Dhrupad & Khyal

The veena is one of the oldest Indian musical instruments of the lute family, probably dating back to the first millennium BC. The kind we usually encounter in North Indian classical music is the rudra veena, while the instrument featured on this disc is the vichitra veena. A relatively modern invention, it is fretless with sympathetic strings that are played by being stopped by a glass ball held in the left hand, in a manner similar to the Hawaiian guitar.

Gopal Krishnan has taken the vichitra veena to new heights with further modifications that enable this noble instrument to be played faster than would normally be possible. He begins with the rarely heard ‘Raga Mangal Bhairav’ – an early morning scale characterised by a mood of deep meditation. But he delivers this in the style of khayal, an ornamented classical vocal style, when one would have expected to hear dhrupad, a more austere vocal style, closely associated with the veena. In the following piece, the reverse takes place: the light–hearted, romantic ‘Raga Tilak Kamod’ (usually reserved for semi–classical song forms) is performed in the style of dhrupad. Treated in this surprising way, both ragas come across as brand new. Anindo Chatterjee’s table – played in the style of pakhavaj, an ancient barrel–shaped drum, the usual accompaniment for veena and dhrupad – is simply out of this world. The final track is a ‘Raga Bhairavi’, played in the style of thumri (light classical song), which just goes to show that despite its majestic overtones, the veena can also be very flexible and lyrical. On this track, Chatterjee dazzles us again – albeit this time with the tabla firmly back in tabla mode. Overall, this is an outstanding disc featuring a very rare string instrument –with fabulous percussion to boot.