#darbarfestival | Young sarodia Debasmita Bhattacharya plays Raag Bhairavi in London, using the raga’s tonal flexibility to evoke the goddess of destruction.
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Debasmita plays in London on Sun 19 May 2019, performing Hindustani classical music in the intimate setting of the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room. Tickets available here:
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Learn more about the music:
Bhairavi is often described as the ‘queen of ragas’. It takes its name from the Hindu goddess of destruction, and conjures versatile moods. To some it can evoke ‘awe, terror, and chaos’; to others ‘a pleasant sobering atmosphere of love and piety’. It is played at sunrise, or alternatively as the final piece in a concert. Understanding the raga in depth is crucial to Hindustani learning - bansuri master Rupak Kulkarni recounts the approach of his guru Hariprasad Chaurasia: “Guruji taught me Raag Bhairavi for five years. When I complained about the repetition, he said: ‘You have to practice Bhairavi until your last breath’. That is what made me realize what swarabhyas [the study of notes] means”.
It is based on the form SrgmPdnS - all swaras [notes] are komal [flattened] except Sa, Ma, and Pa, like the Western Phrygian scale or Carnatic Raga Hanumatodi. The vadi and samvadi [king and queen notes] are typically taken to be Ma and Sa. The raga commonly takes a versatile mishra (‘mixed’) form - all 12 notes are allowed, thus injecting some comparatively rare chromaticism into Hindustani music. Its flexibility is unmatched in the raga pantheon. Listen to more Bhairavi here:
-Arshad Khan (esraj) | [ Ссылка ]
-Prabha Atre (khayal) | [ Ссылка ]
-Niladri Kumar (sitar) | [ Ссылка ]
Debasmita Bhattacharya is one of India’s finest young sarod players, representing the rich musical tradition of her native Kolkata. Her style blends the expansive mindset of modern musicians with an old-school patience. She began learning with her sarodi father Debashish Bhattacharya, then entered the tutelage of the late maestro Buddhadev Das Gupta. She made an acclaimed UK debut in 2017, and continues to demonstrate that gender should be no barrier to instrumental mastery. “[The sarod] is considered as a male dominated instrument…I accepted the challenge and every morning I try to prove myself by improving my playing...music has no boundaries...it is only for the human.” Hear more of her sarod here:
-Raag Kaunsi Kanada | [ Ссылка ]
-Raag Bhimpalasi | [ Ссылка ]
-Raag Mishra Pahadi | [ Ссылка ]
Recorded for Darbar on 10 Nov 2017, at Sadler’s Wells, London
-Debasmita Bhattacharya (sarod)
-Gurdain Rayatt (tabla)
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