And now for some music !


Shared with the kind permission of Sudhir Nayak, Aneesh Pradhan and Veena Modi. (Recorded in Delhi – March 2012) Photo: Courtesy Raghav Pasricha Album photo: Courtesy Veena Modi

I am going Baba dhaam !


Sprawled across the ghats of the Varuna and Asi, the ancient city of Banaras or Varanasi watches as tradition and modernity wind themselves around the teeming masses that ebb and flow into and from the city. Pilgrims flock to the city, often swelling its population...

Akeli Dar Laage


I am not sure if ‘all-time favorite’ would be an appropriate term to describe those pieces of recorded music that journey with you for decades through the labyrinthine twists and turns of one’s life. But for lack of a better term, I would put it...

Thumri Festival in Delhi.


A two day festival dedicated to thumri ! Accompanying me will be Aneesh Pradhan (tabla) and Sudhir Nayak (harmonium) And my photograph in the poster appears courtesy Nitin Joshi. Thanks, Nitin.

Osho on Guru Purnima


“Guru is like full moon and disciple is like Ashadh (the month of clouds and rains). The moon of Sharad Purnima is beautiful because it is in the empty sky. There is no disciple then, the Guru is alone. If the same beauty happens in...

To acknowledge or not to acknowledge? – Back to back on radio


“Sirf hungama khada karna mera maqsad naheen, Saari koshish hai ke ye soorat badalni chahiye”  (Quoted from Dushyant Kumar’s – “Ho gai hai peer parvat si, pighalni chaahiye”. To me, it seems to be a fairly simple issue. A huge chunk of content played on...

Saida Begum – Voice for and of the wounded


Inherent in the power of music is its instrinsic ability to communicate as few other mediums can. You could be a complete stranger to a musician, and yet their music will touch and move those depths of your being that you have so carefully hidden...

Rasrang


For some time I used to write a column for the Rasrang magazine section of Dainik Bhaskar. This is one of the pieces I wrote for Rasrang several years ago.   भारत में संगीत अथवा नृत्य का कार्यक्रम हो और श्रोताओं या दर्शकों को आरम्भ...

Women Composers


Why are there very few women composers in India? This stock question, frequently asked of women musicians, comes loaded with the suggestion of a gender bias tilted in favor of male composers. There is no simple answer to the question, but to begin with, it...

Cross Border


At the risk of being termed the proverbial party pooper, I do believe now is the time to point out that despite all the flutter and fuss preceding and following Mr. Zardari’s visit to India, artistes and musicians from the two countries share a relationship...