Remeber Durgotsav

Beautiful animation be Rajesh Chakraborty

Chhau dance

Chhau is a masked dance, the motif of which has been drawn from the mythological picturesque. In the opinion of some people "Chhau" is a dialect which meams six faces, Viz. fore head, eyes, nose, cheeks, lips and chin and a mask bears the six parts of the face. The word 'Chhau' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Chhaya' meaning 'shade image mask' which is an essential features of this art.
The beginning of Chhau dances is lost in hoary past and the rulers have been intimately associated with religious festivals known as "Chaitra Parva" celebrated every year for several centuries.

The Chhau dance is of the people

By the people and for the people

Dance of mother of arts

Music and poetry exists in time...

Nadaka

"Classical Indian / Jazz Fusion is alive and well thanks to folks like Nadaka, who retain all the best elements of its 1970's roots while adding touches which keep a contemporary sound. These albums are among the gems of recent recordings in this genre". (The Internet Guide to Indian Classical /Jazz Fusion)
Nadaka's Live show with the Basavaraj brothers is outstanding! Here we find different traditions, Hindustan, Carnatic, Jazz, meshing seamlessly without losing their distinctness. We¹re in a unique zone where Nadaka's Indianised guitar leads us from traditional modes to more jazzy rhythms, from breathtaking fast passages back to soft soothing chords, where the Flute can be quick Carnatic one moment and Sitar smooth Hindustani the next; where the Violin can be intensely percussive or achingly fragile, the Tabla & Mridangam weave subtle accompaniments or explode into a solid wall of sound.
Nadaka - Guitar & Vocal
Balasai - Flute
Raghavendra - Violin
Sivaramakrishna - Sitar
Ganesh - Tabla & Ghatam
Kesavan - Mridangam & Kanjira

Titi Robin in Jaipur

photo Louis Vincent

Born and bred in the west of France, Thierry “Titi” Robin is a musical internationalist, brilliantly combining flamenco guitar with Arabic oud and the dance music of Rajasthan’s snake charmers. Titi Robin and his formation "Trio" are playing in Jaipur's hotel (Rajasthan, India)

Tune: La ville rose & Suite pour Oud
Musicians:
Titi Robin: 'Ud, Guitar, Buzuq
Ze Luis Nascimento: Percussions
Francis Varis: Accordeon
Gulabi Sapera: Dance

Carnatic saxophone

The man who almost single-handedly made the Indian saxophone respectable was Kadri Gopalnath. Gopalnath’s premier student is Prasant Radhakrishnan, who learned carnatic music on saxophone in the traditional guru-shishya relationship with Gopalnath in India. But Radhakrishnan also has a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance (and international relations) from the University of Southern California. Because indian music and jazz have different ranges of expressive possibilities, this evolutionary process creates a remarkable fresh approach to improvisation.

Prasant Radhakrishnan - Saxophone
Ajay Narasimha - Violin
Poovalur Srinivasan - Mridungam
Raag: Malamalava Gaula

Ganesh Anandan

The percussionist, composer and instrument-maker Ganesh Anandan was born in the south of India in Bangladore, the centre of Hindu Karnatic music. Ganesh Anandan works at transferring the rhythmic notions and percussive techniques of the south of India onto the tambourine, drums and various resonance surfaces. His dynamic style of playing is a unique blend of the classical Karnatic style with the North African and Persian traditions enhanced by a set of hand- and finger-techniques which he has himself developed.
Movietrailer of "VOM BLAUEN HIMMEL", a movie about mongolian shamanism.

Sanu ik pal

Sanu ik pal chain na aawe sajjna tere bina.

Great qawwali by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. 

I cannot find a moments peace
My beloved, without you

My foolish heart sinks lower and lower,
My beloved, without you

May the lord not even give an enemy the illness of separation.

The world taunts me while this separation eats away my soul.

Nobodys beloved should leave to foreign lands,
Nobody should be presented with [the dilemma] separation
At night, I light the lantern with tears in place of oil,
Oh Lord, why dont you hurry and reunite me with my beloved?

Kanjira

The kanjira or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. It is used primarily in concerts of Carnatic music (South Indian classical music) as a supporting instrument for the mridangam.
This is a kanjira solo featuring Ganesh Kumar.

Pow Wow

Pow Wows are all about drums, songs and dance. Pow Wow time is the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships and make new ones.

Murcof, Truffaz, Singh

Murcof, Erik Truffaz & Talvin Singh - Live At Miles Davis Hall, Montreux Jazz Festival, 2006.

Shastriya Syndicate

This inspired band is set to win the hearts of established listeners and a new world music audience with its heady mix of absolutely authentic Indian classical music presented in an exciting format.
The Musicians:
Purbayan Chatterjee, Sitar; Veenai Jayanthi, Veena; Subhankar Banerjee, Tabla; Rakesh Chaurasia, Bamboo Flute; Murad Ali, Sarangi; Pramath Kiran, Percussion;Satish Patri, Mridangam

Kodo

Kodō (鼓童?) is an elite taiko drumming troupe.
In Japanese the word "Kodo" conveys two meanings: "heartbeat" the primal source of all rhythm and, read in a different way, the word can mean "children of the drum," a reflection of Kodo's desire to play their drums simply, with the heart of a child.
Kodo is simply the best at what they do.

The Global Drum Project

The GLOBAL DRUM PROJECT Tour brings Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo together again in a reunion sparked by the 15th anniversary of the ground-breaking album Planet Drum.
"This is a deep drumming groove. We're taking the archaic rhythm worlds into outer space. The Global Drum Project explores rhythm and noise; it's a sound yoga of processed acoustic percussion headed straight for the trance zone that becomes a dance of ancient and modern worlds. Deep drumming is a skeleton key into these realms." -Mickey Hart

Spoken Hand

North Indian tabla, Afro Cuban bata, Brazilian samba and West African djembe - it's a Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra.
The performance left everyone pleasantly overpowered by the collective mastering of such soul-stirring, complex compositions. It was as if I was standing simultaneously on different parts of the world, but everyone was moving to the singular rhythm of the earth.

Mizhavu

Mizhavu is a native drum used in the performance of art forms like Koothu and Kutiyattam.
A large pot-shaped vessel made of copper or clay with the mouth covered with stretched hide, this instrument is unique in producing a vibrant tone enriched with classical rhythm and purity. Considered as a 'Brahmachari' (a Sanskrit word meaning one who observes the vow of brahmacharya), this sacred instrument was allowed to be played only by a person from the Ambalavasi Nambiar Community, Chakkiyar and the Nangiars. It used to be a central part of all the solemn ceremonies like 'Annaprasanam' (first feeding of the baby), 'Namakaranam' (Naming ceremony), and other customary Hindu rites.

Panchari Melam

Panchari Melam is a percussion ensemble, canonically lasting more than four hours, performed during temple festivals in Kerala, India. Panchari Melam (or, simply, panchari), is one of the major forms of chenda melam (ethnic drum ensemble), and is the best-known and most popular kshetram vadyam (temple percussion) genre. Panchari melam, comprising instruments like chenda, ilathalam, kombu and kuzhal, is performed during virtually every temple festival in central Kerala, where it is arguably presented in the most classical manner.

Ghatam

Ghatam is one of the oldest carnatic instrument used in the percussion side. However this is made up of clay and iron ore which makes it a good solid body to play.
Round the globe, with a ghatam, the globetrotting ghatam genius "Vikku" Vinayakaram is a pioneer. He is the first Carnatic percussionist to try his hand at Western and fusion music. He is part of a new generation devoted to extending and expanding ancient Indian traditions. On the Carnatic music platform he is renowned for his crisp play and deep knowledge of rhythm.
He first became known in the West in the mid 1970s as a member of the group Shakti, which consisted of the jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L. Shankar, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, and Vikku Vinayakaram. The extraordinary speed and precision of his duets with Zakir Hussain captivated international audiences. Vinayakram is the first South Indian artist to ever receive a Grammy Award in 1991 for Best World Music Album for his participation in Mickey Hart's "Planet Drum" in which he played ghatam and morsingh.

A live performance cum instructional DVD on South Indian percussion, played and taught by India's greatest percussion maestro Vikku Vinayakram and his sons:

Mridangam

The mridangam is a percussion instrument used in carnatic music, the form of music from South India. Mridangams are referred to in many scriptures of India. It is said that this was one of the instruments that formed a part of the entertainment for Gods.
Mridangams are usually played by men. There are very few female mridangam players even in the modern times.

Many people usually get confused regarding the mridangam and the tabla. The major differences are the genre of music and the structure of the two. Tabla is played as an accompaniment for Hindustani music and Mridangam is played with Carnatic music. Both the instruments have the variation of membranes.