Ustad Zakir Hussain & Ustad Sultan Khan

Sarangi:Ustad Sultan Khan
Raag: Nat-Bhairav

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar

Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1929-1990), fondly known as Bade Ustad, was one of the stalwarts of the Dhrupad tradition in post-independence India. He was largely responsible for the revival of the rudra vina as a solo concert instrument.
Raag: Yaman

Uday Bhawalkar

Highly praised by music critics, the singer Uday Bhawalkar counts in present-day India as one of the younger generation´s leading exponents of dhrupad, one of the oldest forms of classical song still current in the north of India.
Raag: Bhinna Shadja

Ali Akbar Khan

"For us, as a family, music is like food. When you need it you don't have to explain why, because it is basic to life."
-Ali Akbar Khan

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's family traces its gharana (ancestral tradition) to Mian Tansen, a 16th century musical genius and court musician of Emperor Akbar. Ali Akbar Khan's father, the late Padma Vibhusan Acharya Dr. Allauddin Khan, was acknowledged as the greatest figure in North Indian music in this century. Ali Akbar Khan himself is one of today's most accomplished Indian classical musicians.

Ragg: Shree

Jugalbandi

A jugalbandhi is a performance, in Indian classical music, featuring two solo musicians. The word jugalbandhi means, literally, "entwined twins." The duet could be either vocal or instrumental. In jugalbandhi, both musicians act as lead players, and a playful competition often ensues between the two performers.

An South & North traditions jugalbandi with 2 masters of classical music: U.Srinivas on mandoline & D.Bhattacharya on guitar. On tabla Subashish Bhattacharya (Debashish's brother) and on mridangam B. Harikumar.
Raag: keervani

Ashtapadi

Ashtapadis or Ashtapadi rhymns are regular compositions of music in India where there are eight lines (steps) within the composition. Each song of Ashtapadi is set in a special raga and tala. It is a rhyme of eternal love and supreme devotion.The literal meaning of "Ashtapadi" is "eight steps".
Performer: Sri.B.Sasikumar
Raag: Navarasakannada

Nithyasree Mahadevan

Renowned Carnatic (South Indian) classical vocalist Nithyasree Mahadevan.
Composition: Mooladhara
Ragam: Hamsadvani
Talam: Adi
Composer: Papanasam Sivan

Violin: M. A. Krishnaswamy
Mridangam: I. Sivakumar
Moorsing: Dheenadhayalan
Tambura: Pallavi Prasanna

Hindolam alap

Alapana essentially refers to the expansion of a raga well confined to its limits as exemplified by the typical swaras or notes and sancharas or characteristics of the given raga. Gamakas, with reference to Indian music , denote the subtle , yet sublime variation of pitch of a note, by resorting to the usage of heavy forceful oscillations between adjacent and distant notes. Brigas refer to electrifying transitions up and down the scale (Arohana,Avarohana) of a given raga.

SriT.N.Seshagopalan performing an alapana of raaga Hindolam.

Margazhi Raagam

People from all over the world come to Chennai in the Tamil month of Margazhi (Dec 15 to Jan 15) to experience the music that mingles with the chill and mist in the air. Hundreds of concerts everyday for 30 days makes the Chennai music festival one of a kind in the world.
At first, Aghal Movies Tamil film Margazhi Ragam may seem like a random collection of Carnatic concert compositions put together in a vaguely interesting fashion. The genius behind the feature is apparent to you only much later, as you truly get into the mood of the piece, along with the artistes.

Music, after all, is the food of gods and the common man.

Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar

In 1977, the year she passed away, Kesarbai Kerkar’s unforgettable rendition of raga Bhairavi, “Jaat kahan ho”, literally reached the celestial heights. This happened not because of her divine vocal talent (Tagore had conferred on her the title, “Surashri”, after an earth-shattering performance in Calcutta), and turned out to be a different kind of apotheosis. In fact, it was the Voyager spacecraft that carried her recorded voice to outer space, along with a selection of several other immortal melodies.



Hindustani vocalist Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar (1892 – 1977) is considered one of the finest and most powerful Indian classical singers of the 20th century.

Ustad Imrat Khan

Imrat Khan is a consummate musician whose art is based on the deepest insight into the melodic subtleties of rag and the rhythmic intricacies of tal. His breathtaking virtuosity, always used with unerring taste and profound musicality, is placed at the service of a brilliantly inventive wit, which communicates a generous humanity reaching across to audiences of widely different cultures and turns each performance into an unforgettable experience.

Raag Yaman Kalyan on Surbahar:

Ronu Majumdar

Pandit Ranendranath Majumdar, popularly known as Ronu Majumdar, is considered one of our leading flautists. Ronu Majumdar is a master of the bansuri, a North Indian side-blown flute. Relaxed command over the breathy bamboo instrument allows Majumdar to elicit peaceful sentiments and levitated melodies. Without a doubt, this is pure meditation all the way.

Pt Ronu Majumdar & Ustad Zakir Hussain & Taufiq Qureshi performing a piece in raga hansdhwani:

Nikhil Banerjee

Pandit Nikhil Banerjee (14 October 1931 – 27 January 1986) was one of India's most prominent Sitar masters of the 20th Century.

"My approach to music is very deep. I do not compromise. Indian music is based on spiritualism and was practiced and learned to know the Supreme Truth. A musician must lift up the souls of the listeners and take them towards Space. This is the history of Indian music. "
His interpretation of ragas was usually traditional although he would some times take liberties with the raga in a moment of inspiration.
Nikhil Banerjee,Raag Bhairavi

Raag Malkauns

Raag Malkauns is one of the most beautiful , popular and most ancient of the raagas in Hindustani Classical music. Raag Malkauns belongs to Bhairavi Thaat or scale of Hindustani classical music. It is a pentatonic raag ie its type is Audav Audav and this raag is sung at late night. The notes of this raag corresponds to Bhairavi Thaat ie, komal notes are used.

In raag Malkauns Rishabh and Pancham are prohibitted. When ascending(aaroha) the notes are Sa Ga Ma Dha Ni Sa. While descending(awaroha) the notes are Sa Ni Dha Ma Ga Sa.The vaadi swara of Raag Malkauns is Madhyama. Sanwaadi Swar is Sadaja. These notes in combination portray darkness and secret.

The raag is said to have evolved when Lord Shiva performed The Taandava dance. The raag thus evokes a feeling of vigour or we can say this Raag is a VEER rasa raga. And as traditions in Indian classical music ascribes this vigour and veer rasa is not the veer rasa of the battlefield but a sense of conquering the self and reaching a state of inner satisfaction.
This raga is said to have supernatural powers and can conjure spirits if rendered properly. Though a simple pentanoic raga in structure, it requires great skills to convey and evoke the mood of Malkauns.

Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Raag Malkauns, part 1

Raga

Raga is a Sanskrit word that has umpteen shades of meaning – from love, affection, desire and infatuation to entertainment, pursuit, disposition, poetry and music. This itself points to the complex nature of musical structure. In form, it does have a fixed number of permitted and prohibited notes following each other in pre-defined order. In practice, a musical Raga is like a fractal that despite a well-defined aspect is neither limiting nor limited. The artiste is free to float, riding atop the buoyant pattern. One finds a close parallal in theater where different actors in separate presentations portray a Hamlet or a Romeo in styles individual and unique, yet none of them ever twists the tale.

As ragas were transmitted orally from teacher to student, some ragas can vary greatly across regions, traditions and styles. There have been efforts to codify and standardize raga performance in theory from their first mention in Matanga's Brhaddesi (~10th c.) Some people approach raga performance from the Vedic philosophy of sound; others from a Sufi perspective; still others approach raga primarily as an aesthetic entity; others approach it as a kind of combinatorics.
Indian classical music is always set in raga, but all raga music is not necessarily classical. Songs range from being clearly in one raga or another to being in a sort of generalized scale. Many popular Indian film songs resemble ragas closely. 

Raag is the modern hindi pronunciation used by hindustani musicians; Raagam is the south indian form used by carnatic music musicians.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - Raag Marwa - Part 1:

Part 2:

Girija Devi

Girija Devi is a senior and renowned Indian female classical vocalist, who represents the Banaras Gharana of singers. Born on 8 May 1929 in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Girija Devi has been gifted with the most mellifluous voice.Girija Devi's a genius in her sphere of Indian classical vocal rendition.
"I love decorating words with music. Take for instance the line 'rasa ke bhare toreb nain', suggesting the Lord's eyes being a repository of emotions. I imagine a hindered gopis or devotees seeking attention in the eyes of the Lords. Some see in him a tinge of jealousy. Others perceive a hint of pride or carefree abandon. Others see only a divinity; some the playfulness of Krishna. I use notes to suit the mood of the sentiment so that a single line can be sung to at least 25 different interpretations."

Girija Devi & Piya Mukherjee, Raag Bilaskhani Todi, part 2

Hariprasad Chaurasia

Hariprasad Chaurasia, with his mystic flute playing has sent the whole world into a melodic trance. There would be hardly any folks with such magical divine spirit of his kind of music.

Chaurasiaji has pefomred all around the globe, with almost every Indian & foreign instrumentalists. He has also contributed his music in Fusion. Hari Prasad chaurasia is surely an Indian icon.

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia & Subhash Dhunoohchand

Shivkumar Sharma

Born in Jammu, pandit Shivkumar Sharma had training in music from his father Umadutt Sharma. Initially, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma learnt vocal music and tabla right from the tender age of 5. At his father’s request Pt. Shivkumar Sharma began extensive research on the then little known folk instrument – Santoor. His eloquent santoor has introduced the freshness and exuberance of the sparkling springs of his scenic homeland to the realm of classical music. Thanks to his effort, the santoor has now evolved a character encompassing “Gayaki” (vocal style), “Gatkari” (instrumental technique), and “Layakari” (rhythmic improvisation).It is due to Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, and him alone that the santoor is today a highly appreciated Indian instrument the world over.

Pandit Hariprasad and Pandit Shiv Kumar - Raga Bhopali

Pandit Jasraj

The contemporary performer of North Indian Classical vocals, Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj needs no introduction. His status as an unparalleled living legend confirmed by a scholarship instituted by the University of Toronto in his name for deserving young Canadian students wishing to train in Indian music, Pandit Jasraj has made history by being the first living Indian musician to be honored by a foreign university in this manner.Musicians are usually honored with awards, but Panditji is the first musician who has been honored with awards being instituted in his name.

Raag Gurjari Todi

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khansaheb inherited the musical parampara (tradition)of Punjab that encompassed the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh religions.
A true artist, Bade Ghulam Ali was not interested in political and religious differences. He knew of only two categories of humanity: music lovers and the uninterested ones. "I know only one thing: Music! I am little interested in other things. I am just a humble devotee of God and Music."
His favourite bhajan ever was and will be: "Hari Om Tatsat".

Raag Kaushikdwani