The final evening of the Darbar Festival’s 20th anniversary presented a double bill of exceptional calibre: flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, followed by the father-and-son sitar duo Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan and Shakir Khan, custodians of the illustrious Imdad Khan–Etawah gharana. Two of the finest tabla artists accompanied each half, lending rhythmic depth and structure.
Chaurasia began with Raga Bageshri, rendered in four sections — Alap, Jod, Jhala, and compositions in Rupak Taal, a seven-beat cycle. His Alap unfolded with meditative calm, tracing the raga’s key phrases with precision and grace. As the Jod introduced pulse and the Jhala built momentum, his command of tonal colour and breath control came to the fore. Bageshri, a late-night raga akin to the Western Dorian mode, evokes serenity and yearning — the emotion of viraha, love in separation. Chaurasia revealed these shades with exquisite restraint and introspection, never allowing virtuosity to eclipse expression.
Photo copyright Rehmat Ryatt
Pandit Yogesh Samsi, senior disciple of Ustad Alla Rakha, provided tabla accompaniment of impeccable balance, heightening the rhythmic dialogue without intruding on the flute’s lyrical space.
Chaurasia next presented Raga Jog, set to Teen Taal. A twentieth-century raga with a blues-like chromatic play of major and minor thirds, Jog bridges introspection and gentle joy. His articulation was flawless, and his breath phrasing effortless — a testament to years of pranayama-inspired training. The rapport between flute and tabla was organic, a conversation of equals.
He concluded with Mishra Pahadi, performed on a smaller flute, evoking the tranquility of mountain landscapes and streams. The piece recalled the timeless Call of the Valley and The Valley Recalls, a nostalgic invocation of the golden age of Indian instrumental music.
Photo copyright Rehmat Rayatt
The second half featured Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan and Shakir Khan performing Raga Charukeshi, with compositions in Jhaptaal (ten beats) and Teen Taal (sixteen beats). In his introduction, Shahid noted the raga’s variant name, Zilaf, attributed to Amir Khusrau. The Alap unfolded with gravitas, revealing the raga’s emotional duality — a blend of pathos and devotion.
Yet as the performance progressed, the balance between melody and rhythm began to tilt noticeably. Shahid’s celebrated right-hand dexterity was on full display, but the relentless emphasis on layakari (complex rhythmic interplay) at times overwhelmed the raga’s inner poise. What should have been a melodic exploration of Charukeshi’s plaintive depth occasionally became a dazzling but self-referential display of rhythmic acrobatics — a triumph of craft over contemplation.
Both father and son nonetheless displayed impeccable command and fine synchronization, with Satyajit Talwalkar’s tabla accompaniment providing both precision and vitality. Shahid’s gayaki ang — his emulation of vocal inflection through meend and gamak — remained a reminder of his artistry’s enduring strengths, while Shakir’s playing reflected a growing individuality and restraint.
If the closing sections occasionally succumbed to technical excess, they also affirmed the ongoing tension between tradition and display in modern instrumental Hindustani music — a fitting, if revealing, close to the Darbar Festival’s twentieth year.
