritage, the power of physical expression, and how to lose yourself in the divine. —Part of Living Traditions: 21 articles for 21st-century Indian classical...