Of Ragas, Reflections and Resonant Nights

The Washington, DC metropolitan region recently witnessed a remarkable array of music and dance presentations, offering rasikas opportunities to experience performances ranging from legendary maestros to emerging young talents. Here are glimpses from some memorable evenings.

Ajoy Chakrabarty’s Majestic Vocal Recital

A grand vocal recital by Ajoy Chakrabarty was presented on April 19 at the Watkins Mill High School auditorium in Gaithersburg. Before commencing his performance, the maestro took time to engage his audience in an illuminating conversation on raga music, swara, laya, tala, the concept of saptak (octaves), and the time theory intrinsic to Hindustani classical music. Appropriately choosing the majestic evening raga Sree, he also mentioned that, at the request of his America-based disciple Shubhashish Mukherjee, he would begin with a dhrupad presentation.

The choice immediately lent the concert a rare gravitas. In the contemplative twilight ambience of raga Sree, he unfolded an expansive nom-tom alap in the dhrupad style, moving with extraordinary repose from the mandra to the tara saptak. During the jod section, invocations such as Om Ananta Hari Narayan emerged through resonant gamakas. Accompanied by Gaurav Chatterjee on harmonium, Soumen Sarkar on tabla, and Bijen Sengupta and Mihir on the tanpura, the maestro then presented a deeply moving sadra in Jhap taal, Hari ke charankamal nis din sumir re, remarking that it was his prayer for a troubled world seeking deliverance from present crises. His sophisticated and aesthetically executed layakari drew sustained appreciation from the audience.

The second presentation was raga Charukeshi, featuring Gyan Prakash Ghosh’s vilambit Ek tal composition Aaj aayo pahuna. Thereafter came an unexpected delight — a thumri composed by the legendary Birju Maharaj in raga Poorvi, an unusual melodic choice for the genre. The playful lyrics, Rang bhari pichkari, Mohe mat maro kanhai, carried exquisite shades of shringara. Immediately following this came a spiritually meditative Kabir bhajan, Jal mein kumbh, kumbh mein jal hai, rendered with deep inwardness and philosophical detachment.

Before presenting a Bengali composition by Gyan Prakash Ghosh in raga Pahadi, he charmed the audience by referring to popular film melodies based on the raga — his own delightful way of connecting overseas listeners to the grammar and beauty of raga music through familiar cultural touchstones. The recital concluded with the devotional Bhawani Dayani in Bhairavi, woven evocatively with verses from the Durga Saptashati, leaving listeners immersed in bhakti rasa.

Rakesh Chaurasia’s Enchanting Flute Evening

Sur-Nad presented a mellifluous flute recital by Rakesh Chaurasia in Richwood on April 25. He was accompanied on tabla by Amit Kavthekar, a distinguished disciple of Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain.

Nephew and disciple of Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rakesh has today established himself as a highly accomplished bansuri exponent in his own right. Keeping the concert timing in mind, he opened with the sweet afternoon raga Bheempalasi. Through an unhurried, aesthetically layered alap, jod, and jhala, he gradually built the raga atmosphere before presenting a composition in the rare nine-beat Matta taal. His artistry in raga expansion and taankari was impressive, though an occasional use of shuddha nishad momentarily appeared outside the conventional grammar of the raga.

Thereafter, in an interactive gesture, he invited audience requests — and a flood of suggestions naturally followed. What emerged was an engaging tapestry of ragas and melodies. Beginning with Desh, he moved fluidly between vilambit and drut Teen taal compositions while weaving in glimpses of Yaman, Bagesree, Jhinjhoti, Maru Bihag, Miyan Malhar and Pilu. Familiar bandishes and popular melodic fragments — including Baje Muraliya Baje — repeatedly returned to the melodic canvas of Desh. Amit Kavthekar was also given a solo segment, where his virtuosity on tabla drew enthusiastic applause.

The evening eventually drifted into Pahadi-based film melodies such as Hothon Se Chhoo Lo Tum, Yeh Jeevan Hai, Kiya Tumne Kya Ishara, Bada Natkhat Hai, and Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum. The recital concluded with a lively Pahadi dhun in the lilting rhythm of Dadra taal.

Listening to this increasingly popular format of blending classical music with lighter repertoire, I was reminded of the late Rudra Veena maestro Asad Ali Khan, who once remarked: “We need not descend to the level of uninformed applause; rather, it is our responsibility to elevate listeners towards the aesthetic plane of classical music.” 

‘Sarod Trilogy’: A Memorable Evening with Amjad Ali Khan

As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, Washington Performing Arts presented Sarod Trilogy — a captivating evening of sarod music by Amjad Ali Khan along with his sons and disciples Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash — at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, sponsored by the Parashare Foundation.

Son of the legendary Hafiz Ali Khan and torchbearer of an invaluable seven-generation musical lineage, Amjad Ali Khan has mesmerized audiences worldwide through both his solo artistry and his numerous collaborations across musical traditions. In ‘Sarod Trilogy’, joined by his gifted sons, he created yet another memorable musical experience.

The concert unfolded in three segments. The opening featured a sarod duet by Amaan and Ayaan; the second presented a solo recital by Amjad Ali Khan; and the concluding segment brought all three together in the “Sarod Trilogy” format. They were accompanied by Vivek Pandya on tabla and Sai Giridhar on mridangam.

Amaan and Ayaan began with raga Lalita-Gauri, unfolding the raga from mandra to tara saptak with fine sensitivity. The dignity of evening raga Gauri merged beautifully with the delicate charm of Lalit’s twin madhyams, creating a highly evocative melodic atmosphere. This was followed by compositions in madhya-vilambit Jhap taal and drut Teen taal, interspersed with solo exchanges by tabla and mridangam. The coordination and aesthetic rapport between the two brothers, from alap to taans, was admirable.

Amjad Ali Khan then invited an engaging rhythmic dialogue between Vivek Pandya and Sai Giridhar before taking up the sarod to play the patriotic hymn Vande mataram in raga Desh. After a brief thumri and alap in raga Khamaj, he rendered Vaishnava jana to and Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram.

Speaking about Amir Khusro’s contribution to Hindustani music, he next introduced the tarana form, singing and playing a rare nine and a half beats time cycle tarana in raga Tilang, followed by another in raga Bahar set to Teen taal. Remembering Rabindranath Tagore, he rendered Ekla chalo re, embellished with a sweet Bengali kirtan-style alap. This segment concluded with an Assamese folk melody in Bihu style.

The final segment brought the three sarodiyas together in a sublime presentation of raga Bagesree. Following a deeply lyrical alap, they moved into madhya and drut Teen taal compositions before culminating in an exhilarating ati-drut jhala. The standing ovation and prolonged applause that followed spoke eloquently of the audience’s delight.

Reflections from the Odissi/Odyssey Conference 2026

The Department of Dance at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, presented the sixth edition of its annual Odissi/Odyssey Conference from May 1–3, 2026, bringing together artists, scholars, educators and students in a stimulating dialogue on South Asian dance traditions and their evolving contemporary contexts. This year’s theme, “New Pathways and Voices in South Asian Dance Research,” foregrounded questions of history, identity, pedagogy and artistic inheritance through the lens of diasporic experience and community-engaged research.

Although I could join only the inaugural webinar and select online sessions from Washington DC, the experience proved intellectually invigorating. Over the years, the conference has emerged as a significant space where performance and scholarship intersect meaningfully, allowing dance to be viewed not merely as stagecraft, but as embodied memory, cultural archive and social discourse.

While earlier editions embraced multiple Indian dance traditions more democratically, this year’s conference was more firmly anchored in Odissi. Yet this focus only deepened the inquiry. Odissi — with its sculptural grace, lyrical expressiveness and layered aesthetic philosophy — became a rich point of departure for larger conversations on transmission, diaspora and reinvention.

Among the most compelling sessions was the opening dialogue between scholar Arshiya Sethi and Pakistan’s pioneering dancer-activist Sheema Kermani. Reflecting on pursuing dance in a deeply conservative social climate, Kermani recalled her early Kathak training in Karachi under guru Ghanshyam before eventually turning to Odissi under guru Gita Mahalik in India. Particularly fascinating was her observation linking the iconic bronze Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro with Odissi’s tribhanga stance — an insight that inspired her landmark 1992 production Mohenjo-daro Ballet. Equally moving was her assertion that art transcends religious identity: “We are all South Asian,” she remarked with quiet conviction.

The subsequent sessions explored forgotten artistic genealogies, colonial prejudices and questions of gender and representation. Papers on Maharis, Baijis and hereditary performers illuminated how colonial morality and indigenous patriarchy together contributed to the marginalisation of women artists. Particularly thought-provoking were discussions on preserving the emotional and aesthetic truth of these traditions without sanitising their histories.

The evening film screenings offered another dimension to the conference. Pallabi Basak’s visually engaging film on Bengal’s ‘Patachitra’ tradition celebrated itinerant storytelling through painted scrolls and song, while Sharmila Biswas’s documentary on the Maharis of Odisha movingly documented the lives and memories of the last surviving temple dancers of Jagannath.

What lingered most strongly through the conference was the sense that tradition is never static. True to its title, Odissi / Odyssey suggested not merely a journey through a classical form, but an odyssey of ideas — where movement itself becomes inquiry, and scholarship opens new pathways into memory, identity and artistic renewal. 

Young Vocalist Radhika Joshi’s Refreshing Initiative

And finally, a heartening initiative from young Hindustani vocalist Radhika Joshi.

An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management and disciple of Raghunandan Panshikar, Radhika found herself increasingly disconnected from conventional bandishes populated by stereotypical imagery of saas, nanad, saut and saiyan. Determined to compose lyrics reflecting contemporary social concerns and emotional realities that resonated more authentically with her own generation, she presented an evening of self-composed bandishes at the India International Cultural School on May 15.

Accompanied by Shreyas Ravi on harmonium and Rigved Deshpande on tabla, she began with the twilight raga Puriya Dhanasree. Upholding classical grammar with complete sincerity, she presented original compositions whose lyrical concerns were distinctly contemporary. The vilambit Teen taal khayal, ‘Jiya akulaye, ankhiyan dhoond rahi hariyali,’ and the drut Ek taal composition lamenting ecological destruction — Daar daar paat paat sookh gayi — evoked a world where even the papiha and koel have fallen silent amid disappearing greenery.

Her subsequent compositions addressed consumerism and social selfishness in raga Hamsadhwani, adoption through a touching Yaman composition voiced through the perspective of a child — Main hoon pari, ek beti do maaon ki — and nature’s healing herbs in Brindavani Sarang. From the children’s Phulwari geeton ki to the concluding Bhairavi composition asking, “If we planted trees along borders, would we then fence the fruits as well?”, the thematic range remained remarkable.

Most importantly, despite these contemporary lyrical interventions, the essential grammar and aesthetics of raga music remained intact throughout. That perhaps was the most admirable aspect of Radhika’s endeavour: she first grounded herself rigorously in classical training, and only then ventured into innovation.