Four random songs 14

Once again here are a few songs picked up randomly, this time from the relatively younger lot of female vocalists. These are real gems deserving of the true connoisseur of Hindustani classical music.

Kaushiki Chakrabarty - Khamaj Dadra - Bhig Jaun Main :  



Sawani Shende - Dhani - Chatur Balma Saiyan Mora :  





Shweta Jhaveri - Bhairavi - Prabhuji Tum Chandan Hum Pani :  



Tripti Mukherjee - Sughari - Drut Teental :  



.. more Random Songs »

Live Concerts

The experience of attending a live concert of Indian classical music cannot be compared with any other musical experience. The accolades, the loud Wah Wahs, shouts of Kya Baat Hai may alarm a westerner who is attending an Indian concert for the first time. What lack of etiquette and shameful behavior of the audience, he may think. The travel to India guide book was true after all. Indians are really a noisy and uneducated bunch of natives. Disturbing or interrupting an artist's live performance (of classical nature) may not seem to be a proper thing to a western eye. But classical music of India thrives on such 'noise'. No Wah Wahs, no Kya Baat Hai, and the concert may be safely termed as a flop show. This is especially true if the performer is a vocalist. Enjoy the live concerts posted below.

Prabha Atre - Bhairavi - Bairan Ratiya Neend Churave :  



Arati Ankalikar - Dadra - Sajanwa Kaise Aaun Tore Paas :  





Kaushiki Chakrabarty - Bhairavi - Saiyan Nikas Gaye :  



Purvi Parikh - Kalavati - Sawan Bana Nagari :  

Four Songs : my Choice 12

It is now common knowledge that Indian classical music has powers that heal the cerebrum, the part of human brain that controls emotions. There are many Ragas in Indian classical music and each Raga creates a different mood. A Raga can make you so happy that you may want to dance or it can make you so sad that it may bring tears to your eyes. The Vilambit (slow) portion of the Raga has the deepest impact. Experience yourself, the magic of the Vilambits.

Kaushiki Chakrabarty - Raga Shuddh Kalyan (33:36) :  



Jagdish Prasad - Raga Gorakh Kalyan (45:19) :  





A Kanan - Raga Maru Behag (14:01) :  



Arati Ankalikar - Raga Nand (16:22) :  



.. more songs of my Choice »

Songs of the Divas 4

For hundreds of years, classical music in India appeared to have been a male dominated profession. In historical literature in which music is discussed, men have been identified as the great masters of music, men's names dominated all the lists of performers recorded during the period from 12th to 19th century.

Women's role in classical music throughout history, appears to have been subordinate. Women musicians seldom received the individual recognition that men did. Women have been referred to strictly as the ones whose primary artistic contribution was in dance. In North India the system of hereditary musicians excluded women by not allowing them to be either Ustads or Pandits (teachers). Women in some musician communities were used primarily to maintain a strict lineage in the family.

Arati Ankalikar - Meera Bhajan :  (Download)



Kaushiki Chakrabarty - Dadra Pahadi :  (Download)





Malini Rajurkar - Bandish Ki Thumri :  (Download)



Veena Sahasrabuddhe - Kabir (Ramaiya Ki Dulhan) :  (Download)



Fortunately, much of that has changed dramatically during the last few decades. Women classical artists of today are not only doing fabulously well in their artistic field, but many of them have proved their mettle in other areas as well. Women musicians of the modern era are thorough professionals, and a few of them are pursuing successful careers, in as diverse a field as, for example, a software consultant. Music remains their first passion, of course.

.. more Songs of the Divas »

QUIZ ANSWERS : Here are the correct answers to the two Quiz Songs posted in my previous posts :

Quiz Song 3 : Badara Ki Chhanv Tale Nanhi Nanhi Bundiyan
Male Singer : Mukesh
Female Singer : Suraiya
Film : Lekh (1949)

Quiz Song 4 : O Janewale Balamwa
Male Singer : Shyam Kumar
Female Singer : Amirbai Karnataki
Film : Rattan (1944)

Comments are welcome.

Four Songs : my Choice 4

Yet another installment of a few songs of my choice :

Channulal Mishra - Raga Maru Bihag :  (Download)



Kaushiki Chakrabarty - Raga Pilu Thumri :  (Download)





Rashid Khan - Raga Jaijaiwanti :  (Download)



Sawani Shende - Raga Durga :  (Download)



.. more songs of my Choice »

QUIZ : Give me the names of the male and female singers and the name of the Album/Film, and I will send you this rare song + a bestseller e-book (in Microsoft Reader .lit format) by email. Answer the questions in the comments to this post, and please don’t forget to mention your email address.

Quiz Song : 4



Comments are welcome.

Kaushiki Chakrabarty

Blessed by prodigious natural talent and a cool temperament, Kaushiki has not been distracted for one moment by all the accolades and acclaim she has justly received at such a young age. Her last Sense World Music recording ‘Pure’ received worldwide recognition beyond the circles of traditional classical music listeners and confirmed a level maturity and depth in her singing which defies her years.

Following on from her success at the BBC World Music Awards in 2005, this unique collection of both studio and live concert recordings demonstrates why Kaushiki has become the great hope for the future of Indian classical vocal music, giving us an invaluable insight into the full range of her musical prowess.

Kaushiki was born in 1980 in Kolkata, the cultural capital of modern day India. Her parents noticed that she could reproduce complex musical and rhythmic phrases at the age of just two years. Being an able teacher her mother Smt. Chandana Chakrabarty took care of her ‘taleem’ (music training) adopting the role as her first Guru. Subsequently, Kaushiki had the fortune to become the youngest Ganda Bandh disciple (or shishya) of the renowned Bengali educator Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh when she was just ten. Ganda Bandh is a traditional knot tying ceremony which cements the relationship between guru and student. Later on, after intermittent ill-health, Jnan Prakash Ghosh ordered Kaushiki to continue further training under the tutelage of his most successful disciple, her father Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, one of the most creative and influential Indian vocalists of the modern era.

The guru-shishya system of teaching is the most intensive and effective route of musical learning in North Indian Classical music. Based on the oral tradition, it embodies the living and learning relationship between master and pupil, involving the complete emotional, intellectual and spiritual surrender of the ardent shishya (trainee) to the guru (teacher).

Here is a sample of Kaushiki’s prowess in singing :