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

Pandit Nayan Ghosh at Georgia Tech

Pandit Nayan Ghosh and his son Ishaan Ghosh will be performing at the Reinsch-Pierce Auditorium, at the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech. The event is on Sunday, Nov 14 2010, at 6pm. More details about the event can be found here.

Today's show is dedicated to the music of Pandit Nayan Ghoshm a renowned sitarist and tabla player. Pandit Nayan Ghosh was trained by his father, the legendary Padmabhushan Nikhil Ghosh. In addition to his father, Pandit Nayan Ghosh has accompanied and received inspiration from many of the all-time greats, such as his uncle Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Vilayat Khan. Currently he receives training in the repertoire of the Senia-Shahjanpore style from the great sarodiya Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta.

Playlist:
1. Nayan Ghosh - Raag Yaman (33:49)
2. Nayan Ghosh - Raag Kafi (26:15)

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 Nikhil Banerjee and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Off to a late start today, because I thought was locked out of the studio, but luckily Brian was there to let me in. And once again, the day is saved thanks to...

Back to business though, and our first track for the day is by Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Regulars of the show would have heard quite a bit of his music, but here's a quick introduction anyway. Pandit Nikhil Banerjee was born in Kolkata in West Bengal, and he was taught the sitar by his father at a very young age. He was instantly recognized as a child prodigy and soon found himself playing the sitar for All India Radio. It was at this time that he met Ustad Allauddin Khan, and became his disciple. Allauddin Khan was very well-known for his standard of discipline. Nikhilji's day would begin at 4 in the morning everyday, and go on till 11 in the night, with breaks only for meals. So now that you know what goes into the making of a performance of this level, here's Pandit Nikhil Banerjee with Raag Miyan Ki Todi.

Our second track is by Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. His name is synonymous with the santoor, a stringed instrument like a dulcimer. The body consists of a wooden frame with about 60 to 70 strings drawn across it's width. It is played using two metal hammers. He is an absolute pleasure to listen to and you'll find his music all over the place - Solo albums, recordings with his son Rahul Sharma and also on bollywood soundtracks and he's generally regarded as the main proponent of the santoor as a mainstream classical instrument. So this is Pandit Shivkumar Sharma with Raag Charukeshi of a compilation: The Best of Shivkumar Sharma.

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

22nd March, 2010

A big thanks to Uche, host of Sub Saharan Vibes, who covered in for me last Monday and did a great job picking music and hosting the show. He dug out some rare vinyls from our vault, and these are the tracks he played:

1. Pandit Raghunath Seth (flute) & Sri Balakrishnan Iyer - Raag Hansadhwani (album: Classical Flute Music of India)

2. Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta (sarod) - Drut Bandish in Teentaal

3. Pandit Samir Chatterjee (tabla) - Drut Gat in Teentaal

4. Pandit Devendra Murdeshwar and Gopal Das

5. Pandit Ravi Shankar - Mishra Ghara Dhun

6. N. Rajam - Raag Jhinjhoti

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music

WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM

Mondays, 8-9 p.m.

www.wrek.org

(+1) 404-894-2468

Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

25th January, 2010

Welcome back to the first live broadcast of Gharana Music of 2010! Spring '10 is well on its way at Georgia Tech and it's great to be back in the studio.

Picking music for the first show of the year was easy, an hour-long performance of Raag Malkauns by Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee on sitar. It's been said that Pt. Bannerjee preferred live performances to studio recordings, so I chose to play one of his performances from his concert at Bath, England.

Thanks to all of you who have emailed us, called in and given us feedback through our blog! Hope you tune in for the next several Monday nights, or catch the recorded version on this blog or www.wrek.org.

Oh, and here's wishing all the Indians a happy Republic Day, and happy Australian Day to our Australian listeners.

Until next time,

Karan Mehra

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

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

26th October, 2009

More firsts on tonight's show, including music by Ustad Shahid Parvez and the first in-studio guest of the semester.

But first, here's what played last Monday (19th October), since I did not update the blog in time:

Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar) - Raga Jhinjhoti, along with Hidayat Khan (sitar) and Sukhvinder Singh (tabla)

Back to this week, we're really excited to let you know that Ustad Shahid Parvez, one of the finest Sitar players who has been performing live 46 years now (his first performance was at the age of 8!), is coming to Atlanta. Not just that, he's coming to perform at Georgia Tech! Ustad Shahid Parvez's genius demonstrates how he has done more than justice to the lineage of musical legends that he comes from, including Ustad Imdad Khan, Ustad Wahid Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan and more.

He will be accompanied by Rohit Majumdar on Tabla, and will be performing from 6-9 at the Student Center Theater (350 Ferst Drive, Atlanta GA 30332). For tickets and further details pls contact Dr. Santosh Pande at 770-447-5517 / Mr. Bob Ghosh at 404-431-0091 / Dr. Sham Navathe at 770-416-8901. I would NOT miss this concert organized by the ICMS (Indian Classical Music Society).

We also had in the studio with us Ketaki Deo, a masters student at Georgia Tech studying Computer Science. She has been classically trained in Hindustani vocals and was here to share with us her introduction to Indian Classical music, her training with her Guru back in Pune, India, and the cultural hub that is Pune. Ketaki, we will hopefully see you perform soon at Tech. We also used this opportunity to play our first Rahul Deshpande performance (since Ketaki asked for it), someone whose music I've been wanting to play for a while but haven't gotten down to.

Here's what played tonight:

1. Ustad Shahid Parvez (sitar) - Raag Desh (live)

2. Rahul Deshpande - Albela Saajan (live)

3. Ustad Shahid Parvez (sitar) - Dhun (live)

In case you missed any of this, you can listen to the last 2 shows by clicking on the links in the "Listen to Gharana Music now" section on the right hand side.

See you next week!

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

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

5th October, 2009

An interesting show to say the least, all the performers whose music we played today have had Western influences, yet play music that is truly Hindustani.

Srinivas Reddy on sitar began playing rock and jazz until his "life-changing" meeting with Sri Partha Chatterjee, who would go on to become his guru. (http://www.srinivasreddy.org/)

Sameer Gupta on tabla began, and continues to play improvisational world, fusion and jazz, with several other active musical projects. (http://www.sameergupta.com)

Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, a highly accomplished slide guitar player uses it for Indian Classical music. (http://www.debashishbhattacharya.com)

Here is what played:

1) Srinivas Reddy (sitar) and Sameer Gupta (tabla) - Raag Hemant (Alap and Vilambit), from the album "Hemant & Jog"

2) Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya (slide guitar) with Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) - Raag Pahadi Jhinjhoti (Madhya Gat in Jhaptal)

If you liked what you heard (you can listen to the last 2 shows by clicking on the links in the sidebar on the right), go ahead and buy the music!

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

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

28th September, 2009

Ustad Vilayat Khan's music always has a calming effect on me, and so I thought even the 40+ minute performance was too short. This was followed by Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, whose style of playing I've always been a fan of. Not much else to report from here, apart from the as-usual hectic school work.

Here's what played tonight:

1. Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar) - Raag Bhairo Bahar -- Alap and Jhor

2. Pandit Anindo Chatterjee (tabla) - Asta Mangal taal (album: Dream on Drums)

You can now listen to the last two shows by playing the links on the sidebar on the right. You can also follow us on twitter!

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

See you next week!

Karan Mehra

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

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

21st September, 2009

Atlanta is under water and the situation is serious. The American Red Cross is in and there are emergency services coming to the aid of many. Here are some emergency numbers, courtesy @hellonorthga on Twitter:

American Red Cross, Metro Atlanta: Phone: 404-575-3730 Fax: 404-575-3082

Down trees: 404-817-6813

Flooding: 404-658-6500

Power outages: 888-891-0938

Protected from all this in the studio, was some great Hindustani music. What played during the hour was:

1. Anupama Bhagwat (sitar) - Raag Shyam Kalyan Vilambit

2. Pandit Jasraj (vocals) - Raag Bhairavi

3. Gundecha Brothers (vocals) - Raag Puriya Dhanashree Sooltaal

You can listen to the show here until 28th September:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

And here between the 28th and 5th of October:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

Follow us on twitter!

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org

(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

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

August 31st, 2009

The fall semester begins, and it's great to have a campus full of people! This semester will see more musicians come in to the studio (Georgia Tech students, and otherwise) and have a chat with us. Also, stay tuned to get updates about Indian Classical concerts happening on and off campus.

Tonight's show included artists that we hadn't played before, and I'm now wondering why. Here's the playlist:

1. Pandit Suresh Talwalkar (tabla) - Drut Teental (album: Laya Kalpana, Rhythmic Bliss of Tabla)

2. Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar) with Akram Khan (tabla) - Raag Jaijaiwanti

3. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute) - Raag Marwa

You can listen to the show here until the 7th of Sept:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

Or here between the 7th and the 14th:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

Do your best to make it to the Georgia Tech campus on the morning of the 19th of September, an contribute by walking for charity:

http://wiki.vibha.org/Dream_Mile:2009_Atlanta_Home

If you would like to volunteer for the event, please visit:

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg956v/vibha%20volunteering.htm

Hope to see you there!

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

July 27th, 2009: The July tribute series to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, ep 4

The final show of the series and personally, it was my favourite. Following the opening piece by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was a beautiful performance by the Ustad along with Pandit Ravi Shankar, in Raag Ramdas Malhar. The show ended with what is possibly one of my favourite performances, Raag Mishra Mand by the Ustad and Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee. I had played this on an earlier show as well, but since we ran out of time on the show, I just had to play it again. I was happy that we could manage to fit in three great pieces in our last show, covering a good combination of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's solo performances as well as collaborations with two of Hindustani music's greatest Sitar players.

You can listen to the show here:

Part 1: 8 - 8.30 p.m.

Part 2: 8.30 - 9 p.m.

With this we wrap up our July special, a tribute to the legend. While he will be dearly missed by listeners, followers and peers all across the world, his music is timeless and something that we will continue to play here at Gharana Music.

These past 4 weeks have been a treat, I hope you enjoyed it as well.

Karan Mehra

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

July 13th, 2009: The July tribute series to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, ep 2

Continuing with our tribute to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, the music on today's show was special. We started the hour with an All India Radio archival recording by Khansahib, followed by a beautiful piece by Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee, someone that Khansahib has played a lot with. What made the show special today was the last piece, one in which both these legends played together.

Here's the playlist:

1. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) - Raag Darbari (All India Radio Archival Recordings, Vol 7)

2. Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee (sitar) - Raag Sohini

3. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan & Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee - Raag Mishra Mand

Each week, you can listen to the current week's show here:

Part 1: 8 - 8.30 p.m.

Part 2: 8.30 - 9 p.m.

And the previous week's show here:

Part 1: 8 - 8.30 p.m.

Part 2: 8.30 - 9 p.m.

Here are some interesting quotes by and about the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan:

(source: http://dkvblog.sulekha.com/blog/post/2009/06/alvida-ustad-ali-akbar-khan-1922-2009.htm)

"..an absolute genius, the greatest musician in the world "

- Yehudi Menuhin describing Ustad Ali Akbar Khan when he met him in 1952

"If you practise for 10 years, you may begin to please yourself. After 20 years you may become a performer and please the audience. After 30 years you may please even your guru. But you must practise for many more years before you finally become a true artist – then you may please even God."

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

"When I heard the news it was like losing Ray Charles, or John Coltrane, or Charlie Parker, you know. There probably couldn't be two-three musicians like him in the world."

- Rock Guitarist Derek Trucks paying tribute to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

"I started to learn this music at the same time I began to talk. So it is as natural to me as speaking. It's not something I have to think about any more than I have to think about the words I'm saying."

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan talking to Don Heckman of The Times

"I teach what I learned from my father. The same system, with the same traditional purity. The same kind of devotion, the same love for music has to be built up. And that can only happen when it comes from the heart. Otherwise, music doesn't last. It doesn't stay."

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in conversation with The Times

"When I came in '55, because I was in Indian dress, people on the street in New York came out of the bars and shops and followed us. They asked me, 'Who are you? Where are you from?' When I said, 'India,' some of them didn't even know where it was. Or others who knew I was a musician asked funny questions like, 'How can you play music in India with all the tigers and snakes and monkeys you have to fight off?' "

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in conversation with the Asian Week as quoted in The Washington Times

"All the people who studied there - it changed all our lives. Khan embodies the pure spirit of music; it's not just the notes, it's the spirit. Every time I listen to him, he takes me there."

- Mickey Hart, drummer with Grateful Dead talking of learning music under the Ustad as quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle

Karan Mehra

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

18th May, 2009

Tonight we heard an hour long piece by the late Sitar great, Ustad Vilayat Khan along with his son Hidayat Khan and Sukhvinder Singh. It was a performance of the Raag Jhinjhoti, a night raag that belongs to the thaat Khamaj. The piece was from the live performance 'Colours of Jhinjhoti' performed live in London in 2000.

Karan

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

11th May 2009

...and we're back to school for the summer! And Gharana Music continues on WREK, 91.1 FM Atlanta. Tonight we heard sitar performances of two beautiful night raags: Khamaj and Yaman.

1. Pandit Ravi Shankar - Raag Khamaj (Golden Jubilee Concert, 1990)

2. Pandit Nayan Ghosh - Raag Yaman

Gharana Music will be on all summer, so keep tuning in!

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

20th & 27th April, 2009

The last Monday of the Spring 09 semester! But the show will go on through the summer, so keep tuning in every Monday night at 8 p.m. for an hour of the highest quality Indian classical music.

To begin with, last Monday (20th April) was a Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia special, where we played his performance of Raag Bageshree (alaap and gat).

Back to this week, coming up this Sunday, the 5th of May, we will be lucky to watch a very accomplished vocalist Jayateerth Mevundi,  disciple of the legend Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, live on campus at Georgia Tech. Here are the details for this performance brought to us by the Indian Classical Music Society (ICMS), Atlanta.

When: May 3rd, Sunday at 5 p.m.

Who: Vocalist Jayateerth Mevundi, accompanied  by Bharat Kamat (tabla) and Guruprasad Hegde (harmonium).

Where: Georgia Tech Student Center Theater 

Contact: Santosh Pande at 770-447-5517, Bob Ghosh at 404-431-0091 , or Sham Navathe at 770-416-8901 

We also ended the show tonight with a piece by Jayateerth Mevundi. Here's what played on Gharana tonight:

1. Water Girl by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute) off the album 'Making Music' (1992) by Ustad Zakir Hussain (tabla), which also features John McLaughlin (guitar) and Jan Garbarek (saxophone)

2. Pandit Nikhil Banerjee (sitar) - Raag Rageshree

3. Jayateerth Mevundi (vocals) - Megh Bada Khyal

Do turn up for the concert at the student center theater, it is going to be a beautiful evening.

Karan

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

9th March 2009

Hello,

Today's play list:

1. Pt. Ravi Shankar (Sitar) - Raag Shudh Sarang, live (afternoon raag)
The piece begins with Pt. Ravi Shankar introducing the raag to the live audience

2. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (Sarod) - Raag Bhimpalasi (afternoon raag)
All India Archival recording

Here is a video of Pt. Ravi Shankar giving George Harrison of The Beatles sitar lessons!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLZ-zW9Ti4

Do tune in again next week.

In case you missed the show, you can listen to the last show at
http://www.wrek.org/afternoonschedule
and the show prior to that at:
http://www.wrek.org/afternoonschedule2

Just look for Gharana Music on Monday at 8 p.m. in the schedule shown on the page. Here are the listening options:
















Thanks,
Karan

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