Dr. Gopalnath (1949 – 2019) is an explosion of talent in the world of music – he picked up a purely western instrument when he was 15 and applied it to Carnatic music, expanding the scope of the instrument and the possibilities of the genre. From working as a sales man to becoming a genre-defying...
In an inspiring rendition of Raag Bhimpalasi, Uday Bhawalkar brings the manifold facets of dhrupad alive at the Darbar Festival 2011. Bhawalkar belongs to a handful of dhrupad singers who have made this form popular and also inspired young students to take it up.
Each year, we try to give a f...
Playing a tabla solo at the Darbar Festival was not just another concert for Gurdain Rayatt. There sat an intimidating array of artists in the front row of King’s Place, London including Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. They were all Darbar’s artist line-up for the year 2011, senior and acclaime...
Arati Ankalikar is a stellar vocalist who straddles classical and light music with dynamism. While she has bagged many awards in Indiaas a playback singer in Hindi cinema, her thoroughness as a classical artist is awe-inspiring to the world.
This Director’s Cut concert is a discovery of the dep...
Shashank Subramanyam started learning early in life - some say he could recognise all 72 Melakarta scales by the age of two-and-a-half. His first musical immersions came with singing and violin, but he fell in love with the venu bamboo flute as soon as he picked it up, focusing on it from that po...
Instead of following one gharana, young musicians have an open approach these days. Most of them hand-pick nuances from different styles and blend them into their presentations. Abhisek Lahiri is no exception; But what makes him special is the distinctive elegance with which he bridges three majo...
Raag Ahir Bhairav | Thaat Bhairav | Samay 6am to 9am
Recorded at Ravenna, Italy
Debasmita Bhattacharya is one of India’s finest young sarod players. She balances a deep knowledge of classical forms with an expansive mindset, pushing the Hindustani tradition into the 21st century without compromi...
An impromptu tabla solo recorded in between the sound check of a concert with Pandit Kushal Das. Following almost three years of renovations, Queen Elizabeth Hall reopened on Monday 9 April 2018. The cultural landmark opens with world class, environmentally-improved new facilities for audiences a...
This Director’s Cut video features a refreshing voice from the Carnatic repertoire - P. Unnikrishnan. An artist of multiple talents, he gives a compelling performance at the Darbar Festival 2011 with some popular compositions and ragas in his remarkably dulcet and mellifluous voice.
Unnikrishn...
“My gurus...were all liberal thinkers and avid collectors of knowledge. They believed in learning from as many sources as possible and I think it is their eclecticism that influenced me as well as their other students.” (Shubha Mudgal)
Shubha Mudgal sings a distinct brand of of khayal. Born in A...
An impromptu sitting of Debasmita Bhattacharya is accompanied by two of India's finest percussionist, Patri Satish Kumar and Ghatam Udupa. In their first sitting together, Debasmita performs Raag Jog from the Kafi thaat which is usually performed between 9pm and 12 midnight.
Debasmita Bhattacha...
He plays two beautiful compositions, the first one is a dhun in Mishra Piloo set to a serene, madhyalay 7-beat cycle in Rupak taal and the second, a famous drut gat in Raag Piloo spread over a 16-beat cycle.
Khan forays amply into the interiors of this hybrid raga with expansive vistaar and tau...
The tradition of guru-shishya parampara is still applicable to Indian classical music. Although an ancient practice, musicians still prefer learning in this system. In 2011, Darbar presented a series of concerts as a tribute to this tradition that has been carried forth by many musicians’ familie...
This is the opening piece of Dr. Kadri Gopalnath’s concert from the Darbar Festival 2011. Following old traditions, he begins his performance with a salutation to the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha. This Hindu deity is regarded as the harbinger of good fortune and a remover of obstacles. He gi...
Basant means ‘spring’, the season of hope, rejuvenation and mirth. Apart from being a seasonal raga that conveys these emotions, Basant is also associated with love and romance that inevitably arouses feelings of longing, pain and devotion.
Sameehan Kashalkar’s stunning performance of Raag Bas...
‘Avagha Rang Ek Zhala’, (all colours blend to become one) is an ‘abhang’ - a genre of spiritual songs composed in the regional languages of south-western India. The lyrics of this abhang are in Marathi, the language of the state of Maharashtra and the composer is Saint Soyarabai, a female asceti...
‘Mhare Ghar Awo Ji Preetam Pyare,’ is a bhajan composed by the 16th century Hindu mystique and poet Mirabai (1498-1546). The lyrics are devotional, imploring Lord Krishna, the Hindu deity who plays the flute, to appear in the devotee’s humble abode. Through prayers, the devotee wishes to dedicate...
Raag Jaunpuri is said to be a creation of King Hussain Shah of the Sharqi dynasty, the Islamic state that ruled northern India between 1394 and 1479. Their capital was Jaunpur, a city that still exists by the same name in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Hussain Shah had christened t...
As suggested by the name, Ahir Bhairav is a blend of two ragas –Bhairav, a primordial scale and Ahiri that owes its origin to a folk melody belonging to ‘Ahir’ or cowherds' communities residing on the fertile plains of the two Indian rivers – Ganga and Yamuna.
Arati Ankalikar connects three...
Curating artists for a festival take a fair amount of intuition but that is what excites us the most. In 2018, we presented the Malladi brothers who have consistently wowed audiences for years.
The stellar combination of Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi (violin), Trichy Sankaran (mridangam) and Giridhar Ud...
Ramakant Gaikwad calls out across the Maharashtra plains as if to an unseen companion, using Bageshree to alternate between optimism and introspection
Ramakant Gaikwad is a promising young khayal singer who fuses the Kirana and Patiala gharanas. He started learning aged 4 at his father’s music s...
Sitar maestro Budhaditya Mukherjee’s spectacular rendition of the rain-bringing Raag Mian Ki Malhar, live from an Indian thunderstorm.
Darbar doesn't usually share what goes on behind the scenes of our shoots, but on this occasion the events that we witnessed were too spectacular to keep to our...
This concert from the Darbar Festival 2019 will remain etched in your memory forever – Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee’s rendition of Raag Darbari Kanada is an unforgettable experience. For Pandit Mukherjee, the situation was quite unique and a first time for never in his career had he played a midni...
It is said that the ancestors of the Mallick family, Darbhanga court musicians, once ended a drought in the area through singing the rain-bringing Raag Megh.
Pandit Ramkumar and Samit Mallick are leading exponents of the Darbhanga dhrupad court music tradition, named for a former state near the ...
