Raag Khamaj (Mar 7th)

This is the first episode of a mini-series called Raag which looks at some of the important raags of Hindustani music. A raag can be considered equivalent to a scale in western music. It sets the mood of the piece and defines what notes can and cannot be part of the composition. We'll start the series with Raag Khamaj.

Khamaj is associated with the late evening, with the sunset really, and is pretty much as close as you can expect to get to a major scale. As you can imagine, it is very pleasant to listen to, and generally conveys happiness.

Playlist:
1. Ali Akbar Khan - Raag Manjh Khamaj
2. Ulhas Kashalkar - Koyalia Kook Sunave
3. Vilayat Khan - Ragamalika in Khamaj
4. Ulhas Kashalkar - Raag Khamaj

Avinash Sastry
Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

A Little Bit of Sitar

Today, we start the show with a little bit of sitar. Our first track is Raag Kirwani by Pandit Nikhil Banerjee from the album Immortal Sitar, accompanied by Pandit Anindo Chatterjee on the tabla. Following that, we have Raag Jaijaivanti by Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta on the sarod. He's a well-known sarodiya from the Shahjahanpur Gharana, famous for his unique style on the sarod.

After that, some more sitar, we move on to a performance by Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Alla Rakha, this track is called Raag Marwa, taken from their concert in New York in 1967. Our final song for the day is a wonderful vocal track by Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar called Raag Durga.

Playlist:
1. Nikhil Banerjee - Raag Kirwani (15:37)
2. Buddhadev Dasgupta - Raag Jaijaivanti (15:02)
3. Ravi Shankar - Raag Marwa (17:43)
4. Ulhas Kashalkar - Raag Durga(10:41)

Avinash Sastry
Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

Show on Nov 22nd

Exceptionally busy day at the studio for me, there were 5 songs on the playlist! We started off to some energetic stuff by Anindo Chatterjee and Pandit Ravi Shankar, followed by Ulhas Kashalkar and Fateh Ali Khan. We ended the show with a long relaxing song by the brothers Rajan and Sajan Mishra.

Playlist:
1. Anindo Chatterjee - 8 1/2 beats (6:02)
2. Ravi Shankar - Raag Bahar (6:13)
3. Ulhas Kashalkar - Dekho Dekho Re Saiyan (Kafi Thumri) (9:25)
4. Fateh Ali Khan - Raag Patdeep (10:43)
5. Rajan & Sajan Mishra - Raag Lalit (29:43)

Avinash Sastry
Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and Ustad Vilayat Khan

Welcome back, loyal listeners! It's been a long, eventful summer, hot as hell too, but here we are at the beginning of a new semester. This is the same old Gharana music though, bringing you your weekly dose of Indian classical music.

The first two tracks today are by a Hindustani vocalist named Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar from the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra. He is one of the prime representatives of the Gwalior and Jaipur Gharanas. He is said to be very strong on the traditional styles of singing, yet his performances always incorporate very interesting interpretations of his own. His voice is just beautiful - crisp and clear, and his vocal control is breath-taking. Here are the tracks:

1. Ulhas Kashalkar - Raag Alhaiya Bilawal (20:15)
2. Ulhas Kashalkar - Raag Hindol (10:28)

Our next artist for the day is Ustad Vilayat Khan - a sitar maestro from Bengal. He has been playing the sitar for over 60 years now, and he is defintely one of the bigger names in Hindustani Classical music, alongside the likes of Pandit Ravishankar. There is quite some controversy associated with his life though. Rumour has it that he there was quite a bit of rivalry between Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pandit Ravishankar, though I don't think it was anything serious. His animosity towards political institutions in India was no rumour. He routinely rejected National Awards every time he was awarded one, stating that the awards committee was not suited to judge his work, and that "it is always a story of the wrong awards given to the wrong people at the wrong time". It turned him into a not-so-media-friendly figure at one point of time and things went so far that he even boycotted All-India Radio - which was, for a long time, the main promoter for classical music in India. Regardless of all that, his music is simply divine, and his performances are legendary.

3. Ustad Vilayat Khan - Raag Marwa Drut (25:01)

Avinash Sastry
Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

14th September, 2009

Busy start to the week, promises to get busier. Aarohi, the student orgranization on campus plan to organize their first Indian Classical concert of the semester in a few weeks, details will be posted here.

What played on the show this week was Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and Pandit Ravi Shankar:

1. Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar (vocals) - Raag Sampurna Malkauns

2. Pandit Ravi Shankar (sitar) - We played a number of short tracks in the following raags:

Raag Ahir Lalit, Raag Nat Bhairav, Raag Bhatiyar, Raag Sindhu Bhairavi, Raag Hemant, Raag Rasiya

Here's an important event coming up:

Vibha will be holding its annual 5km run/walk event this year on sept 19th. The event will start in BioTech Quad courtyard, 315 Ferst Drive NW at 8.30 am. Vibha is a charity organization working for underprivileged children. All proceeds support child development projects and "Make a Wish" foundation. Last year, they had over 1000 participants and could raise $50,000. This year, there will be a special kids' carnival. For more details, please call Keshav at 770-309-6268 or visit http://tinyurl.com/vibhagtwalk

Come and support a great cause!

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com